Much of Nanjing’s international community came together this past weekend in recognition of a worthwhile cause and its 2 decades of fundraising, while those who started it all were also heard from, with their memories of the beginnings of Hopeful Hearts.
It all began on Friday, 8 November, 2002, when Hélène van Oosterbosch-Lagendijk and Mira de Leeuw were in a car passing Baima Park in Nanjing. Then Hélène spotted against a tree by the side of the road a baby wrapped in a red blanket.
Since that day, Hopeful Hearts has become something of a Nanjing legend. The story of two foreign ladies finding a Chinese baby, their refusing to give up on him and all the fundraising that has taken place since has spread far and wide.
Now, 20 years on, de Leeuw and the van Oosterbosch family have sat down to tell The Nanjinger of their memories of the time that would forever shape their lives, and those of many others.
Hélène opened by saying, “I had a very nice Skype meeting with Ellen [Wieck-Mesarosch, current Chair Person of Hopeful Hearts] and it was very much things coming back, emotions… It was very special to realise that it is still going on”.
Hélène’s husband, Jos, who was in Shanghai at the time the baby was found, particularly recalls speaking with Hélène by phone after her discovery. “It’s not a toy. It’s a baby”, he told her. “There are procedures you have to follow”. And to that, Hélène simply said, “Yeah, but I like it. I want to keep it. So it’s my baby now”.
Livia van Oosterbosch, who named the baby “Loetje”, may have only been 5 years old then, but she still has vivid memories of the time.
“I remember visiting the orphanage with my mum, visiting the hospitals, meeting the doctors there. I remember very much the smells and sights of the orphanage. It was very impressive for a young child, but also really knowing the amount of good it does”, she said.
Her thoughts were echoed by de Leeuw, who said, “When we founded Hopeful Hearts, so many beautiful things came out of that. It also gave us focus, something good to do, something positive to have come from all of this”.
Livia’s sister, Onnika, recalled the early days of Hopeful Hearts’ fundraising, including their making of a postcard featuring a balloon and a heart on a blue sky.
“One time we were watching TV and we saw this postcard on someone’s fridge. It means so much for us to see how many people helped us, how many people were involved. And [20 years on] people are still putting in their time, their energy, their money, their skills, to help continue”, she said.
That’s what it was all about on Saturday, with the Ride & Run for Hopeful Hearts event to mark the charity’s anniversary with a bout of fun and fundraising, as ever to assist in providing surgery for children with heart conditions.
The event saw 99 people taking part, as cyclists, runners and walkers, and a total of 144 people signed up for the evening BBQ, at which a raffle generated yet more funds, thanks to the generosity of a plethora of sponsors.
Their stamina earlier in the day made for an impressive total of 2,936.28 kilometres cycled, while those who chose the run or walk option clocked up 269.4 kilometres.
Of particular note are some of Nanjing’s fittest; one cyclist alone went for a ride of 160 kilometres, while there were three participants who each ran 25K and three others who did a 25K walk.
Then there were those who took the title of the event to heart, choosing to both ride and run, and others even taking part outside of Nanjing.
Kudos also go to a couple of Nanjing’s youngest fitness freaks; one, a just 5 years old, who completed the the 12K ride, and another, aged 8, bringing it home on the 25K route.
All said and done, over ¥40,000 was raised for Hopeful Hearts, although that number is set to rise considerably in the coming days.
Since its founding, Hopeful Hearts has helped more than 700 children and collected donations in excess of ¥16 million.
Back with those whose compassionate actions started it all 20 years ago, Hélène closed by saying, “It’s unbelievable that after 20 years they have helped so many children. Unbelievable. … We never expected it would be like this. It’s really great. We are very thankful”.
