About us
Canon Collins Trust was founded in 1981 as the education arm of the ‘Defence and Aid Fund’. The Fund, set up in the 1960s by anti-apartheid activist Canon Collins and banned under apartheid, paid for legal costs and provided welfare support for individuals and families of those accused of political offences including treason by the South African regime. As the educational arm, Canon Collins Trust assisted South African and Namibian political refugees to gain education in the UK, which was denied them under the apartheid system.
In 1990, following the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners and the unbanning of anti-apartheid organisations, Canon Collins Trust developed a scholarship programme in South Africa, mainly at Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs). Individual black students were supported mostly on science and education courses at a range of universities and technikons. At the same time the study programme in the United Kingdom was continued.
In 1999 the Trust expanded its remit and begun supporting small educationally focused projects, and students from Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi as well as South Africa and Namibia. The goal of this new programme was to build the skills and knowledge of Africa's future leaders in a wide range of fields which are vital to tackle poverty and promote social justice, including medicine, education, food security, water technology and human rights. This remains the focus of the Trust, and to date we have provided educational opportunities to over 2000 inspirational young leaders.
Map of Southern Africa showing where the Trust works
