Dearest UWA Sisterhood Ladies

The purpose of this communication is twofold.

Firstly, to tip my hat in honour of my committee members and all our UWA Sisterhood who have gone out of their way to make my life as President just that much easier. For UWA to function properly really does need a whole committee. If for any reason the chain of support is broken it compromises the outcome of all our projects. It has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone – what with COVID, protests, retrenchments, unemployment, homeschooling, hunger, and money issues affecting our very own members.

It has been such an honour and a privilege during this time to rub shoulders with the women in this sisterhood. Ladies who were able to knuckle down when all odds were against us. Ladies our beanie challenge was fantastic – we said can we do 1000 in a month – and we got 1662 – we also got blankets, jerseys, and more.

Then we asked for 2nd hand clothes, and they just kept coming. We were doing deliveries every week to Open Door. Thanks to Bev, Robyn, and Helene we had a raffle at Granny Griffs – we made R4000 for Reach for Recovery – our recent raffle we made R1000 for St Martins Home. A huge thank you to Tracey Kloekie from Hearts & Hands for a very successful feeding scheme – we were able with their help to feed +/- 2500 people.

We were able to give Durban SPCA R3000 through the course of this year. We were also able to get 25 school backpacks for Ntuzuma School run by Bishop Raphael after their classroom was burnt during the protests. Our last breakfast we collected Christmas gifts for children in the Malvern Home.

For fear I am omitting any other donations, I would like to sincerely thank all those who actively helped in the collections and distributions of the above-donated goods. It must of course be remembered that all of this happened amidst a series of Covid/lockdowns etc as I said before. I would like to thank Esther who on numerous occasions guided me in my presidency wherever I became a little lost. Understanding the workings of such a complex undertaking can be a little daunting.

A total “hats off” to our founding member Helene Griffiths. Helene, you have supported me in all the decisions I have made, guided me when necessary and generally made my life so much easier. This unity between us is something I will cherish forever and never forget. Thank you, Helene. The second reason for tipping my hat in honour of all you beautiful ladies in our sisterhood is to greet you farewell. As you have no doubt heard I am moving from Durban to live in Marloth Park, Komatipoort from the end of January to start a new chapter in the bush with my hubby. As a member of UWA since 2013, I will follow with great interest. My intention is to visit often. I will also need retail therapy and my visits will include a visit to Bev, etc for TLC.

My business will now be run from my daughter’s office and will carry on as before via Zoom meetings now.          

I would like to wish all of you a fabulous festive holiday and everything of the best for 2022 – I am not saying goodbye just Au revoir till we meet again. I will miss you all big time. What I take with me through all of this is “There are friends in life, and there are friends for life.”

I would like to apologise for not doing this newsletter on camera like I normally do. Unfortunately, I have contracted Covid and am not feeling well enough for a camera. Thanks for the understanding.