Turning a story of rejection into triumph

In 1966, the apartheid government announced that District Six in Cape Town would be completely destroyed and rebuilt as a "Whites only" neighbourhood under the Group Areas Act and, over the course of a decade, over 60,000 people were forcibly removed. In 1970 the area was renamed Zonnebloem. The history of District Six is filled with many stories of struggle, but as someone who grew up in the area, Heartlines rep, Debbie Bruce, says that her past "with all its challenges, has created my passion to serve my community and to help bring about change for others”.

We are all shaped by our past experiences and Debbie is no different. Debbie recalls how she “was always determined to succeed because of the many negative voices telling me that I would not make it – because of our home and family circumstances”.

“I have become a strong woman, with a deep love for others in a similar situation and who come from the same background. However, through God’s grace, the more I was oppressed, the stronger I have become.”

Raising up the next generation

Debbie grew up in a family and a community that both experienced social rejection, but she found hope, strength and courage in the fact that the more she was “oppressed”, the stronger she knew she would one day become. Far from the life she grew up in, Debbie says that she “hopes to leave a legacy that changes the lives of others, and to those that she has helped she hopes they do the same for others, so that the legacy continues, and lives continue to change from this generation to the next.”

It was Brian Helsby (a friend of her husband’s through Youth for Christ) who introduced her to Heartlines’ various values-based campaigns. “This was at a time when South Africa and communities were battling with values. I used this material to facilitate conversations in churches and youth groups and I was amazed at the impact it had on people,” she says. “I became an ardent fan of Heartlines and used all the resources on the website and hard copies, even before I was trained. I was happy that I now had material that could help our communities.”

Debbie now serves as a Heartlines rep in George, the Garden Route and surrounding areas, and has become a passion advocate for all Heartlines programmes, including Fathers Matter and What’s Your Story? She describes herself as fun-loving, focused and someone with a big heart – we completely agree!