I am honored and still somewhat bewildered that I have been chosen to receive this honorary doctorate.

In the year 2000 Carol Hofmeyr and her husband, Justus, moved from Gauteng to East London, also buying as a weekend seaside cottage a derelict house in the small coastal village of Hamburg, midway between East London and Port Alfred.

DR CAROL Hofmeyr, founder of the Keiskamma Art Project, this weekend gave an account of shocking poverty in parts of the Eastern Cape, the desolation wrought by HIV/Aids and of dealing with an uncaring government and civil service.

A MEDICAL doctor who moved to a poor Eastern Cape backwater years ago and set up a community art project will receive an honorary degree from Rhodes University for her groundbreaking work fighting poverty and HIV/Aids.