October 2001 saw the official opening of the Ithemba Ward and the simultaneous launch of HOPE (HIV Outreach Programme and Education) Cape Town as a registered Non–Profit Organisation (NPO). At first HOPE Cape Town provided much needed Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) to children, which at that point was not supplied by Government.
This was achieved via HOPE Cape Town obtaining individual private sponsors for HIV+ children who required treatment. HOPE Cape Town also appointed their first medical officer. In 2007 the last HIV+ children on HOPE sponsored treatment were transferred into Government care as Government then started free ARV rollout to all age groups.
In 2002 as an extension of services offered at Tygerberg Hospital, HOPE Cape Town placed its first fully trained community health worker at Mfuleni clinic. Up to 25 HOPE Community Health Workers offered services and programs at ten local clinics and hospitals in low-income communities. They provided ancillary medical treatment and care and also increased the staff capacity at the local clinic facilities, acted as champions for HIV counselling, testing, treatment and monitored the patient’s adherence to medication where the focus was on paediatric/adolescent patients and their families. The Community Health Workers program concluded at the end of 2025 due to changes in the overall policies of health services in the province.
In 2009, HOPE Cape Town initiated community-based outreach activities in the Blikkiesdorp Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) on the periphery of Delft. Today our Blikkiesdorp Community Outreach Centre remains a safe space for the community where we offer a range of services including on-site educational and therapeutic activities for children and adolescents, including a playgroup, after-school homework assistance, teen support groups for boys and girls and holiday programs. But we also know that Blikkiesdorp is destined to be closed down in due course to make way for developments in and around the airport.
Since that early start in the HIV/AIDS sector, HOPE Cape Town has evolved into a more holistic development agency with over 20 permanent employees as well as various consultants and volunteers working across sites including Delft Community Hospital, Tygerberg Academic Health Complex and at the Blikkiesdorp Community Outreach Centre.
In 2021, we moved to our new campus “The Nex-Indawo Yethu” in Delft where we continue to play an important supportive role for many in the Western Province.
Today, HOPE Cape Town delivers an integrated, life-cycle approach to community upliftment through its core programme areas: Early Childhood Development; Holistic Preventative Health Services; Youth Education and Support; Career Guidance and Planning; Vocational and Skills Training; Entrepreneurial Development; and Community-Based Development and Interventions.
Central to their work is a strong network and collaboration with local and international partners that actively prepare young people for further study and meaningful employment. These include specialized initiatives that identify skilled and work-ready individuals within South Africa and facilitate access to employment opportunities abroad, particularly in Germany.
These Euro-African workforce mobility programs are complemented by reciprocal knowledge and skills exchanges, enhancing experience in respective fields of interest while fostering cross-cultural learning and sustainable development impact in both countries.
Through this holistic and partnership-driven model, HOPE Cape Town strengthens pathways from education to employment, empowering youth and communities to thrive locally and globally.
Since 2006 HOPE Cape Town’s connection to Europe is manifested via the sister organization HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung. 2016 HOPE Cape Town USA was launched to create synergies especially in the field of health and training.
