Author Archives: Nisha Varghese

Superhero Catherine Constantinides and Her Team Feed 1050 People on World Hunger Day

Superhero Catherine Constantinides on the ground at a feeding on World Hunger Day (Photo Credit @thesatarsisters on Instagram)

“Hunger of choice is a painful luxury; hunger of necessity is terrifying torture.”
― Mike Mullin, Ashfall

On World Hunger Day My Superhero Catherine Constantinides and her team fed approximately a total of 1050 people in Johannesburg. Thank you to all the donors and volunteers involved in these feedings and thank you to Azraa & Sameerah Satar (@thesatarsisters on Instagram)  for capturing the photos you see in this post.

Hope in the form of food (Photo credit: @thesatarsisters on Instagram)

Celebrations and other feelings

The only thing that’s constant in life is change – that’s what I keep learning

On April 30th 2022 my sister got married and thus now I have a new and very kind brother-in-law (I won’t be sharing any pictures or videos it was not my wedding and just because i’ll probably never get married I won’t use that as an excuse to violate people’s privacy) as my sister walked down the aisle to her new life I could literally feel our paths diverge I was so happy for her but also heartbroken for myself but as they say the only thing constant in life is change (Neethu, if you are reading this please know I do love you and Vineeth and i’m so happy you are married so happy but I have personal feelings that are separate from that please don’t think I’m sad because you’re married, I’m not, it’s just i’m a little lonely and that’s ok I’ll find a way to manage)

To be alone powerfully

To be alone powerfully is something I’m learning

It’s been four months since my siblings went off in different provinces which sort of makes me an only child again (I sort of feel bad that this is as close to an empty nest that my parents will ever get) but I’m making the best of my alone time I read 6 books and I’ve spent a lot of time at Breath of Life and enjoyed my other pursuits. Being alone powerfully will take time and practice and I’m here for it.

I Feel Blah

However I feel is ok – that’s what I’m learning

This year has been somewhat difficult so far (a mix of highs and heartbreak) thankfully physically i’m pain-free but there’s nothing quite like being a first born and the last child still left in the house I love my parents and i’m grateful they house me (I can’t move out because i need too much physical help and even if i was to move out and live with an aide the aides here are not professional they show up they feel like it and that wouldn’t work with my life) so I stay with my dependable parents…everybody else is married with kids and I’m happy for them but I always feel like I’m watching a moving I’ll never be a part of I hope there are enough good people in the world who will include me in their adventures of their own accord…I feel blah and that’s ok (for now)

[Book review] The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

“I think it is easy to imagine there are easier paths,’ she said, realizing something for the first time. ‘But maybe there are no easy paths. There are just paths. In one life, I might be married. In another, I might be working in a shop. I might have said yes to this cute guy who asked me out for a coffee. In another I might be researching glaciers in the Arctic Circle. In another, I might be an Olympic swimming champion. Who knows? Every second of every day we are entering a new universe. And we spend so much time wishing our lives were different, comparing ourselves to other people and to other versions of ourselves, when really most lives contain degrees of good and degrees of bad.”

― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library

Yesterday I finished reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig the book centers around Nora Seed who after attempting to kill herself finds herself in a library full of books, books which contain all the other lives she could have lived and all the other versions of herself she could have been…the book is a journey like no other filled with so much wisdom and a poignant reminder to make the best of the lives we have. If I had to rate the book I would give it a 10/10  (yes, it is that good)  

#Nisha31 – Fundraising for Breath of Life in Honour of my 31st

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

On February 8th 2022 I again started actively fundraising again for Breath of Life – a place of safety here in East London, South Africa, that homes abandoned and vulnerable babies – but this time I’m aiming to raise R31 000 in honour of my upcoming 31st  birthday (happening on March 25th) and 31st  year of life. If you wish to donate you can do so at www.backabuddy.co.za/nisha-31

Embracing New Chapters

Life is change – that’s what I keep reminding myself

January has been full of change my siblings have moved the house is so quite I can hear a pin drop it’s really strange but I’ll be more than ok I will fill my life with reading, writing, time in nature and volunteering it’s going to be great… I don’t want to hold anyone back everybody must go and live their own lives. The meaning of love is not to possess.

Life’s Purposes and 2022 Goals

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – Seneca

Today is New Year’s Day and with that comes new hopes, new opportunities and new goals. Check out my life’s purpose and 2022 Goals below:

My Life’s Purposes

  1. Fill the world with kindness and love
  2. Make a difference – level the playing field for people who were born with the cards stacked against them
  3. Change perceptions about differently-abled people

2022 Goals

  1. Continue to be kind, honest, generous, grateful, loyal and filled with wonderment
  2. Every day be the best SuperSidekick to Superhero Catherine Constantinides (she’s the best, most hardworking real-life Superhero I’ve ever met she totally deserves me forever  and no matter what else I’m doing in life I will always be here for her)
  3. Raise at least R31 000 for Breath of Life   (Breath of Life is a place of safety for vulnerable babies here in my city I JUST LOVE THEIR WORK)
  4. Eat healthily and Exercise – reduce sugar by a lot and exercise back muscles
  5. Sleep better
  6. Spend more time outside
  7. Practice Patience
  8. Make a steady income
  9. Teach kids and adults worldwide that Different Is COOL
  10. Continue to raise awareness about the Western Sahara conflict – the Western Sahara has been illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975 due to the fact that it’s rich in natural and though the UN promised a referendum in 1991 it has yet to come to pass meanwhile half of the Saharawi People have been living in the refugee camps in Algeria since 1975
  11. Choose people who choose me
  12. Read 12+ books
  13. Plant 1-5 trees
  14. Do 31+ good deeds

(Note: Goals are subject to change with time and that’s ok because I will change with time)

My 2021 Life Purposes and Goals in Review

“Make measurable progress in reasonable time.” – Jim Rohn

As we near the end of 2021 it is again time to review the goals I set at the beginning of the year

My 2020 Life Purposes and Goals in Review

My Life’s Purposes

  1. Fill the world with kindness and love [did my best]
  2. Make a difference – level the playing field for people who were born with the cards stacked against them [did my best]
  3. Change perceptions about differently-abled people [did my best]

2021 Goals

  1. Continue to be kind, honest, generous, grateful, loyal and filled with wonderment [did my best – give myself an A]
  2. Every day be the best SuperSidekick to Superhero Catherine Constantinides (she’s the best, most hardworking real-life Superhero I’ve ever met she totally deserves me forever  and no matter what else I’m doing in life I will always be here for her) [did my best – give myself an A++]
  3. Raise R300 000 for the Miss Earth South Africa leadership programme in honour of my 30th year of life – The work they do truly has an impact on people and planet I TRULY LOVE IT [not achieved because other things came up]
  4. Continue to do more for Breath of Life [raised R16 680+ it’s not as much as I would have liked but better than nothing]
  5. Eat healthily [failed]
  6. Practice Patience [failed]
  7. Sleep better [failed]
  8. Spend more time outside on sunny days [did on some days]
  9. Make a steady income [failed]
  10. Teach kids and adults worldwide that Different Is COOL [tried]
  11. Continue to raise awareness about the Western Sahara conflict – the Western Sahara has been illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975 due to the fact that it’s rich in natural and though the UN promised a referendum in 1991 it has yet to come to pass meanwhile half of the Saharawi People have been living in the refugee camps in Algeria since 1975 [did my best]
  12. Choose people who choose me [I don’t know how to measure this]
  13. Read 12+ books [failed – not even one book read so disappointed in myself ]
  14. Plant or have 30 trees planted – 1 for every year of my life [failed]
  15. Do 30+ good deeds – for every year of my life [I did not keep count but I’m sure I did at least 30 good deeds]

Superhero Catherine Constantinides and Team Deliver Food and Christmas Cheer

Catherine and her team spreading Christmas cheer

“Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.” — Thomas S. Monson

Yesterday and the day day before My Superhero  Catherine Constantinides and her team fed and gave Christmas cheer to young and old in the Johannesburg area. Thank you to the volunteers and donors who helped make this two days happen and nd thank you to Azraa & Sameerah Satar (@thesatarsisters on Instagram)  for capturing the photos you see in this post 

Ella Bella, a helping hand
The joy of Christmas