Finally getting round to the blog. A lot has happened. On Friday evening we said goodbye to our wonderful friend Lara. Wishing her all of the best and once again a big thank you for the wonderful work you've done at The Darling Trust, Laratjie. We have a competition running at the moment where you can win 6 bottles of Darling's finest wine by joining our debit order club. for as litlle as R50 you can make a huge difference in someone else's life. On Thursday evening we have the Music and Art evening. Can't wait to see what the student have prepared for us. Had a sneak preview at some of the paintings and they are definitely masters in the making. Will post the photos on Friday. Till then.

A few pics of the new Centre...

Hi there!

Below are a few pics of the new Centre. We're making such fantastic progress! We're still fundraising though for the final section. For more information on the Centre, please see The Darling Trust website and for info on how to donate, please click here.

Thank you!

Our Spring Newsletter

Yes! Here is our Spring Newsletter.
Click above to read more about the latest developments at The Darling Trust and what's in store for Spring 2009!

Yes we can, if you do!

NGOs around the world, including The Darling Trust, are being hit hard by the current economy as their sources of funding continue to dry up. As Pieter-Dirk Uys, our patron says, "A difficult economy demands a more creative approach. Instead of just giving up, we’re rising to the challenge and having fun as we go! We need to ensure that Darling and The Darling Trust are able to continue the good work.”

Part of this more diverse and creative approach to fundraising at The Darling Trust is our fundraising website launched in August 2009. The website is specifically geared towards raising funds for the Darling Health and Sport Centre. This Centre will include, a quarter-size Olympic swimming pool with necessary infrastructure including secure fencing, a multi-purpose Activities Centre and an Early Childhood Development Centre. Thus far R1,5 million has been raised, with a further R1million required.

Please consider supporting this fantastic Centre! Online donations can be made via our website www.thelittletrustthatcan.org.za

September in Darling is fantastic!

Hi everyone,

Sorry things have been so quiet on the blog lately. It is high season in Darling and some VERY exciting projects are in the pipeline.

Voorkamerfest
Every year when Voorkamerfest rolls around there's a real buzz in the air and this year is no different. There are two fantastic workshops taking place at the moment in the run up to Voorkamerfest next weekend. One of the workshops is a dance workshop run by CrossTown DH. What an amazing group of people, and wow, they can dance! The other workshop being run is a film workshop. Stefan Hurter is training kids in Darling how to film a live event. The kids will then form a film crew (The No1 Film Crew) and film Voorkamerfest. We have some great plans in the pipeline for the film crew!

New Newsletter format
After careful consideration and talking to you, our supporters, we've decided to change the format of our newsletter. It will still be sent out via email and available on our website, but it will only be sent out on a quarterly basis. The newsletter will also be longer, and include more photos and video! The first of the 'new' newsletters will be launched at the start of September, so check back soon!

Darling Children's Book Fair
The Darling Children's Book Fair is just around the corner. Children can attend the festival for free, but the entry fees paid by adults will be given to The Darling Trust to put towards our education and literacy projects.

That's all the news I can give you for now. To hear more, check back soon and read our Spring Newsletter!

Our new fundraiser!

We've just launched a new website to raise funds for the Darling Health and Sport Centre.
Check it out below! More info coming soon :)

Decorex 2009

Above: One of our products going up to Decorex this year!


For the second year in a row, The Darling Trust will be taking part in Decorex in Johannesburg from 6-10 August. We are SO excited!

Veyonne Solomon will be going as a representative of the Darling Craft Cooperative, which is a project of The Darling Trust. The products must be delivered to Cape Town on Thursday as they will be taken up by truck in advance. Veyonne will be flying up to Johannesburg next week Wednesday and will be there for a week. It is a very big responsibility to represent the cooperative, but Veyonne is very much up for the challenge. She points out the seriousness of her role - she's representing not only the 5 other women in the cooperative, but also their families who depend on them.

We're working hard to ensure that the Darling Craft Cooperative is fully prepared for this event. And judging by the enthusiasm and hard work, we're going to do brilliantly at Decorex!

For more information on the Darling Craft Cooperative, please click here. For more details on Decorex, please see their website. We exhibit as part of the CCDI Western Province Pavilion and the South African Handmade Collection. More details here.

A message from Tannie Evita for Mandela Day

A message from Tannie Evita inviting local Darlingers to mark Mandela Day. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Darling darlings,

Nelson Mandela has asked everyone to spend 67 minutes doing something uplifting in their community on his birthday.

If you haven't yet committed yourself to painting the clinic, feeding babies, taking old people to the doctor, planting trees, reading the Bible to prisoners, feeding animals at the SPCA or helping the Groeneweide inmates to use the internet, why don't you meet us at the Perron on 12h00 noon sharp on Saturday 18th July.

Bring rubber gloves and some garbage bags and let's spend our 67 minutes cleaning the main road of our town.

Happy Birthday Madiba!

- Tannie Evita

For more information on Mandela Day, please see their website

Would you like a Xmas present from Tannie Evita?

Every year at Evita se Perron, Evita Bezuidenhout puts on a season of Xmas in July. The event is in Evita's inimitable style and is one of the most popular shows at the Perron. In fact, many of the shows are already sold out! For more information on the shows, please see the Evita se Perron website.

This year, we are launching a fun little fundraiser to run alongside the season of Xmas in July. It's a raffle and the prize is a present from Evita Bezuidenhout herself! Tickets are being sold in our Craft Centre and are R10 each. Although the raffle is aimed at people coming to watch the show, I thought I'd let you all know about it in case you'd like to enter from afar!

You can buy as many tickets as you'd like! Just send us your name, email address and telephone number and fax it (along with proof of payment) to +27 22 492 2851 or email it to us. Our banking details are available here.

Good luck! Here's hoping that you are one of the lucky ones to receive a present from Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout!

Our July Newsletter

I've just uploaded our July Newsletter up on our website. Take a look! And as always, feedback is very much appreciated.

Darling Children's Book Fair

Darling is certainly a dynamic village! We will now have our own Children's Book Fair!

On 24, 25 and 26 September, the Darling Children's Book Fair will take place here in our village. The Fair will include book launches, workshops, talks and other fun events. For more information on the Fair, please see their website. The website is not yet fully up to date, but they are working on it

We are truly happy to be taking part in the Fair. It is a great way to let people know about the three educational projects that we run and how we are expanding these projects. We will also be able to share the dreams of just how fantastic these projects will become in the years to come!

We hope to see you all here in Darling then!

Dates for Darling Paediatric Clinic confirmed!

The dates for the Darling Paediatric Clinic have been confirmed! From 20 - 30 October 2009, Dr Vinola Naidoo will be running a Paediatric Clinic here in Darling. We are incredibly excited about this new venture! We had the first meeting today and from here on out we'll be sorting out the logistics, etc. Just had to share this great news with you!

A few photos from our Music and Art Evening - May 2009

A few photos from our Music and Art Evening held on 27 May 2009. What a great evening!

June Newsletter

Our June newsletter has just been uploaded to the website! Enjoy!

And more photos!

What a fantastic day!

The sod-turning on Saturday was a fantastic success! I've included a few photos below. More info will be available soon.

Blogging for a cause

Good morning friends!

If you have a blog of your own, please consider supporting The Darling Trust by blogging about us? All the necessary info can be found here.

Thanks and have a great week!

PS Only 5 days until the sod-turning ceremony!

A sneak peek!

The first visuals of what the new Centre will look like!
For more info see this webpage

Meet the team... Ivy Johnson

Ivy Johnson joined The Darling Trust in 2008 and has quickly become a leading light! Her passion and enthusiasm are contagious, and her dedication to her village is something that inspires us all.

Ivy was born in Darling and has lived here all her life. She worked for many years at the local clinic. Since retiring, she has been involved in a number of different projects. Her most recent has been as part of the iAfrica Drama Queens. This dynamic group of women write and produce their own material. They have performed at Voorkamerfest to great acclaim.

It is an honour and a privilege to work with Ivy!

an update!

Just wanted to give you a brief update on our new Centre!

So far we have raised R1.5 million, that means that we only have to raise another R395,000!!

Also, there are only 11 more days to go until our launch on the 30th May! So exciting!!

For more info, see this webpage.