The Beginning of the Organisation

The need for a Christian HIV/AIDS service was identified a few years ago, when congregations of various churches overwhelmed pastor Christo Greyling, an HIV-positive ordained minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, with requests for assistance to become involved in the field.

Within a short period of time, various church groups verbalised the need for a centralized information and resource service, where they would also have access to training and support. At the same time, the Huguenot College of the Dutch Reformed Church expressed the desire to be involved in the HIV/AIDS field in a unique way, and provided office space and infrastructure for the Christian AIDS Bureau. A service plan was developed and, with financial support from the General Youth Commission of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Christian AIDS Bureau was launched in 2001.  

Mrs Logy Murray was appointed as Manager and started working for CABSA in July 2001. For the greater period of the first two years Logy was the only employee of CABSA. She played an enormous role in shaping the administration of CABSA, building its stature through networking and delivering services and developing the Churches, Channels of Hope mobilization model as the flagship of CABSA’s training.

Logy left CABSA the end of January 2005 to become the Africa Advisor HIV/AIDS & Church Partnerships for World Vision Africa Region. In the short period of three and a half years Logy developed CABSA from a dream to a reality as an organization that plays a significant role amongst churches in the AIDS field.  

Logy and Christo now both work for WorldVision, where they are actively involved with the Churches Channels of Hope programme - At this stage (June 2011) Christo is Director: HIV and Infectious Diseases, World Vision International, while Logy is Global Advisor: Faith Partnerships on HIV and Health.  They both remain valued friends of CABSA, and Logy is still a CABSA Board memeber.

Nelis du Toit.

Director until 30/6/2011

Nelis was involved in CABSA as a Management Board member from its establishment in 2001. At that time he was a full time minister of a URCSA congregation.

His involvement increased to the point where he started working full time at CABSA in July 2003.   He led the organisation as manager from 2005 and later as director until the end of June 2011. 

He wrote as follows:

"I am deeply thankful for the eight years that God has given me the opportunity to serve his Kingdom in and through CABSA. The exposure and challenges of this vocation often took me out of my comfort zones, but they have always enriched me. I have grown in ways I could not have imagined in 2003."