There is a small corner of Africa that holds a piece of my heart. It is the Ufafa Valley of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which is home to Woza Moya Project, a non-profit organization that has, for the past twenty years, been working in difficult circumstances, to improve the lives of people who have been infected by HIV and AIDS and poverty. Their work focuses in particular on the orphaned children and their caregivers. Visiting Woza Moya and meeting the people and learning more about the circumstances in which they live, is one of my highlights of my annual Soul Safari. I have great admiration for the way the leadership of Woza Moya empowers the people they serve through teaching them different ways to work towards sustainability.

If you have five minutes, let me introduce you to Woza Moya in this video.

At the end of this video you will see one of the delightful sock monkeys that the crafters of Woza Moya create. The crafters are all local women who have been identified by the Community Care Givers as being in urgent need of income. Woza Moya provides the training and support to enable these women to create a number of beautiful craft projects. Every year I visit, I bring back two suitcases full of their craft items (I have yet to find a cost-effective way of having their crafts shipped to me) and use them to raise funds for Woza Moya at my in-person events. As this is not possible this year due to in-person events having been cancelled, I am offering their sock monkeys online as a fundraiser, as circumstances at Woza Moya have become dire as a result of the pandemic closures in South Africa.

Each monkey is unique and has its own character!

If you would like to support Woza Moya please make a donation directly to Woza Moya here on their website or to South Coast Foundation, a US-based non-profit that provides support to Woza Moya in South Africa by sending 100% of every dollar you contribute (make sure to add “For Woza Moya” in the Message section of the form).

Then forward me a copy of your receipt, let me have your mailing address and any preference for color in the monkeys and I will mail the sock monkeys to you.

Suggested donation to Woza Moya or South Coast Foundation:

• One monkey $24

• Two monkeys $40

• Three monkeys $55

• Four monkeys $70

You can read more about the challenges faced by children in South Africa on the South Coast Foundation website.

I recognize that we all have different issues that speak to our hearts, and that is where we choose to focus our resources. Mine happens to be Woza Moya. Thank you for letting me share them with you.

Contact me if you have any questions.