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\u201cI\u2019m strong willed, independent, and deeply passionate about making a difference. I believe in doing things right, and give 100 per cent\u00a0to every project I commit myself to. For years I worked and thrived in marketing (in spite of a BCom Law degree), making other people rich, so at 58, when I\u2019d had enough and my daughter Jessica was well-settled in her own life, I retired to fulfil my lifelong dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heather, who is Hindu by faith and believes that death is a release, trained as a palliative carer at Highway Hospice,\u00a0 where she worked in the wards three times a week until Covid forced the hospital to close its doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a travesty! But, there\u2019s a reason for everything, and I felt my purpose was to throw myself full time into Making a Difference (MAD) which was founded six years ago, but never quite got the attention it needed because I was juggling so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
What began as a monthly meeting for Summerveld staff, police, security companies, health care workers, St John (for eye testing), specialists in substance abuse, and Capitec to assist with opening accounts to protect staff earnings, has grown exponentially, and truly changed the lives of many. MAD has become Heather\u2019s absolute passion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve grown from hosting dressage shows for grooms and sponsoring staff self-defence courses to focussing on the sustainable upliftment of residents from villages around Summerveld like Bux Farm, Cliffdale, Mholokhole and Shongweni Dam.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working closely with community leaders who guide and assist to ensure acceptance by these communities, MAD has been a catalyst for feeding schemes, early childhood development through cr\u00e8che upliftment, dog inoculation, distributing sanitary pads, mother and baby support, sewing and beading groups, vegetable tunnel installations, self-help projects and more, all of which is facilitated by amazing donors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough riots and floods we\u2019ve pushed ourselves to be present, to offer comfort through compassion and nourishment, to pave the way for a brighter future through education, to bring hope to those in despair,\u201d says Heather adding that following the floods, they helped rebuild two cr\u00e8ches, a community centre and more than 20 homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding materials were delivered and transported by hand over rivers and washed away bridges, with\u00a0a human chain. The community assisted by providing shelter to families, and this was backed by the donation of food, blankets, household goods and clothes for people who had literally lost everything. It\u2019s initiatives like these, and the love I get from the little ones who come running to greet me, that keep me going. I live for these encounters because they bring so much joy, and humility, and the people are so grateful.<\/p>\n Working with the aged, cr\u00e8ches, schools, mums and babies, orphanages and cerebral palsy homes, Heather says MAD tends to operate mainly with physical items that are donated – clothes, linen, towels, blankets, household and kitchen goods, dogs bowls, toys, books, musical instruments, sewing machines and furniture, human and dog food, baby and adult nappies. While funds are always necessary for ad hoc expenses, volunteers are crucial.<\/p>\n \u201cMAD has grown too big for me to run effectively. Anyone with a passion for community work or with a skill is so welcome. My friend is starting up a new sewing project in Embo. MAD has provided the machines, cotton and fabric, and she is teaching unemployed women to sew. We need gardeners to start up vegetable tunnels, and educate people on how to sow, care and\u00a0harvest. Extra hands are always needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Of all the incredible things that have come out of MAD, Heather beams the most when she talks about her choir \u2013 a 100-strong chorus, made up of kids of all ages with a natural talent for song, rhythm and dance.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo years ago Brian Lapin, a special family friend who happens to be a founding member of the Black Eyed Peas and a partner in the American music production company, Transcenders, sent me 18 recorders and three music books. His message was to uplift through music.\u201d<\/p>\n Heather chose Zikwanele House of Hope in the Shongweni Dam area to start a band and choir. It\u2019s a registered NPO run by an amazing woman and key partner of MAD, Thembalishe Mngcwango. Armed with their new music equipment and guides, Heather and Thembalishe coaxed as many children as they could into one room, with promises of sandwiches and juice after, to try their hand in the choir.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found an amazing recorder teacher, Nonnie Ndira, who has helped us teach the children to read music, play the recorders, sing and dance and they have embraced it all from the get go.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on this success, Futures in Tune (FIT) was formed, backed by the Transcenders, with sister choirs in Los Angeles and now Mumbai in India. They all follow a common syllabus and share songs, communicating via video links. FIT sponsors the teacher\u2019s fees.<\/p>\n \u201cMAD had to fundraise to buy an inverter and TV in order to communicate, but the progress has been phenomenal. Our choir has grown from 30 members to 100, and the talent is astonishing. The children can now sing Hindu songs and the Mumbai choir has learnt to sing in Zulu. The University of KZN, through its UKUSA Performing Arts Programme, has provided a fabulous singing teacher and we are getting better and better,\u201d says Heather who boasts proudly that because of its sizeable growth, the choir now gathers at Egcekeni Primary, a local school also supported, through learner upliftment and family food distribution, by MAD.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then there was the choir\u2019s first public appearance at Olivanders Estate, where they performed for international equestrian instructors. For many, it was a first trip outside of their village. The excitement of travelling in combis, with their little food packs, was palpable. Parents contributed to making skirts and the choir lifted the roof. \u00a0It was such a proud moment and the children couldn\u2019t believe the applause. I just cried. I\u2019m sure we can all agree that qualifies as upliftment through music!\u201d<\/p>\n When she\u2019s not roaming local villages as a glorified delivery girl, dressed in her best with a hat, or meeting with ward officials and her network of dedicated people, Heather is a doting grandmother to her four-year-old grandson, Frederick, and enjoys reading, cooking, gardening, sitting on the stoep with her dogs, enjoying the peace of Rosehill Stables, and riding her steed.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving osteoporosis, I am a bit circumspect and pieperig. I cannot afford to break any more bones, so I only ride my horse.\u00a0Since gardening is a real passion of mine, I\u2019ve started landscaping to raise funds for MAD. I also collect silver, and adore polishing my treasures. And let\u2019s not forget my annual adventures in India with a few of my dearest friends. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I love how I am surrounded by such rural suburbia at home. It\u2019s the charm despite everything in our country, and something many of us take for granted but, India is in my blood. It\u2019s my soul home. Mum was born and bred there, so I return for the connection, for its progression that still retains old charm and beauty. It\u2019s the most amazing place and a much needed escape from the world.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/highway-berea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2024\/04\/DSC_0312-Edit-400x267.jpg\")