Seeds of Hope

Sewing Sowing seeds of hope within an impoverished community in the picturesque landscape of the Valley of a Thousand Hills, clearly is a passion that comes naturally to a family who heads up the Heartstrings Community Project at the Crest Community Centre.

I was drawn back to this magical place of hope, tranquility, breathtaking views and the very best toasted sourdough sarmies.
The tea garden is run by the owners' two children who are equally dedicated and passionate about helping the community, and told us about some of their projects.

In addition to Pilgrims Rest Tea Garden, they sell a diverse range of pre-loved items, from books, vinyl records, homeware, clothing, and more. These items are generously donated by people from near and far, who are passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of the less fortunate. The proceeds from the tea garden and pre-loved sales is pumped straight back into their community projects.

One of my besties and I needed some time-out amid the madness that comes with the Christmas season.
What is it with everyone, that whatever needs doing, HAS to be done before Christmas day, or else before the clock strikes midnight on the last day of the year?

I'm a fine one to talk, as I used to belong to that same brigade!

I visited Pilgrims Rest at the beginning of the year with my man, who sadly left for greener pastures, I believe, and our two side-kicks, @artywink and her hubby, who was a childhood friend of my Arthur. How I miss our weekly jaunts!

At the time, we were enthralled to find this hidden gem with its breathtaking view of the Inanda Dam, as I shared with you in Heartstrings and a Blind Date with a Book and a View to Die For.

Little did I know then that before the year was over, nostalgia would be tugging at my heartstrings when I revisited this magical place, as my sweetheart would be gone.

The magic was not marred by my loss, in fact revisiting this place that gave us so much joy proved somewhat cathartic. It was very emotional especially as the owner's daughter remembered us well, as my hubby had left his phone behind. Remarkably, she tracked us down through artywink's grandson, whom she knew.

I was able to write a little prayer, and hang it on their Christmas tree.

My friend as a town planner often looks at land from aerial mapping, said she's sure this is the dam that looks like a dragon, and she was right; see how that section of the dam looks from Google Maps aerial photography.

^{Image from Google Maps}

I uploaded a short video my friend took showing the magnificent views all around, so take a look at the views of Inanda Dam from the tea garden, simply stunning!

The community centre has a wide range of outreach programs starting with a feeding scheme, providing meals and food parcels, but the most valuable of them all, is how Paula Thompson, mother of the two siblings who run the tea garden, has taught people skills to earn through beadwork with another project started a long while ago and is run from the Aids Centre. Note that Crest Community Centre is still a babe in comparison.
Woza Moya's success story is shared HERE

The Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust was established in 1991 offering testing and counselling to the local communities in Valley of a Thousand Hills outside Durban. Soon, Paula Thompson and her team realised the need for more income to sustain the project. Woza Moya was born, a business that went from a bucket of red ribbons to the R3.5-million enterprise it is today.
Woza Moya / Hillcrest Aids have exhibited at the Design Indaba Expo for a number of years, selling their famous small beaded dolls – known as the “Little Traveller” – and beaded jewellery. At the 2010 Design Indaba Expo, they launched their “Dreams of Africa” chair, inspired by their map of the same name, which was commissioned for the Moses Mabhida Soccer Stadium.

Paula is a lady with a big heart, and made time for the Random Acts of Kindness Day in February, showing a unique act of kindness.
They care for feral cats at the Aids Centre, neutering, spaying and clipping their ears, and of course feeding them, instead of passing them onto the SPCA, so they asked for donations of cat food, kind of pawing it forward, I would say;)

There are a couple of feral cats at the Crest Community Centre as well, this one is still very scrawny.

We left this special place with hearts and tummies full, and bags filled with preloved goods. I bought beautiful handcrafted soup bowls, and my friend overspent, buying paintings, vintage commemorative teaspoons, and all kinds of other really nice stuff that you will not find in any department store!

There was traffic up ahead when we drove out the centre - cattle grazing at the roadside!
It was a lovely sight, and a nice way to end this wonderful day!

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^{Artwork by @artywink}