Zisize began in 1999 as a single project (a Teachers’ Resource Centre) in Ingwavuma, KwaZuluNatal, South Africa. Zisize - The Heaton Lee Memorial Trust was registered as a UK charity in 2001 to gather funds to ensure the continued existence of that project. Its broader aims were to promote and advance educational standards and alleviate poverty in rural areas of South Africa in general but more particularly in KwaZuluNatal. To date it has concentrated on the Ingwavuma District, one of the poorest areas of the country, currently (2005) designated a Disaster Area.It has directed funds through Zisize (Ingwavuma) Educational Trust, its sister charity in South Africa since its registration in 2003.

Zisize means 'help yourself'. This Zulu word was chosen as it is a true reflection of the charity's aims and ethos. It encourages those who use the organisation to no longer be part of the problems that face this impoverished community, but rather to be part of the solution towards a brighter future.

The charity is named in the memory of the late Heaton Lee, a South African who loved his country but hated the inequalities. He had an active social and political conscience which led him to work for the rights of workers first in South Africa and later in the UK. His influence on his daughter Niki, who is the driving force behind the charity, led her to work with the disadvantaged in South Africa after the demise of Apartheid, having lived all her life previously in Wales.

Zisize supports those who have already made efforts to help themselves like the community of Majwayiza; teachers at Mpontshini, Lundini, Mgedula, Okhayeni, Manyiseni and Ekuhlehleni Primary schools, who have shown care for their pupils over and above their teaching role. It also supports child headed households where children have sought work to survive and children who have been abused, abandoned, orphaned or are too poor to access education without help. Zisize Children and Teachers' Centre, which is the development of our first project, is open to all and is a beacon of hope for children and young people in Ingwavuma.

Zisize believes that “it is better to light a candle than to complain about the dark” and encourages volunteers and supporters to do whatever they can, rather than do nothing because the problems seem too big. It encourages people enduring difficult circumstances, to believe that they can effect positive change with a little help. This may be by Zisize matching their contribution (whether that be labour, effort or ingenuity) with the finance required to purchase materials or training or by offering incentives to reward efforts towards raising standards in schools (e.g. Learning is Fun Competition). Children are encouraged to believe that they can not only have ambition but that they can also achieve that ambition. Its aim at all times is to provide support which will result in a brighter future for the children of the New South Africa.

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