October 2020
DEAR FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND ASSOCIATES
Welcome to the first newsletter of the Geoss Isipho Trust.
“Isipho” is the isiXhosa word for GIFT & the hope that comes from an unexpected gift is what the
Trust wants to be about.
The Trust has identified women and children as its primary beneficiaries and educational activities as
it’s weapon of choice with which to deliver our Gift of Hope. For Isipho Trust to be in a position to
make a meaningful contribution to its beneficiaries, we will need to rely on generous support from
caring businesses and individuals.
As a registered PBO we are able to offer donors a certificate for tax reduction purposes. If you wish
to take advantage of this, please feel free to contact us for more information, or feel free to make a
donation via the bank details at the end of this newsletter.
The Isipho Trust also owns 10% stake in GEOSS South Africa, a local consulting company. We are
thrilled to announce that via a small dividend pay out from Geoss SA earlier this year, the Isipho
Trust has been able to make its first donation. We are proud to announce our association with
Connect Network and its network of organisations. In March we were able to make a donation to
Connect Network who distributed the funds to Just Grace, which hosts various programmes within
Langa. Just Grace, in turn, initially intended on using the money to upskills their employees, but due
to the COVID 19 pandemic, they have had to re-allocate their resources and consider completing
courses online.
For more about Connect Network, click HERE; or more about Just Grace, click here.
We were hoping to host a Fun Run at Technopark this Spring, but Covid-19 has forced us to push
that to the back burner for now. However, we look forward to the inaugural Isipho Trust “Run for
Hope” in the not too distant future.
Meanwhile, Julian Conrad, Director and Founder of Geoss, and also an (almost) fanatical bike rider,
has offered to do a Ride for Hope when he participates in this year’s Desert Dash.
(https://www.desertdashnamibia.com/)
This somewhat epic bike ride takes participants across
Namibia – from Windhoek to Swakopmund across the Namib desert. At 374 gruelling kilometres,
this race is not for the fainthearted! Julian has completed 3 previous Dashes, and is doing the hard
miles in preparation for this year’s Dash. Julian’s entry no is 1202 & he will be setting off with other
entrants at 3pm on 11 December and has set himself a target of 16 hours.
Early Childhood Development has been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19. Government funding was
halted in many parts of the country and young children have suffered in many ways as a result. We
believe that our country’s children deserve a bright future and therefore the bulk of the proceeds
from Julian’s ride will be going to Masikhule who do fantastic work in this field.
Please sponsor Julian by make a donation to the Trust’s account , or via the Givengain link.
Thank You for reading our first newsletter & for being part of the Gift of Hope journey.
Isipho Trust bank details:
Standard Bank Stellenbosch branch
Branch code 050610
Acc no: 07 300 6998