Bags of ❤

Susan Harwood was born in the United Kingdom, to a Canadian father and Scottish mother, who later sailed across the seas to Cape Town and made their way up to (then) Rhodesia. This is where Susan grew up and emigrated from there to South Africa in the early 80s. Susan is a freelance copywriter-photographer and runs a small charity from home in Dainfern Golf Estate in Johannesburg. Susan has been married over 30 years and has two daughters in their mid to late twenties. Prior to settling down, Susan and her husband Gary back-packed for almost two years when they visited 12 countries, mainly in the more remote regions in the East. Currently, they spend as much time as they can in the bush and hiking through the mountains and so far, Kilimanjaro has been their highest conquest!

Bags of ❤ was formed around 15 years ago by Susan and her daughters, Sasha and Jenna. It followed on from their involvement in feeding schemes. Susan saw a Canadian friend’s FB post suggesting that ladies dig out their gently worn (but hardly used) handbags, fill them with luxury and essential items and give them to homeless people, which they put into practice. That mushroomed from initially receiving eight or so bags a month from friends, to hundreds of bags, thanks to friends, strangers and most notably another Dainfern resident (who prefers to remain anonymous), enabling Bags of ❤ to diversify their charity and also supply dignity packs for abused women and children. Today Susan distributes these bags to safe havens, police stations and organisations such as TEARS Foundation and Teddy Bear Clinic, bringing comfort to raped women and children.

Once Covid arrived, Bags of ❤ called out for food parcels, blankets, clothing and the donations mushroomed beyond all expectations. Tons of donations were distributed each Wednesday for two years and teams were formed to keep up with the massive influx of items for crisis relief. “Shack fire season” in winter which is always tragic was extremely well supported too. Over the past two years, Susan has won three awards, namely from Rotary International, the TEARS Foundation and the ZIP organisation in Diepsloot and has appeared in the news (radio and newspapers) numerous times, covering various drives. “We also had a superb response to our Christmas callout for gifts for orphanages, pre-schools and destitute families” said Susan.

“This year 2022, donations have slowed but we are still well supported on a weekly basis although food donations have become scarce. However, we still have generous financial donors and funding is used to purchase monthly groceries for a creche in an informal settlement, products for dignity packs and clothing, sanitary pads for learners (to keep them in school) and various projects” says Susan.

When asked who Susan draws inspiration from, she names Mara Glennie, the founder of TEARS Foundation, Glynne Wolman (founder of Angel Network), Gail Styger (founder of Wot-If? Trust) and Melodie Van Brakel (CEO and Founder of Cradle of Hope), all based in Johannesburg. Sue also lists fellow ex-Zimbabwean Fée Halsted’s life story (she is the Founder and Creative Director of Ardmore) as the most uplifting and inspiring one she’s read.

My message to all women is to do what makes your heart sing and to take steps every day to follow your dreams….and rather try meditating before you resort to medicating! Lastly, never let negativity thwart your attempts at making a better world – love always wins!