First we must extend a heartfelt “Happy New Year!” to all of HFL’s ardent supporters and express our appreciation to all who have helped to make 2010 a most exciting and forward-thinking experience.
Because of your generous 2010 contributions, this year we were able to provide funding for a new roof for the Vhutshilo Mountain School addition as well as new roofing for the rondavel of a mother and her child who suffer from bronchial illnesses.
On October 1, 2010 the house keys were officially turned over to Freda who was the recipient of the HFL donation which helped to build her new house and allowed her to escape from a life of physical and sexual abuse. Masikhwa Tshilidzi, TVEP’s Access to Justice manager, graciously invited us to the ceremony and though we were unable to attend, we heard that HFL was given considerable credit and praise for the role we played in this life changing event. How proud our HFL donors must be to hear this happy news!
In November we were especially pleased to provide the funding which allowed a TVEP representative to accept an invitation to participate at the WHO/UNIFA conference in Bangkok, Thailand. This ‘invitation only’ meeting focused on universal access to female condoms and was considered quite significant to the TVEP organization since an estimated 650 South African women die each day from preventable AIDS. This meeting was an important human rights step for all South African women and for the recognition of TVEP on an international level.
2010 saw the addition of monthly sponsors for 7 Vhutshilo Mountain School children. Sponsorship provides a child with educational costs, school supplies, 2 nutritious meals per day, transport to and from school, clothing and medical support. We were especially happy to see that groups of friends/workers have begun to band together to support a needy child. In this particularly difficult economic time, a ‘group’ donation removes the burden of a monthly $50 fee from the shoulders of one donor and allows several friends to participate for the benefit of a common child.
We ended 2010 on a high note with the gracious donation of 30 precious dresses created and donated by Karen Callini and her 2 grandaughters, Julia and Sabrina. The local press featured this family on their front page as an example of heartfelt holiday giving. Hope for Limpopo’s optimistic expectation has always been that ‘givers’ would find some way to be a part of HFL and we would be bonded together in ‘giving’. We’ve always believed that most people want to help whether it is with a monetary donation, a kind word, an action, or simple support for what we do. We open our arms to everything. This was a perfect example of what we hope for…something small that grows. As a result of this article we now have several eager people who wish to join efforts in making ‘baggies with pockets’ for our underprivileged VMS boys. Please consider taking the time to view the article. The story is truly inspirational!
And how can we recap 2010 without mentioning our invitation to be recognized by Oprah as Inspirational Audience Guests on her last Oprah’s favorite things gift-giving show? The experience was both humbling and revolutionary. The event has catapulted us into uncharted waters but we continue to keep our HFL goals foremost in our minds. We’ll continue to reveal our strategy and plans for many of the gifts as we progress. Thank you to the many people who have congratulated us and we can only say, “Stay tuned!”
We’re quite excited to reveal that Verndale, a full-service digital agency out of Boston, has offered to help us revamp our website and introduce us to social networking skills allowing us to use our website to its full advantage. Watch for changes in 2011 and check out Verndale’s link which will soon be added to our Favorite Links page.
Speaking of our favorite links, we’ve recently added friend and award winning author Cristina Kessler’s link to our Favorite Links page. We are grateful for her support and friendship. Her children’s books about Africa have no equal!
In our final “Good-bye” to 2010 we must remind you that 99.96% of the money donated to HFL this year has gone straight to our South African charities. We expect to continue this tradition in 2011. Thank you All!
