What do we want

The Will Do foundation wants to help fight the battle against AIDS in South Africa.
We want to help disadvantaged youths. We want to offer children and adolescents from lower socio-economic backgrounds the opportunity to improve their position. The battle against AIDS also includes a battle against poverty and substance and alcohol abuse. Through personal and medical care we can provide an environment for these kids where they can see opportunities and focus on their development.

We want to make sure that the money donated by our supporters goes to where it is needed most, with as little as possible spent on overhead costs. Our goal is to spend 95% of the money on local projects in South Africa, and we work with the local projects to ensure that this money is used in the most efficient and effective way. This way of working allows us to quickly transform our will to help into actual doing.

We want to focus our efforts in South Africa, although we may not limit ourselves to this country in the future. The factors relating to HIV and AIDS vary from country to country. To be able to operate effectively as a small charity organisation it is essential to know the country-specific factors. We are focusing on South Africa for two reasons. Firstly, HIV prevalence is very high in this country, and as a result of taboos the social impact of HIV and AIDS is very severe. Secondly, low language and cultural barriers allow us to work effectively in this country.

We want to build sustainable relationships with the people running the local projects to be able to learn from each other to our mutual benefit. Cooperation with the local organisations is essential in the success of projects as only local organisations know what the local needs and specific challenges are. In our approach we do not try to re-invent the wheel, or presume that we, in the Netherlands, know what people in South Africa need.

‘Small-scale’ and ‘self-sufficiency’ are the keywords in our cooperation with local organisations. By supporting small-scale projects the impact of our support is directly visible. Too little attention is paid to small-scale aid, despite strong indications that small-scale support is the most effective form of aid. In our support of projects we are always looking at ways to improve self-sufficiency. This helps the projects to operate more autonomously and be less dependent on outside support. This approach also improves the self-worth and confidence of people involved in the projects.

An important methodology in working with youths is the peer-method. This methodology is based on youths transferring knowledge and life skills that they are taught to other youths of similar age. This method and the development of self-sufficiency and independence have an empowering effect and contribute to a society that has living together at its core.