“I want to volunteer in Africa. I’ve never been so sure of something in my whole life.” – diary excerpt from Leanna Knopik, a human being with all heart.
Hazyview, South Africa (07 September 2022) – In 2011, a very special teenager named Leanna Knopik from Sarasota, Florida in the USA came on holiday with her family to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where she was touched by the hospitality and warmth of the people.
With a heart as big as the ocean is vast, this young woman was also distressed by the poverty she witnessed and vowed to return to Africa to volunteer and make a difference.
Sadly, this was not to be. The following year, Leanna suddenly passed away from a rare heart infection – but Leanna’s spirit lives on in the All Heart Fund, a fundraising arm of the Good Work Foundation (GWF) whose mission is to transform the lives of rural families in Mpumalanga.
It’s been 10 years since Leanna’s life was cut short, and as part of her healing process, her mother, Beth, has written a book titled Beyond the Rainbow: A Mother’s Journey Through Grief to Grace that will be released in October. It’s a poignant memoir about how she dealt with the trauma that no family should ever have to endure – the loss of a child.
It’s also been 10 years since the pioneering Hazyview Digital Learning Centre of GWF saw the light of day.
Keenly aware of Leanna’s passion for Africa, the Knopiks’ good friends Michael and Terri Klauber decided to set up a fund in Leanna’s honour. The name, the All Heart Fund, fittingly originated during a game drive in the Londolozi Private Game Reserve. Since its inception in 2013, the All Heart Fund has enabled GWF to step up its work, creating high-impact digital learning experiences for young South Africans living in rural areas.
‘We were treated like family’
Beth says Leanna was deeply moved by her experience in South Africa, particularly the days spent on safari.
“Everyone we met in the hospitality industry was very warm and welcoming. They all took great pride in their work and treated us like family. We also heard their vast and varied concerns about conservation and education in the country.”
With a stab of emotion at the vivid memory, Beth speaks of the poverty they witnessed while in Cape Town – particularly the “shantytowns” (informal settlements) whose squalor lays bare the stark inequality present in one of the world’s most beautiful cities.
“We experienced a broad spectrum of life in South Africa: the warmth of the people and the poverty – both of which left an indelible imprint on Leanna’s heart. While writing in her journal months after our trip, she had an epiphany and felt a strong calling to volunteer in Africa. Leanna’s plan was to sell her custom-designed T-shirts and give that money to orphanages and schools in South Africa.”
Instead, the following year, during a summer mission work camp in West Virginia, the teen fell ill – sparking a 30-day hospital stay during which she bravely fought but lost her life to the heart infection. Such was the circle of love that enfolded her that her friends managed to persuade Coldplay to dedicate their song Fix You to Leanna at a concert she had desperately wanted to attend.
A powerful living legacy
Hers was not a life lived in vain, however. Thanks to the All Heart Fund, four events (one every two years) in Sarasota raised over $500 000 (about R8.6-million). GWF’s Justicia Digital Learning Campus was built thanks to this fund – expanding the reach of the digital and English literacy training the foundation provides to more than 7 000 rural learners and adults every week.
“That’s so powerful,” Beth reflects.
Leanna’s life continues to have a ripple effect on the continent she fell in love with. Aside from the money that is raised to equip young people for a digital future, GWF also awards a prize every year to a teacher or student who “leads from the heart, is courageous and perseveres against all odds”: the Leanna Knopik Cup.
The recipients to date all epitomise that spirit: “Someone who steps in where help is needed and gives unselfishly of themselves,” says Beth.
On her most recent visit to Mpumalanga in 2019, Beth was asked to cut the ribbon on GWF’s Dumphries Digital Learning Campus; she also met the recipients of the Leanna Knopik Cup. She yearns to return: “I would jump on a plane tomorrow if I could. My heart is always there,” she says.
Chronicling a journey from grief to grace
Beth’s heart has also been poured into her book, a labour of love that she hopes will help others who have travelled the same difficult path of losing a loved one. She drew heavily on the daily updates she had written during Leanna’s illness on the CaringBridge blogging platform and happily reveals that the pre-orders of her memoir have been “amazing”.
“The biggest benefit in sharing our story is to let other grieving parents know they are not alone. That feeling of isolation can be debilitating; I felt terribly alone and isolated as a mother who had lost a child; it’s a horrible existence,” she relates.
What kind of a person was Leanna? “Leanna was consistently joyful in life,” says her mother. “She had a strong work ethic, adored her friends, played piano and guitar, and enjoyed rowing. She found great fulfilment in helping others, which started with day trips through our church. She got a taste of that feeling of oneness when serving others and started to seek out those opportunities. She was non-judgmental and loved and accepted others for who they were.”
She adds, “On the front of her art book from the eighth grade she wrote, ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ – and that sums Leanna up in three words.”
Seeing the impact her daughter’s life is having on the lives of other bright youngsters on the tip of Africa is “hard to put into words”, Beth confesses.
“When I see photos of the graduates at GWF, I often see Leanna’s picture on the wall in the background. It’s beautiful that they honour Leanna by telling her story to all who walk through those doors. It’s like she’s there. Well … she IS there.”
To find out more about Good Work Foundation’s mission to improve digital literacy in rural African areas, watch this short video explaining the unique digital learning campus model. You can also stay up-to-date on GWF’s progress on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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