"I was initially introduced to the Project HOPE UK team following my decision to take redundancy from GSK and to try and do some kind of charity work with an already established organisation with ongoing projects in some of the most deprived areas in the African continent."

"My month will involve working with the Haven Centre who work with some of the poorest people on planet, living in ramshackle tin huts which are arranged in massive townships, most of which have no sanitation, no drinking water, no electricity. A vast proportion have HIV or AIDS and no discernible future. Within the townships there is real poverty and day to day is a struggle to survive. There is alcohol, substance and physical abuse. The Haven Centre works closely with the local schools, where many of the children are orphans, living in shared homes with a carer, (in one school of 420 children 360 of them were orphans, their parents stolen from them by HIV/ AIDS. - this is not a one off example). They provide uniforms, school equipment, blankets, food and water. They run soup kitchens for those who are hungry and baby clinics and provide baby consumables They organise micro finance groups and lending groups which allow the people to become self sufficient. They also build houses, clinics and mobile clinics as well to treat the sick and unwell." 

"All the above work is obviously exceptionally important to the quality of life of the inhabitants in the townships, but by far the biggest threat and by far the most serious is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The work that the Haven Centre do with the infected and the dying, the education, the raising of awareness, the medical assessments, the provision of the medicines and vitamins supplements, the food parcels, the fundraising and even government harassing is above the call of duty for some, but not here. There is a real and urgent need to at least try and make a difference to what is a dire situation for many hundreds of thousands of people, a situation that spreads quickly, that grows and worsens each day and that has no real end in sight."

CHAPTER ONE – “APPREHENSIONS AND HOPE”

"Firstly, can I take this opportunity to thank Ellie Higgins and Paul Brooks at Project HOPE UK for all their hard work and this fantastic opportunity to go and work with Project HOPE in Johannesburg, South Africa."

"Well, it is finally here, I am off to Africa, I can’t really believe it if I am honest! Me, Philip “the dreamer” Garland is actually leaving the comfortable little bubble of Plymouth, Devon and venturing out into the big wide world with a purpose."

"As I drive to Heathrow airport, it truly has not sunk in that I am leaving, it feels as though I am dropping my two companions, Sarah and my godson Diallo to the airport so that they can go away. (Thanks for a fun road trip, love ya!) Even as I sit in the airport receiving goodbye texts and speak to friends and family before I go, it just won’t sink in!  - It’s so surreal! I am not nervous, I haven’t got any fears, but nor am I excited, I am just not quite sure how I have ended up here about to fly to the southern tip of Africa."

"I say my goodbyes, waving madly at the two smiling faces behind me as I cross through the security checks and disappear behind the screen, suddenly I am all alone and my comfort bubble pops with a loud bang in my head!  There is a definite sense of apprehension, a fear of the unknown, the people, the culture, the city, the country. Will I be accepted, we are all aware of the horror that used to be the South African apartheid system, here I am a person of mixed race walking into this for the first time –has the country changed?   I am flying to the tip of Africa to meet a lady called “Terxia” who I have never met or spoken to, I am just assured she will meet me off the plane. Am I mad?"

"As I come into land into Johannesburg Airport the following morning after a good nights sleep, looking out of my window I see a bright golden sun on the horizon, lush green fields below, small farms and lots of animals, I have a real sense of excitement and am ready to begin my African adventure.  I walk through security and there is Terxia as promised with a placard with my name on it., I am chauffeur driven no less."

"Terxia is the head of the Haven Centre, an umbrella organization, partnered with Project HOPE UK, which coordinates a number of efforts, be it for funds, medicines, equipment, education, awareness,  consumables, you name it they are involved in it, to help the local townships. The driving force is the aforementioned Terxia, a lady who is truly is an inspiration; helping others through whatever means possible is her passion. She works towards this all the hours that God sends and no time is wasted. HIV and AIDS is an unforgiving disease and continues to spread exponentially from generation to generation with no rhyme or reason to whom it affects: it is an unforgiving area in which to work, but Terxia and the Haven Centre do so with passion, continued drive and the unshakeable belief that they really can make a difference.  I will go into the inner workings of the organisation and the particularly important projects at a later date as I learn more rather than the brief overview and introductions that I have so far."

"I arrive at the house where I will be staying. It’s like a palatial mansion, with security gates, housekeepers, a pool and a gym and I have my own cottage in the grounds. Things are looking up! I am staying with a friend of Terxia’s called Shelley and her family, her husband Laurie, who is an accountant, their four children, Daniel, Shannon, Amy and Caleb, their three dogs and three cats.  For all you doubters who wanted me in the townships in a tin roofed shack, this could not be further from the truth. It is an absolutely beautiful home in a lovely suburb of Johannesburg. I have been made to feel most welcome and embraced as part of the family and I could not be happier. This place is awesome!"

"To welcome me to Johannesburg and so that I can spend time with my host family, Terxia and Lavinia (another volunteer from Camborne, Cornwall no less - small world), we had a big barbecue on their patio in the dark, with strategically placed candles. (This was not for ambience but due to the fact that on certain days for four hours at a time there is no power due what’s called "load sharing”, mainly because there just isn’t enough electricity to go around for such a big city)."

"In the last two days I have seen a small part of the operations that the Haven Centre is involved in, some of the working clinics, the houses that have been built for the orphans, the working parties the volunteers the nurses, psychologists, administration and cleaning staff, the work with the smaller organisations, the fundraising needed, the places where they hold the soup kitchens and the vast number of people who dedicate their lives to this cause."

"I have also seen the ramshackle tin huts, the vast expanses of townships with no electricity, sanitation or drinking water, I have seen the despair in the people’s eyes, I have seen the orphaned children, I have seen complete and utter poverty. I have seen articles in the paper about a cholera epidemic in the one of the townships (cholera a disease that was all but eradicated in the late 19th century but in Southern Africa it is still killing people due to infected drinking water!) The experience so far will stay with me forever; these townships are exactly like you see on Comic Relief or Sport Aid but so much more vast than you can ever imagine. However, this is not the overriding factor that I have taken from the first couple of days, as eye opening as they may be."

"My overriding emotion, as clichéd as it may sound, is that of HOPE for these poverty stricken or even dying people in the townships daily. There is real passion and conviction in those who work or volunteer for the Haven Centre. They are trying to the best of their abilities day in and day out to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. There are not many people in the world who can say that and I am truly humbled. My mum and dad, my brother and sister, my closest friends, my godchildren, my home, may well be a long way from here but I feel that being here I can make you all proud and make a difference to people who need our help more than you could ever imagine."

NOTE: Project HOPE UK has been working with the Haven Centre for two years, working to complement the services already provided by the existing member-organisations of the alliance, with new services. A pilot scheme, aiming to introduce a successful concept of orphan carer support, currently achieving remarkable results in neighbouring Namibia and Mozambique, is underway, to increase the incomes of carers along with health and well-being skills. A fund has been established to roll this initiative out across the West Rand district, and to build the operational and technical skills of Haven Centre organisations. There are an estimated 75,000 orphans and vulnerable children in the West Rand District, which stretches in an arc around Johannesburg, from Soweto in the south to Greater Pretoria in the north.