In 2010, the Topsy Foundation will mark its 10th successful year of service to rural communities in and around the crossroads of Mpumalanga, Free State and Gauteng provinces.

Topsy, a registered non-profit organisation, provides relief services to some of South Africa’s most under-resourced rural communities through a multi-faceted approach to the consequences of HIV and AIDS; and extreme poverty. The Topsy Foundation is the only organisation of its kind with an active presence in these communities.

HIV and AIDS is one of the main challenges facing South Africa today. It is estimated that 5.5-million people are living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. The Topsy Foundation is addressing this challenge and believes that this huge pandemic needs an equivalent response.

The Foundation operates three main programmes: a Community Outreach Programme; a Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care Clinic; and a Skills Training Programme.

The focus of the Community Outreach Programme is to offer relief services to people and families in rural communities. The Programme consists of several projects including Home-base Care; Orphan and Vulnerable Children; and Vegetable Gardens projects.

Topsy’s established Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care Clinic serves to provide care and treatment, specifically involving antiretroviral therapy to identified and eligible members of the communities served. Other areas of support offered at the Clinic include voluntary counselling and testing; prevention of mother to child transmission; cervical cancer screening; and general care for HIV and AIDS patients.

The ramifications and effects of HIV and AIDS become amplified in conditions of poverty. That’s why Topsy has a firm accent on training: with skills, it becomes possible for people to earn an income; they’re able to support themselves and avoid some of the more dire circumstances associated with poverty. Topsy’s Skills Training Programme includes the Shukushuma Beadwork Project; and the Tinyiko Sewing Project.

Over the past 12 month-period Topsy’s far-reaching benefits can be summarised as follows:
• On average 2 172 beneficiaries were reached monthly through the Home-based Care Project
• Through the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children Project on average 864 children were reached per month
• 77 food parcels were distributed monthly, benefiting an average of 389 beneficiaries
• As at February 2010, more than 1 200 patients received ARV treatment;
• 115 families were assisted to either start or maintain their own vegetable gardens. Through this project approximately 499 people are provided with fresh vegetables every day
• 4 communal gardens were maintained which fed on average 225 beneficiaries daily;
• Through the Skills Training Programme, approximately 60 women received a monthly remuneration.

One of Topsy’s largest corporate partnerships has been established with the local arm of the international advertising agency Ogilvy. Ogilvy Johannesburg works with Topsy, on a pro bono basis, as marketing and communication consultants. Further to this, the company provides Topsy with office space and covers operating costs. Ogilvy’s latest contribution has been the production of a powerful television commercial to be launched on 2 March.

Silvia de Jager, Executive Director at the Topsy Foundation, says, “Since its inception the organisation has benefited enormously from support offered by Ogilvy. This partnership shows the immeasurable benefits that can be achieved when non-profit organisations and corporates form sound partnerships. We are truly grateful for the continued support given by Ogilvy over the years and thank Ogilvy for assisting us in the fight against HIV and AIDS.”

For more information please contact: Silvia de Jager, Topsy Foundation, 011 709 6623, [email protected]; or Beatrice Ralfe, Topsy Foundation, 011 709 9699, [email protected].