Four years ago, BOND Events president, Oliver Needs, heard about the efforts of one woman in Lesotho, a south African country, who was caring for orphans in her home.

Outside of orphanage

Many, many children in Lesotho have been orphaned because of the AIDS epidemic, and this amazing woman began to feed, clothe, and educate them.

African Orphans - AIDS Epidemic

God’s Love Centre orphanage was born and has continued to grow from very humble roots.

God's Love Centre sign

Touched by the heart and hard work of this one woman, kindly taking in children who had no other options, Oliver sent over funds to contribute towards adding a kitchen, a bathroom, and a school room to the orphanage.  Additionally, Oliver’s and BOND’s financial support has allowed the children to farm chickens for eggs, which they can sell as a step toward their own financial self-sufficiency.

BOND Events formalized its social responsibility program through the launch of rise.

Aware that much more needs to be done, rise was launched to continue the development of God’s Love Centre and eventually support other social enterprises throughout sub-saharan Africa.

Based on the BOND ethos that good business happens because of effective relationships with a mixture of professional understanding, mutual gain and a little bit of social fun, rise will bring the right people together to transform communities.  rise‘s efforts will support the development of sustainable skills, the sharing of knowledge and collaboration that will result in practical building solutions.

Following rise‘s launch, more work will be done in support of God’s Love Centre orphanage in Lesotho.  So that children no longer have to share mattresses in one room, this first project will deliver a building designed, built and, in the long term, maintained by the local community.

Girls dorm room sleeping on floor

Oliver and the rest of the BOND Events team is excited to share the official launch of rise, saying:

Having seen the difference that our giving has made, including sending ten of these youngsters to school, I know that so much more can be done by pulling together the fantastic brains that we work with. BOND Events is about people with a firm focus on business relationships. rise is also about people – but about those of us that can doing the right thing, and sharing what we have with those that through no fault of their own face challenges beyond our experiences.

After its first project in Lesotho, rise will continue to bring transformation to developing countries where similiar needs have been identified.