SPAR Women’s Challenge shows gratitude with #IamGrateful campaign
The Spar womens challenge's theme for 2016 is all about being grateful.
“What if you woke up today only with the things you were grateful for yesterday?”
This is the question that SPAR wants every person taking part in the 2016 race to ask themselves. It is an encouragement to count our blessings and to recognise how much we all have to be grateful for.
In recognition of the fact that true gratitude can only be recognised when we gain some perspective on our lives, SPAR helped to encourage and support three special individuals who had seemly lost everything – through forces beyond their control – but who were able to rise above the challenges that life had thrown at them. They epitomise SPAR’s gratitude campaign as they have allowed their gratitude for life to become bigger than the stories of what happened to them. They were honoured at the official race launch that took place on 8 June in Pretoria and at the event they each shared what they were now most grateful for.
Helga Barkhuizen, aged 31, who lost her leg in a car accident two years ago says that she now realises that nothing is promised or owed.
“Your health, wealth, faith or assets are not guaranteed. That is why we should all celebrate life. I am grateful to be able to celebrate another day – for waking up and being able to share this with others,” said Barkhuizen.
Lizelle Van Zyl was diagnosed with Guillian-Barré syndrome last year at age 17 after her body suddenly went numb one day.
“When I got sick SPAR came in with a lot of support,” said Izelle. “They also made a big deal of the people who walked for my cause in last year’s race. The fact that SPAR was there for me and gave me so much love and support drastically shortened my recovery time and they gave me a lot of hope that I was going to get through this.”
Today, Izelle said, she can walk and almost run – and she is back at school. “Gratitude is something that is very important in my life and I only recently learned the greater definition of it. I am grateful for the fact that I can breathe and that I have people around me who love me and support me and I am grateful for the family that I have in SPAR.”
JG Oosthuizen, age 18, was tragically paralysed from the shoulders down after a freak accident that happened while he was swimming with friends on holiday in Mossel Bay.
“The involvement of SPAR in my journey – and through them, the Jacaranda Good Morning Angels – and their support meant a lot to me and made me believe that there is still hope in believing in other people for help,” JG said.
“I have learnt to appreciate what I have after going from having everything and not appreciating it enough. I now know what it feels like to lose everything. To me, gratitude is appreciating the friends and family who care for you each day and never losing their love,” he concluded.
Support the SPAR Women’s Challenge gratitude campaign by liking the SPAR Women’s Challenge Pretoria Facebook page, following @SPARladiespta on Twitter and posting with the hashtag #IamGrateful. Visit www.sparladiespta.co.za for more information on this year’s race.
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