What do we do?

At the core of RSSAF's activities is our Grants Programme, which raises and distributes funds to small-scale community development projects in Sub Saharan Africa. Past projects have included:

- the creation of a maternity ward and the provision of primary medical care for the first time to an isolated part of Kenya;
- the support of an education trust for scholarships to students in Cape Town;
- and an HIV/AIDS awareness programme in rural Uganda.

In 2006, RSSAF raised and distributed over £11000 to development projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Central to RSSAF's fundraising efforts is our Scholar Stipend Contribution scheme, whereby scholars make regular contributions from their scholarship stipend to support development projects in the region. This has been the primary and most consistent means of fundraising. Thanks to the generosity of scholars it has provided the Grants Programme with a sustained source of support for many years.

RSSAF's other fundraising activites include hosting a series of popular social events throughout the year. Some of these events have included the annual Rhodes Charity Auction, a Wine and Jazz Evening, and our annual Summer Garden Party. These events have become an integral part of the social calendar of Rhodes House.

The 'forum' side of RSSAF is a priority of the organisation's activities. RSSAF hosts a range of public discussions to increase awareness about issues affecting sub-Saharan Africa, and to generate discussion about the historical origins of the Rhodes Scholarship. These include the Annual Rhodes Debate, guest lectures, and student panel seminars.

In the past RSSAF has also hosted the annual Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture. The lecture commemorates the life of Bram Fisher, a former Rhodes Scholar, who fought against the injustice of apartheid rule in South Africa. Speakers in previous years have included Mr Tito Mboweni, Governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, Mr Justice Albie Sachs, retired Constitutional Court of South Africa judge, and the most Reverend Trevor Huddleston.