We Heart Coffee

Martha has been a real busy body the past few days. At one stage I thought she’d gone missing. But it turns out she’d gone on her own little mission. Buying plastic packets and catching trains. She was also invited on a two day workshop through The Legends programme in Johannesburg – but sadly could only make day two as the Taxis in Pretoria went on strike (unannounced) on day one. I felt really bad as it’s so difficult having to get to the city from Makapanstad (we take it for granted how luck we are) – her journey stared at 4.30am – and then not being able to reach her destination was really disappointing as she was so excited to go. But day two clearly made up for all of that as she sounded overjoyed about everything she learnt and all the people she met – I heard about the kebabs and the highlight of all highlights, that she was sitting next to the coffee machine (‘it was like free petrol!’). Oh how I laughed. I do love the way that Martha always sees the glass (or the cup in her case) as half full.

Speaking of which, there’s something really special happening in May – which is an initiative that couldn’t be closer to Martha’s heart (her most treasured possession is a coffee cup I gave her when I was 10, making it 24 years old!). Her favourite thing in the world is a cup of coffee! So when she heard that Doppio Zero would be selling Heartfelt Cappuccinos throughout the month of May and donating R2 per coffee to the project – how amazing is that – you can just imagine how excited she was. Well excited probably doesn’t even begin to explain it! And… yes, there’s more. On the 9th of May, for Mother’s Day, they will be giving mom a very special little something made by the Heartfelt ladies (but I’m not going to spoil the surprise). So you’ll have to take mom there to find out how they'll be spoiling her.

Oh heavens, May is going to be a very special month indeed - with so much love to go around – our cup in definitely brimming over!

The Lunchbox Fund

Last month we teamed up with The Lunchbox Fund to create little bespoke fridge magnets to help raise money for hungry little tummies. An initiative run by a very special South African Topaz Page-Green, who lives in New York. It was inspiring to see how many celebrities were involved in suppoting this initiative and we felt really priviliged to be asked to design their little fridge magnets. In Makapanstad, as you know, hungry little tummies are very close to our hearts. Moshilo is just one of the little boys we try support, but there are so many others in the same situation. The Lunchbox Fund targets the poorest children and schools and provides them with nutritional meals. Typically the children are fed peanut butter and/or jam sandwiches on whole wheat bread with a piece of fresh fruit daily. For some of these children it may be their only meal of the day. You too can support this wonderful initiative. Simply donate today and fill a little tummy with hope (and the special thing is, that by donating to The Lunchbox Fund, when you receive your special Heartfelt Fridge Magnet, you'll be helping us fill little tummies too by helping us support the moms in our community aka the special Heartfelt Ladies. Ahhh. . . there is so much love to go around.

Ignorance is Bliss

Martha and I had a good chat this morning about Julius Malema. We both agreed that he’s a bit of a tit. We often debate about the political situation in South Africa and have done this for as long as I can remember. I have this vivid memory of the two of us lying in the lounge listening to Tracy Chapman on the record player, talking about how exciting it will be when Mandela gets released out of prison and how our lives will change. But, here we are almost 20 years later still talking politics and hoping life will change. Guess that's politics for you.

Through our talks I've realised that Martha possesses a very special quality. She is a true believer in good – she doesn’t see black or white – she sees what is best for the people and the country. I love her philosophies about everything and I can slowly see her views rubbing off on the Heartfelt ladies, especially the younger ones. This picture is actually of Martha showing me her ANC dance in the garden years ago, it does make me laugh.

We decided after our chat this morning not to listen to the news for a while. We’re not being ignorant about what’s going on, it’s a choice. Like you choose to be happy or you choose to be sad. We choose to live in our Heartfelt world. One that is full of hope. Viva Heartfelt! Viva positive change!

Meet Francie Finn

We wanted to introduce you to a very special lady, Francie Finn. She has been working behind the scenes at Heartfelt since 2007 and has been an instrumental person in the development and growth within the Project & Community. We met in September 2007 and have been talking ideas pretty much since then. Over the years Francie has also spent a lot of time helping us with our online and web development. Last year she came out to meet Martha and all the ladies and spent a night with Martha at her house in Makapanstad, where she got to experience Martha's living conditions i.e. no running water and bathroom/toilet facilities. Francie is currently in the process of developing ways of tackling some of the socio-economic issues that face the ladies at the project, like HIV/AIDS, to name but a few. If you would like ask Francie any questions about the Heartfelt community then please do not hesitate to contact her at francie@theheartfeltproject.com. She'll also be talking about Heartfelt issues on our Facebook Page as well as on our group pages. So make sure you become a fan and as they say... watch this face!

In Love and Light

Easter weekend is a very special time for Martha and the Heartfelt ladies. At about 6am on Easter Sunday they all go down to the graveyard with their families, where their loved ones are buried. Martha goes there to be with Emanuel and her parents. Everyone takes candles and the whole place is lit up and filled with life. It’s their way to identifying with Jesus Christ’s victory over death. His resurrection symbolizes the eternal life that is granted to all who believe in him. There is singing and praising and time to reflect on the renewal and rebirth that Easter brings.

I think it’s totally beautiful. To me it just shows the incredible faith and love they all have. Even through all the hardships they endure – their faith keeps them believing. I doubt that the children there will be thinking about ‘The Easter Bunny’ and who got the most Easter eggs (most of their little tummies will probably be rumbling), but what they will be thinking about is how, through Gods gracious love, they will never have to walk alone (in life and in death).

Wishing you a very happy Easter from all of us here at Heartfelt. May your weekend be filled with faith, love and light.