Former Waltham Forest Thuso in South Africa trustee Jill Watkins died recently after a long illness. Jill was a dedicated and tireless trustee of WFTISA for 20 years and led the registration of our charity with the Charity Commission. She was central to establishing systems for communicating with sponsors and sending parcels to our partner schools in South Africa, and always made sure our accounts were in good shape.
Jill will be most fondly remembered by us, however, for the many wonderful, high-quality plants she grew in her beautiful garden for us to sell at our Sunday stall. We like to think of the many gardens around Walthamstow and beyond that are now enjoying the plants that Jill nurtured.
WFTISA is run entirely by volunteers and the very many hours of work that Jill gave to the charity helped improve the life chances of the young people and families in post-Apartheid South Africa that we have supported over the decades. We are so very grateful for all that she did for the charity.
We would like to send our condolences to Jill’s family, who have asked that donations be made in Jill’s memory to WFTISA. We will also be awarding a prize to a student at Thuto Lesedi school next academic year in Jill’s memory.
