The Heart of Healing wishes to extend its heartfelt congratulations to Jordan kondi Kondi who has recently been appointed as a fellow for the 2009 LGT bank fellowship program.

On Friday, 17 October 2008, Turffontein Primary harvested approximately 4000 leaves of spinach from one of the three FoodTents erected in mid September. Mrs Rigney, prinicpal of Turrfontein Primary, was completely blown away by the amount and stated that. We didn't know what to do with all of the spinach'.

We trust that you are all in high spirits despite the extended winter!
Wines with Heart has had a jam packed two months- filled with fun, friends, festivals and fine wine.This month we would like to pay our respects to KWV, our headline sponsor. The company has been involved with Wines with Heart since 2006 and their support is a powerful driving force behind the brand's success. KWV also invited Wines with Heart to join them during the Cultivaria festival in Paarl at the end of September and generously donated the funds raised at the wine stall to the Trust.
We also welcome South Africa's coolest vineyard site to our stable. Thank you Iona Vineyards!

On 30th November, 2008, Concerts for a Cause is making its comeback and this year it is going to be bigger and better than ever!

The event will be held in the beautiful surroundings of The Range in the heart of Tokai, with its majestic mountain surrounds, flanked by lush vineyards and forests. It is the ideal concert venue, being large enough to accommodate the crowds, but retaining an intimate feel.

October 24th at 10am witnessed the opening of the first ever Khayelitsha Festival, and the first event of it's kind in a township of Cape Town. After 6 months of challenging organization, the Heart event managers, Claire Alexander, Clyde Finlayson and Seton Bailey finally delivered the event, much to the anticipation of local residents and stakeholders.

Charity Wines is delivering raffle tickets to staff teams that are ready to enjoy good wine and make a difference to worthy causes. Inside each envelope are 10 raffle tickets. Each ticket is worth R25. Buy 1 for yourself and get 9 friends or colleagues to join in the fun.  As the champion of this cause, tear each ticket along the perforated line and retain the small slip.  Give the other half to the participant. Once you've collected R250 gather your friends together and draw a winner.

July was a very busy month filled with goodness and fun. First, we welcomed Yonder Hill to Wines with Heart stable of vineyards offering fine wines to the donor pool.

"Mama Rosey" Makosa is a pillar in the Philippi community and, at 58 years old, she would be "The Department of Social Services", if Philippi had one. From her corrugated shack in the impoverished informal settlement, she empowers the local unemployed women of all ages in skills that can earn them income (sewing, bead work and knitting) as her contribution to lowering crime. After the training she searches for companies that will employ these women as quickly as possible.

On the 10th of August at midday the "Doing It For Africa" (DIFA) team rolled into London's Trafalgar Square, finishing their amazing Cape Town to London expedition!

On 23 August 2008 more than 200 volunteers descended on Turffontein Primary in Johannesburg South to assist with the building of three FoodTents.

We are only 5 weeks away from opening the brand new Khayelitsha Festival with a bang! October 24-26th witnesses the first multi-content and culture festival celebrated in the township as part of Khayelitsha's 25th anniversary as a recognized suburb.

Heart is proud to announce that we will open up our first sponsor store, passionately named Heart, on 1 November 2008.

When Simpiwe from Baphumelele orphanage contacted us in connection with needed supplies for their new information centre, we were more than willing to help out.

There used to be a time when finding adequate vehicles for transporting donated goods was a real problem for us. Bakkies were very scarce and finding a truck with a driver, to support us with bigger donations, was almost impossible. Luckily, for the last two years, we have been blessed with the ongoing support of Super Rent.

The OR Tambo Complex in Khayelitsha recently hosted the Media launch of the Khayelitsha Festival, scheduled to take place on the 24-26th of October 2008. The festival marks Khayelitsha's 25th anniversary, and is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the community's wealth of talent in arts, culture, youth and entrepreneurship.

You might have noticed from previous newsletters that The Heart of Healing receives a lot of support from our friends at Super Rent. Their constant supply of bakkies and trucks has been at the forefront in helping us bring positive change wherever we go and this month was no different.

On the 28th of May, Mkhanyiseli Primary School in Nyanga, Cape Town received their very first FoodTent.

My first week at the Heart of Healing was an experience in itself. I have worked for brilliant companies in Scotland, which is where I am from, but none compare to the friendliness, care, dedication and team ethos that oozes from every staff member, ultimately creating a unique, exciting and thought-provoking company.

 Do you still have funds in your CSI budget for 2007?  Are you planning your social investments for 2008?  If so, take a quick look at some of the things we accomplished this year and I'm sure you'll agree our white-knuckle, start up NGO is worth serious consideration.

Hi my name is Megan, I am Canadian-born but have lived half my life in the States, so I have called Toronto, Chicago, and Boston home.  I graduated from university in June with a degree in Postcolonial Theory and History and Literature of sub-Saharan Africa, with minors in South Asia and Political Science.  I was awarded a Trustman Fellowship to spend a year on purposeful travel; I have decided to focus my energies on establishing a project called Afri-cam and making it a success!!