Social development

South African charities & community care

Want to give back to your community, donate some of your money, skills or time? Here are just some of the places where you can start.

Aids Foundation South Africa
Helping community-based organisations to limit the spread of HIV/Aids and mitigate the impact of the epidemic on South Africa's most vulnerable communities.
www.aids.org.za

Ashoka South Africa
Creating an "everyone a changemaker" world by supporting social entrepreneurs in their quest to cure social ills.
www.ashoka.org/southafrica

CHOC – Childhood Cancer Foundation SA
Improving the welfare and quality of care of children who suffer from all varieties of cancer or life-threatening blood disorders.
www.choc.org.za

FoodBank South Africa
Working to establish a network of community foodbanks to eliminate hunger and food insecurity across South Africa.
www.foodbank.org.za

Give Back
Non-profit, volunteer-run organisation that aims to put you in touch with charity and community organisations in your area.
www.giveback.co.za

Greater Good SA
Online social marketplace for people who want to make a difference. Bringing good causes and committed givers together in meaningful and innovative ways to end poverty in South Africa.
www.myggsa.co.za

Heifer South Africa
Helping families and communities to produce food and income for themselves using agricultural interventions, particularly livestock and crops.
www.heifer.org.za

Papillon Foundation
Supporting economic and social rebirth by empowering communities to meet their own needs. Developing community empowerment projects, and taking a holistic approach to clothing, feeding, educating and training the poor.
www.papillonfoundation.com

PRODDER
South Africa's most comprehensive directory of NGOs and development organisations.
www.prodder.org.za

SOS Children's Villages South Africa
Taking action for orphaned and abandoned children by building and strengthening families for them to live in and grow with love, security and respect.
www.sos.org.za

Starfish Greathearts Foundation – South Africa
Working to bring life, hope and opportunity to orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa.
www.starfishcharity.org

Thokomala Orphan Care Organisation
Using a simple but effective model of community-based child care to provide Aids orphans with the love and warmth they need to grow into emotionally sound adults.
www.thokomala.org.za

SAinfo reporter



	'Each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an imprint' (Image: 46664.com)

Watch the video

Change for a better South Africa starts with small, everyday actions – and starts with each of us.

Everyday heroes,

community builders, social innovators ... Across South Africa, individuals and organisations are building a country that's Alive with Possibility.

What is ubuntu?

The Zulu world "ubuntu" translates roughly as "humanity towards others". But it means much more than this. The spiritual foundation of African societies, ubuntu involves a belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all of humanity, a unifying worldview best captured by the Zulu maxim umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu - "a person is a person through other persons".