Today I went down into Kwanyuswa to visit the Light Providers community centre where we are considering running a pilot project in November.

Light Providers is a registered non profit organisation founded in 2005 by Vusi Kweyama, working primarily with young people in the region of KwaNyuswa. Their vision is to expose young people to their inherent potential.

They have a community centre and facilitate recreation and training programmes for youths between the ages of 10 and 28.

You can find more on the Light Providers website including a video overview.

The Valley of a Thousand Hills is situated only 10 minutes from our offices in Hillcrest, outside Durban in South Africa. This stunning photo shows a panoramic view of the entrance into the valley through the region known as Kwanyuswa.

The tribal district of Kwanyuswa lies on the extreme outskirts of urban development, west of the Inanda Dam. It is one of the largest of the various tribal authorities that make up the Valley of a Thousand Hills.

Although beautiful, the region is home to tens of thousands of people living in poverty stricken conditions, facing issues such as HIV/AIDS, crime, unemployment and poor access to basic services.

Due to the gross unemployment rates in the region, and our close proximity to the area, we have selected Kwanyuswa as an area of focus for our pilot project.

The image below is a satellite view from Google of the location of our pilot project. If you click on the image and browse the area, you will see thousands of informal dwellings in the valley as it stretches East towards Inanda Dam.

Click on the image to view 'The Valley of a Thousand Hills' on Google maps.

Thanks to John Forbes who took the main panoramic photo from ‘The View’ restaurant in Bothas Hill.