Have the hope to heal

SANDTON – The Hope to Heal Foundation would like to encourage the community to get involved and collaborate with the foundation so that it is able to extend its reach.

Seema Naidoo continues to encourage the community to support the Hope to Heal Foundation. Photo: Supplied

The Hope to Heal foundation hopes to extend its helping hand into the community.

The foundation is aimed at liberating women and children from circumstances of abuse and violence. This is done through quality, compassionate, and non-judgmental services that fosters self-respect and independence.

According to founder and human rights activist Seema Naidoo, her passion for helping others comes from her personal life experiences. “I faced a number of major challenges, one was that I had to undergo intense medical treatment for three and a half years and I almost lost my life. Also during this period I took a leap of faith and filed for divorce because of abuse,” she said.

Naidoo decided that once she overcame these challenges, she would do everything in her power to give back and help those in need.

“Through the Hope to Heal Foundation I am able to do so much more with the projects and programs that we run. I just wanted to give people that hope as well, the hope that they can overcome their current circumstances.”

Even though the foundation was only registered in 2018, it has unofficially been operating for over 20 years now. “In 2018, after I stopped my chemotherapy, I met Princess Charlene of Monaco and I shared an idea for a project with her. She was so blown away that it encouraged me to register the foundation.”

Today the foundation has helped dozens of women and children through its awareness workshops, counselling, outreach programs and team building.

She added that for the foundation community support is very important and it can be improved. “The support from the community [financial and voluntary] is quite a big challenge for us. I currently fund everything myself and it can be hard because when people call you for food you simply cannot turn your back on them.”

Naidoo hopes to extend the foundation’s reach by instituting centrally focused community support centres on a nationwide scale. “We currently have four support centres working 24/7 to support as many people and areas as we can.”

She added that a support centre such as this so important because there is an abundance of information, helplines and call centres available which may intimidate or overwhelm people. “They may feel as though their call for help will go unanswered. We need to change that.”

Naidoo concluded, “[The] Hope to Heal Foundation is one that is built on hope, love and life and we stand strongly on our motto – women and children have the right to freedom of life.”

Interested in making a donation or volunteering your time? Contact Seema Naidoo on 078 906 7461 or visit www.hopetoheal.org.za

Original article Sandton Chronicle