Author Archives: Nisha Varghese

6 Years (and counting) at Breath of Life

Leave a reply

“Time is the most valuable thing that a man can spend.” — Diogenes

On January 20th 2018 I entered the Breath of Life house to drop of diapers and I sort of forgot to leave – 6 years and lots of babies later a lot has changed but my love for and commitment to the babies in that nursery is stronger than ever.

Thank you to Michelle Rielly who first welcomed me into the Breath of Life house, loved me and believed in me with me, thank you to Abigail Boshoff who continues to make me feel welcome in the Breath of Life house and thank you to our team of baby caregivers, staff and volunteers who love and look after our babies

Life’s Purposes and 2024 Goals

Leave a reply

“The great danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” –Michelangelo

Today is New Year’s Day and with that comes new hopes, new opportunities and new goals. Check out my life’s purpose and 2024 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

2024 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. Maintain and strengthen my deep friendship with Michelle Rielly  
  4.  Raise at least R33 000 for Breath of Life and request that the government create a third category for baby havens so we can increase our numbers without anxiety  (Breath of Life is a place of safety for vulnerable babies here in my city I JUST LOVE THEIR WORK)
  5. Take a classroom of kids to the movies for the first time
  6. Build a strong relationship with Abigail Boshoff
  7. Have more fun – maybe take up painting, or pottery or simply going to the beach more often
  8. Focus on wellness – pray every day, have good diet, exercise, good sleep, gratitude and get more sun
  9. Go on a boat cruise here in East London with Southern Cross Cruises -hopefully see whales or dolphins
  10. Paraglide in Interlaken, Switzerland
  11. Practice Patience
  12. Become financially free
  13. Teach kids and adults worldwide that Different Is COOL
  14. 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
  15. Choose people who choose me
  16. Read 24-48 books
  17. Plant 1-5 trees
  18. Do 33+ good deeds

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

My 2023 Life Purposes and Goals in Review

Leave a reply

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

As we near the end of 2023 it is again time to review the goals I set at the beginning of the year

My 2023 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]

2023 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. Maintain and strengthen my deep friendship with Michelle Rielly  
  4. Sign up 5-10 cot guardians for Breath of Life  and additionally  raise at least R32 000 (Breath of Life is a place of safety for vulnerable babies here in my city I JUST LOVE THEIR WORK) [raised more than R32 000 but the cot guardians plans changed]
  5. Be a great support to Abigail Boshoff [I have tried and will continue to]
  6. Focus on wellness – have good diet, exercise, good sleep, gratitude and get more sun [need to work on sleep, exercise and diet]
  7. Go on a boat cruise here in East London with Southern Cross Cruises -hopefully see whales or dolphins [failed]
  8. Practice Patience [tried sometimes]
  9. Become financially free [failed]
  10. Teach kids and adults worldwide that Different Is COOL [did my best]
  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’m trying]
  13. Read 24+ books [read 12 books]
  14. Plant 1-5 trees [somebody else planted the trees oonn my behalf during the Knysna reforestation project]
  15. Do 32+ good deeds [I wasn’t counting but I’m sure i surpassed my goal]

July Magic at Breath of Life

Leave a reply

“When you live in the moment, you won’t miss a thing.” – Unknown


My July consisted of love, laughter, baby giggles and a real-life miracle at Breath of Life. Thank you to Abigail, Christo and my Breath of Life family for always keeping your doors open to me it is a privilege I never take for granted.

Abigail Boshoff and I with two of our babies
Fun in the sun with the Breath of Life family

Unforgettable Moments ~ Etched FOREVER Into Breath of Life

Leave a reply
Etching myself into Breath of Life with the help of my mom, Abigail Boshoff (House Mom of Breath of Life) and the Breath of Life team

Every day we create a legacy sometimes even without realizing it.

Five years ago when I first rolled into Breath of Life I never thought I would touch the lives of more than 126 children which is why I was so moved when Breath of Life called me two days ago to invite me to have my hand imprinted on the floor I moved Heaven and Earth to be there because I realized they wanted to cement me into the identity of the organization and I could think of no greater honour.

Our second imprint in honour of Michelle Rielly, former House Mom at Breath of Life

Has anybody seen Frédéric Arnault?

Leave a reply

Dreams are a prelude to reality – thats what I KNOW.

I have a dream I dream of being in an international ad campaign for TAG Heuer, a luxury brand of incredible watches, I want to be brand ambassador because I value my time here on Earth – very few people dare to paraglide even though they’ve never walked two steps on solid ground, very few people have loved and let go of 126 babies (and counting!) even though parenthood was technically never meant to be in the cards for them…nobody is me and that is my power. I BELIEVE IN ME, the question is, Mr. Frédéric Arnault (CEO of TAG Heuer), do you?

TAG Heuer ~ For those who value their time.

[BOOK REVIEW]: Bittersweet by Susan Cain

Leave a reply

“This book is about the melancholic direction, which I call the “bittersweet”: a tendency to states of longing, poignancy, and sorrow; an acute awareness of passing time; and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world. The bittersweet is also about the recognition that light and dark, birth and death—bitter and sweet—are forever paired. “Days of honey, days of onion,” as an Arabic proverb puts it.” ― Susan Cain, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole

Over the past few months, I’ve been deathly quiet on this blog because I’ve been grieving the losses that have happened in my life but after I finished reading Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain I realized that everybody will die or leave, everything that begins will end and every ending is a start of a new beginning and yes, it will hurt when life happens but we feel the hurt and move forward (with the grief) accepting that love and loss are two sides of the same coin – we can’t have one without the other. Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole has been my favourite book of the year (so far) it has taught me so much about love and grief I would recommend this book to everyone because it’s truly about the human condition.

#Nisha32 Campaign Goal Surpassed. THANK YOU ALL!

Leave a reply

“Many hands make light work.” -Unknown

As of yesterday we’ve surpassed my #Nisha32 campaign benefitting Breath of Life, , a place of safety for abandoned babies here in East London, South Africa, the original goal was R32 000 and with two days to go till my birthday so far we’ve raised R32 767. I’m so thankful to everyone who has helped out…truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. The page remains open and accepting donations anyone still wishing to make a donation can do so at  https://www.backabuddy.co.za/nisha-32

The total raised has increased since this tweet was tweeted but the feeling of gratitude i felt in this video remains unchanged

#Nisha32 – Fundraising for Breath of Life in Honour of my 32nd Birthday

Leave a reply

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

On February 27th 2023  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 R32 000 in honour of my upcoming 32nd  birthday (happening on March 25th) and 32nd  year of life. If you wish to donate you can do so at https://www.backabuddy.co.za/nisha-32 and kindly share the campaign on social media using #Nisha32

5 Years (and counting) at Breath of Life

Leave a reply
5 years in pictures

“Time is the most valuable thing that a man can spend.” — Diogenes

On January 20th 2018 I entered the Breath of Life house to drop of diapers and I sort of forgot to leave – 5 years and 126 babies later (for me) a lot has changed but my love for and commitment to the babies in that nursery is stronger than ever.

Thank you to Michelle Rielly who first welcomed me into the Breath of Life nursery, thank you to Abigail Boshoff who continues to make me feel welcome in the Breath of Life nursery and thank you to our team of baby caregivers, staff and volunteers who love and look after our babies

The hardworking baby caregivers and babies enjoying the summer day in the courtyard at Breath of Life
Me and Mr. Cool