The Mzimkhulu Trust
The Mzimkhulu Trust was established in 2008 to support the Lorraine Poswa Mzimkhulu Pre-School in Libode, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The pre-school, which was started in 1994 by the late Lorraine Poswa, provides vital early years education for the children of a community that suffered the worst deprivation of the apartheid years. The area is one of the poorest and most deprived in South Africa, with high rates of unemployment and of orphaned and vulnerable children due to HIV/AIDS. The Mzimkhulu Trust is almost the sole support for both the infrastructure and running costs of the school, which helps the children obtain a level of education commensurate with the national average and improves the nutrition of the under-6s of Libode. The Trust is highly dependent on its fundraising events and activities. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trust has not been able to hold these events and activities so this source of income is not available. However, the Trust needs to continue paying the staff, whose hard work and loyalty to the children has accounted for the school's success.