Thank you for visiting my fundraising page! I am very excited to be part of this incredible project, which wouldn’t be possible without your generous donations. Please read more about the project below and scroll to the bottom to find a link to a brilliant documentary produced by the team last year. We are fundraising to cover the entire cost of the build, making your donations crucial to realising this project. Your support is greatly appreciated!

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The design/build studio at the University of Nottingham (our alma mater) is a long-running and esteemed example of collaboration between the global south and global north, serving small communities in South Africa whilst giving architecture students valuable skills and experiences.

For over a decade the studio has been delivering crèches and working to be a positive contributing force in the community of Hanertsburg, Limpopo, South Africa. 2,000 children have been enrolled in crèches built by the studio, creating jobs for locals within these schools and allowing parents to return to work. Each year the studio takes on new students and volunteers who spend two semesters designing, then building their crèche in South Africa. For the past few years, Grimshaw Architects have supported this initiative with generous donations and valuable expertise, sending architects out on the build with the students for technical and general support. This year, we will be joining the studio on the build.

We are currently in the early planning stages of fundraising for the construction materials, and understanding who may be interested in sponsoring us for the 2024 build. Any donation will help provide a bright, clean and safe environment for teaching basic skills, play and music to village children. It will also provide employment for the local women who teach in the nursery school, cook meals, wipe noses and sing and play with the children.

For the past few years, Grimshaw Architects have supported this initiative with generous donations and valuable expertise, sending architects out on the build with the students for technical and general support. Grimshaw have also offered general teaching support throughout the year as well as occasional use of our London premises.

Your generous donations will facilitate this genuinely life-changing project. When we leave South Africa, the village we work with will be able to enjoy a brand new, quality school and community space, which will enrich the lives of children and families alike for generations to come.

For a video documentary of last year's project see here.