What We Do
We focus on vulnerable families, young mothers, child and youth-headed households, and unemployed youth and adults in desperate need of services.
As of April 4th, 2024, Opening Doors is an officially registered non-profit organisation in South Africa. However, over the past 15 years, Opening Doors has been a charitable initiative our founder, Claire Revell, ran alongside her UK software development company, Intellek. As well as providing free access to online learning to schools and other NPOs, every software subscription sale Intellek makes, a percentage goes to funding children through education.
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Claire also regularly visited and volunteered in the Inchanga and Hammersdale communities, and surrounding areas of Durban. Raising funds before her visits, hauling over large suitcases full of clothing and other much-needed items. While there, she would be out in the community doing anything she could to help.
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AND....
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In September 2024, our founder and her family made the move and emigrated from the UK, to South Africa. While continuing with the existing initiatives below, we have a plethora of new projects in store.​ Watch this space!
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Current Programs Up and Running
Back to School
Children are often unsupported and miss school for lack of basics. There are no fees for the schools in our outreach areas, however the children must have a school uniform, shoes, school bag and stationary to attend which we provide. In some cases we also need to cover travel costs. ​​
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Children sponsored so far...
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104
Free Skills Development
In partnership with Intellek, we've created a digital skills development program and provide 100's of eLearning courses to schools and NFPs/NGOs completely FREE!
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They gain practical skills, confidence, and improved access to employment or entrepreneurship pathways.
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​Enrolled so far...
165
Young Mums & Baby
​We provide ‘New Mum Boxes’ which include baby essentials such as clothing, bottles, nappies etc for new mums needing a helping start.
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Young Mums, aged 14 - 18, enrolled so far...
28
Community Sports
Jay and Aaron are avid sports fans! They coach football on a weekly basis, to promote positive social behaviour, the importance of fitness, teamwork, a sense of belonging and discipline, and reduce risk behaviours (such as substance abuse or dropping out).
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Boys regularly attending...
36
Employment Readiness
Unemployment is high in South Africa, and to help reduce this, we offer resume writing workshops and mock interviews to help community members improve their job prospects.
Grant and ID Assistance
Applying for a new birth certificate and a grant can be challenging. In light of this, we help with obtaining the supporting documents and making the application itself.
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In addition, many people cannot get to Home Affairs so we provide transport to those in Inchanga, Hammersdale, and surrounding communities, for those who need to travel to Home Affairs for identification purposes, etc.
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Learning should be considered not only as a tool for eradicating poverty but also as an opportunity to ignite a revolution for future progress.- Claire Revell