Today I intoduce to you a uniquely talented and creative soul, Chloe. We crossed paths a few years ago and recently reconnected online. Read on as she shares some insight into her journey of self-discovery. Over to you, Chloe. Continue Reading
My name is Tholakele Antamu. I was born into a life, a country and a world that was not quite ready for me and I knew it from my very first moment of consciousness. I was born in a place I did not know, can not recognise and have not yet been back to. I was given the name Lindiwe, surnameless, mother and fatherless I lay waiting for my new life to find me.
The name Lindiwe, is the female name derived from the Zulu word ‘ukulinda’, which means ‘to wait’. My name is now Thola, (Tholakele) which means ‘to be found’, (the found one). This is the name I was given by my two white South African parents in early January of 1989. My name is my crown and I wear it with pride like a gold wreath upon my dark chocolate face. My name, Tholakele Antamu Catherine van Speyk Hulbert, tells my whole story. It tells a story of a powerful, stong, elegant woman who was found on the top of a high peak. No one knew how she got there or why she was there but people would always find themselves wanting and wishing that they could join her.
I am Thola Antamu.
Karen’s story is particularly special because she has experienced adoption in a way that most Heart Mamas have not – she was adopted into her own family as a child and has also chosen to grow her family through adoption. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Karen.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
Justin and I have been together since we were 19. We love the outdoors and the beach. We are in the process of moving to Nairobi for Justin’s work on a three year secondment. I am a school teacher but full time mom for now. We have two biological children, Jess and Matt and have adopted our third child, Ben. Continue Reading
Bridget is an amazing young lady who works as a freelance hair and make-up artist and I met her and her skills at a blogger event recently. We got chatting and next thing I know we were talking about my kids (I do this a lot) and Bridget told me that she was also adopted. It’s really amazing that we met like this. And so we hugged and became friends and I’ve asked Bridget to share her story with us as it is such a beautiful story of adoption and family and resilience and triumph. Thank you for sharing your story, Bridget!Continue Reading
Gaia is a qualified social worker working in child protection and adoption and today she chats to us about her own story of adoption and shares some advice for adoptive parents. I met Gaia during our screening process with Wandisa (our adoption agency in Somerset West) before we adopted Kira – it was one of those potentially awkward couple interviews where we had to chat about our relationship, parenting styles and discipline and answer probing questions. Well, it was only a little awkward. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Gaia. Continue Reading