Success Stories
Heartbreak to Heartbeat
Orphan Assisted to Support Younger Brother and Sister
Frans’s heart broke when his mother died in 2002. He was barely 13 years old. His sister, Nthabaseng, was 8, and brother, Lebo, only 3 years old.
Frans and his siblings moved in with their grandmother, relying on the little money his granny earned selling candy to passersby.
Tables have turned. Frans saw a poster last year describing the HEARTBEAT program in his town. USAID and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) support the project to help orphans and other defenseless children. Frans contacted the staff. Child care worker, Sophie, began immediately helping Frans and his family.
Sophie and granny were proud as Frans graduated from high school last year. He worked hard under Sophie’s guidance at HEARTBEAT’s modest after-school care premises outside the school his little brother and sister attend.
Nthabaseng and Lebo join their big brother at HEARTBEAT when school ends. They get homework coaching, nourishing meals and support to cope when they are sad. They learn how to stay healthy and prevent AIDS through workshops, camps and puppet shows.
Frans, now age 18, grows and sells spinach and cabbage from a field behind HEARTBEAT’s building. “HEARTBEAT has changed my life,” smiled Frans. “It’s amazing I can earn money since my granny no longer works.” He is relieved to be able to support his sister and brother. ”I wipe their tears away when they miss our mother;” he described. “I’m there for them.”
Who is there for Frans? Beyond his grandmother’s love, Sophie still supports her protégé whenever he needs it, giving HEARTBEAT’s help to heal a once-hurting boy.
HEARTBEAT strives to equip 6000 orphans and other children at risk to improve their lives within their communities. Frans is living proof. The orphan is becoming a young man, proud to earn an honest living at HEARTBEAT where his agriculture skills support his surviving family members.