Author: Stephanie Hills

  • Things you get used to

    – washing clothes and bathing without running water – sweating a lot – small plastic bags and plastic water sachets littered everywhere. There’s no rubbish collection, so people burn their own rubbish but generally think nothing of dropping their empty sachets on the ground. And everything you buy is served in a tiny black plastic […]

  • Things I’ll miss when I leave

    – The noise. There’s always someone with a big sound system playing African music loudly in the street, or in the taxi – The friendliness. People here all talk to each other. They don’t pass on the street without spending time chatting to people they know, even mere acquaintances. – The hosts of local children […]

  • Getting through the hard time

    That’s when I thought, “I’m so glad I’m in Africa!”

  • I need your help to stay on track

    Thanks so much for the comments affirming that I am making a difference. Today I just feel overwhelmed by the hugeness of the problems here and the seeming impossibility of changing anything. For a start, it’s so hard to give anything to the orphanage children without someone else taking it from them. And it seems […]

  • Help for a stranger – even if unsure

    Recently, while working in a Hamilton shop, Jane (not her real name) was approached by a man who needed to use the phone. He was apparently passing through on his way north, but had run out of petrol just outside her shop. There was a petrol station nearby, but the man had unfortunately left his […]

  • Happiness Consultation

    A Happiness Consultation is a 1 ½ hour session that includes: 1) an evaluation of your happiness levels in various life spheres 2) identifying your areas of strength and of dissatisfaction 3) A personalised plan for improving your overall life satisfaction Usual cost per session: $85 Special discount rate: $45 for the month of January

  • Make happiness a habit

    You know how to be happy – you’ve done it many times. So why not do it more often? To make happiness a way of life, you need routines that promote happiness. You can’t sustain physical fitness from one vigorous work-out; nor can you maintain happiness by doing something about it just once. Happiness-promoting routines […]

  • Real life notices:

    “Toilet out of order. Please use the floor below.” On a laundromat washing machine: “Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out.” “Would the person who took the step ladder yesterday please bring it back, or further steps will be taken.” On a repair shop: “We can repair anything. (Please knock hard on […]

  • Just what she needed!

    A friend of mine (she wishes to remain anonymous, so let’s call her Mary) tells of a kindness she did for a woman from another town whose husband was seriously ill in Waikato Hospital. The poor woman was running herself ragged, with travel and other commitments. The only time she sat still was at her […]

  • New to the building trade

    Some men in a pickup truck drove to a lumber yard. One of the men walked into the office and said, “We need some four-by-twos.” The clerk asked, “You mean two-by-fours, don’t you?” The man said, “I’ll go check,” and went back to the truck. He returned shortly afterwards and said, “Yeah, I meant two-by-fours.” […]