Lovenaire Advisory Council
At Uthando SA and The Heart of Cape Town, we believe that small acts of love and compassion can spark powerful change, creating a ripple effect that touches countless lives.
Our “Lovenaire Advisory Council” is a community of advocates dedicated to spreading love, kindness, and peace in their everyday lives and beyond.
As council members, they
- Promote love and kindness in their daily interactions and through their social media platforms.
- Advocate for peace, inspiring others to embrace compassion and understanding.
- Support Uthando and The Heart of Cape Town’s mission, helping us create a more connected, loving world.
With their collaboration, they not only help to amplify The Heart of Cape Town’s values but also strengthen Uthando’s mission in creating meaningful change.
Uthando’s work connects it to incredible community projects, enabling it to grow initiatives that support education, food security, environmental sustainability, mental health, and so much more.
Lovenaire Advisory Council member’s voices and actions directly contribute to:
- Generating greater awareness and support for these impactful projects.
- Expanding income streams that sustain Uthando’s outreach.
- Helping Uthando reach more individuals and create lasting, transformative change.
CHERYL HARPER
Founder, We Can Change Our World
Being a YELDER– (A YOUNG elder), I have done it all! A purposeful life is never boring, but always extremely fulfilling. as energy is directed outwards, to others.
My calling is to Change our world through helping to upskill and empower disadvantaged people and to drive animal rescue, amongst many other development categories.
I was an activist during the apartheid years, jailed and followed by the apartheid police for fighting the apartheid regime. I hated the extreme, cruel racism and inequality in our otherwise beautiful South Africa and have been fighting inequality and poverty since then.
I graduated at Natal University, with a Bachelor of Social Science and practiced as a Social Worker, working in children’s homes in Durban for a few years.
Moving to Johannesburg, into the commercial field, first as a Human Resources Manager, then a Teacher, a Banking, Insurance consultant and a Financial Investment Consultant in the JHB Stock Exchange.
When the market crashed in 1989, I went into MEDIA and worked in several big Media Companies for several years, which enabled me to become very well-connected, as all the big Corporate Companies were my clients… It is always about ”who you know”, when it comes to opening doors to funding and support.
My ”calling’ was eventually to use Media and all my connections to optimize collaborations to ”really ‘make a difference’ and bring about Change.
I launched WeCanChangeOurWorld (www.wecanchange.co.za) in 2014, an online media and news site that showcases, connects and optimizes collaboration between the stakeholders (Government, Companies, NGO’s/NPO’s and Service Providers) to bring about the ”Greater Good”, through CSI funding and support.
The site caters for NGOS to showcase themselves to attract corporate funding and support, through exposure and for corporate clients to showcase themselves as ”Role Models that are really making a difference and showing impact through stories. They have realised that having purpose and’ ‘doing good is good for business” IT also exposes corporate clients to many additional NGO’s and projects.
Actually ”making the difference’ through connections, over and above the site, brings about a huge amount of funding and support for NGO’s and projects.
WeCanChangeOurWorld with The Heart of Cape Town Movement is the most natural, perfect alignment to ”Change our world”. It is part of every project we are involved with.
The ”HEART” represents LOVE, PEACE & HARMONY. Cape Town, South Africa and the World are so full of conflict, violence and death, the time is now right for the HEART MOVEMENT TO ”CHANGEOURWORLD’. The whole world is ready for Heart.
Be part of the Heart Movement.
SUNÉ STASSEN
Social Entrereneur, Design Educator & Futurist
Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Suné Stassen is a social entrepreneur, design educator, and futurist who champions the power of creativity, STEAM education, and African innovation to drive systemic change.
As the co-founder and CEO of Open Design Afrika (ODA), she is dedicated to empowering individuals of all ages with creative intelligence and future-making skills, shaping a new society of futuremakers and change-makers.
A Trailblazer In Design Education
Stassen has been at the forefront of design education, playing a pivotal role in introducing Design as a school subject in South Africa in 2006—an achievement that remains a global milestone in education.
She contributed to the design curriculum in an advisory capacity and served as the contributing editor for the 12 textbooks and teacher manuals, shaping young minds for over 16 years and counting. Her work has significantly transformed education, equipping students with the skills to think critically, innovate boldly, and solve problems creatively.
Her expertise in design for social impact gained international recognition when her concept for Woolworths’ “Making the Difference Through Design” program was selected as a finalist at the 2009 INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Awards in Copenhagen.
The Heart of Cape Town Project
In 2024, Stassen was invited by James Fernie from Uthando to serve as Creative Director for The Heart of Cape Town giant scupture and Peace Centre projects—a visionary initiative designed as a catalyst for systemic global change.
She developed the project alongside her creative partner, Felix Holm. Together, they took a vision and transformed it into a solid, tangible concept and project, shaping the official narrative that now drives the initiative forward.
More than just a symbolic structure, it will feature interactive public experiences that deeply connect people through shared humanity in profound ways.
MICHAEL SMITH
Managing Director, Hillsdon Consulting
Michael Smith is a serial entrepreneur, business growth strategist, coach, mentor, and life-long student.
Specializing in the ideation, launch, and growth stages of SME and start-up consulting, Michael has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and small businesses to connect, collaborate, innovate, and grow their visions into reality. His firm, Hillsdon Consulting, also helps companies relocate into and across Canada and South Africa, and works with global partners for faster growth into other global markets.
Michael is passionate about helping entrepreneurs achieve their dreams by building ecosystems of support for small businesses, as well as bridges between Canada and Africa to strengthen opportunities, investments, and market access for SMEs on the continent.
We all feel what other people are going through whether we are conscious of it or not.
At a deep level we are all affected by the horrifying and unimaginable tragedy of war, violence and division.
At a distance it appears there is not much that each of us can do, but in truth each and everyone of us can act as a “Lighthouse of Love, Kindness and Peace”.
This state of being comes from our HEARTS. We are all one. We are all Brothers and Sisters.
With all of our differences, arguments, disagreements and battles we have forgotten that we are all one life together.
The Heart of Cape Town, an initiative led by Uthando (Love) South Africa, passionately champions a profound message of Peace, Kindness and Love worldwide, whilst illuminating the truly inspiring and innovative work of South African community development projects and activists.
