28th October 2008 marked the centenary of the birth of Harry Oppenheimer and fifty years of operation of the OMT. The Trust held a number of events to honour the occasion including a concert at Regina Mundi Church, Soweto on 31st August and a visit by Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil from 1995 to 2002 and author of the Plan Real, to deliver the first Harry Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture at the Brenthurst Library. In addition, the Trustees and members of the Oppenheimer family distributed “special grants” to some twenty-five PBOs, schools and higher education institutions in recognition of their important contributions to the betterment of South African society.
* All images courtesy of Elaine Banister Photography.