Background

Vision

Our vision is to provide a group of thousands of very poor South Africans with the opportunity to transform themselves into a self-respecting community. In this community:

· Children will have improved education with a strong emphasis on learning English and supervised after-school sports.

· Families will have a simple, decent, warm place to live. 

· Working mothers will have a safe, clean and affordable place to leave their children while they are at work.

· Members of the community will be inspired by the facilities and opportunities provided by a library and a youth center.

Masiphumelele is an informal settlement about 20 miles south of Cape Town. It began as a squatter camp about ten years ago as black South Africans migrated from rural areas seeking work. Although there are people from many tribes in Masiphumelele, most of the townships residents are Xhosa, from the eastern part of South Africa. Today about 30,000 people live in shacks constructed from pieces of cardboard, wood and metal. Near each shack is a small concrete unit providing a toilet and running water. Most shacks have electricity and there is a government-run township primary and high school. Unemployment is very high and alcohol abuse and domestic violence are prevalent.

When we began 4 years ago, the township was almost entirely shacks

The Founders 

The Masiphumelele Corporation was founded in 1999 by John and Carol Thompson. Carol Valpy Thompson grew up outside Cape Town on Vergelegen, a wine farm in Somerset West. She left South Africa when she was 18, living first in England, then emigrating to America in 1963. Carol worked as a real estate broker for many years. She currently serves on the board of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center and is the co-founder of Masiphumelele Corp. 

John Thompson was born in England and educated at Cambridge University before emigrating to the U.S. with Carol. John worked for Shell, Celanese Corporation, Interactive Data Corporation, Index Group, and finally as CEO of Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) Europe.  John retired from CSC in 1993. He currently serves on the boards of two private companies, the Chocorua Island Chapel Organization and is the co-founder of Masiphumelele Corporation.

The Thompsons live three months of the year in Cape Town so that they can oversee Masiphumelele Corp projects. The remainder of the year they live in New Hampshire and communicate by e-mail with the small staff who keep the programs going in their absence.

Organization History

The Masiphumelele Corporation started in 1999 with annual expenditures of nearly $40,000. Our first projects included supporting a day care center, starting a local block-making initiative to provide blocks to township builders, and running a feeding scheme for children at the local primary school.  By 2005, our annual expenditure reached $215,000 and we focused on providing bursaries for promising township students at nearby colleges and High Schools, building low-income housing, supporting AIDS education and care, supporting a new library, and providing opportunities for local entrepreneurs and/or young leaders pursuing higher education.

Staff and Volunteers

Masiphumelele has an Operations Manager who runs the daily operations of the education program assisted by a number of volunteer staff. There is also a Sports Director and his assistant who run a sports program at the local primary school as well as a community sports initiative after school and at the weekends. We also have several retired teachers who provide support for small groups at the township school as well as providing help and support for our scholars.

Scholars and their support team

Masiphumelele Corporation could not operate without the help of numerous volunteers. In the Scholars Programs there are a number of women who tutor and mentor the students we support at Fish Hoek High School. A local accountant keeps the books and acts as paymaster for the cash needs of our “Better Futures” scholars who are in tertiary education.. There is an American woman who teaches computer skills to high school students from the township school and a librarian who has been instrumental in helping us establish the new library in Masiphumelele. Finally there are several volunteers helping us support and mentor our grant recipients who are running their own small businesses or furthering their education