Inspiring Women – Part 1: Answering the call to serve

As South Africa commemorates Women’s Month this August, the Northglen News brings you a five-part editorial, featuring inspirational women from the north Durban area. Women’s Month is a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on August 9, 1956, to protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. Prepare to be wowed with some inspirational stories from empowering women who want nothing more than to empower and uplift the communities they are surrounded by.

FOR Arianne Hayes-Hills, uplifting and empowering people comes naturally.

“It’s a calling,” said Hayes-Hills who is a pastor and the founder of The Seed Fund.
She started His Life Vineyard Church in Durban North in 2009 and, as part of the church’s outreach programme was to assist a poor community, The Seed Fund was born.

The Seed Fund not only assists the children in Malacca with their educational and nutritional needs, but they also run a series of programmes to help with the community’s healthcare, environment and infrastructure, community integration and more.

“We’ve been involved with the Malacca community since 2009 which is why we have such good relationships with the people. In 2016 we started sponsoring two children but we didn’t want to just hand out items and leave, we wanted to be involved. So I started looking at the children at Malacca Road Informal Settlement and seeing how we could assist as a church,” she said.

After establishing the needs of the community, it was evident that the focus should be on the children and with that, a homework centre and an Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre was born.

“After running interviews in the community, we employed two women in the ECD centre and have funded their training so they have the necessary and proper qualifications,” said Hayes-Hill.

“We’ve also started an empowerment programme with the women in collaboration with Grace Church, where they are taught to sew and crochet. This helps restore the women’s identities. We’ve also initiated a women’s group, we meet twice a week for tea and we talk about life, what it means to be kind, and the like,” she said.

“The people of Malacca were born into poverty but this is not their destiny,” she added.

Moving the topic along to Hayes-Hill herself, she said one of the most important things to her in life is having balance.

“I love spending time alone. I am with people 99% of the time and because I do counselling as well, I carry a lot of the information that is shared around with me, so I look forward to my time alone where I can clear my mind and read.

“I worked in corporate for 22 years. I was in marketing and advertising and it was towards the end of my career in advertising that I had a calling to start a church, and then The Seed Fund. It’s all about people. It’s all about being compassionate and understanding.”

She added that her time with God is extremely important.
“It’s sacred. For me it’s how do I be Jesus in the community without forcing the Bible and the truth on you? How do I see the ache and suffering out there and respond with compassion, and I get these answers during my quiet time with God,” she said.