home About Us Life and Legacy Programs Newsletters Links Guestbook Shop at Capes End Contact Us

  Volume Four, Number One
  1. SOUTH AFRICA AND AMERICA: BRIDGING TWO CONTINENTS AND TWO CULTURES
  2. AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST CREATED
  3. USAID COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT SIGNED
  4. AMY BIEHL INTERNSHIPS AT STANFORD'S HAAS CENTER
  5. LINDA BIEHL INTERVIEW IN ORANGE COUNTY WOMAN MAGAZINE
  6. LOS ANGELES TIMES VISITS BIEHLS IN SOUTH AFRICA
  7. SECRETARY ALBRIGHT LAUNCHES VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROJECT
  8. THEMBA MUSIC FROJECT HIGHLIGHTED
  9. LIFE AND DEATH IN SOUTH AFRICA AND AMERICA
  10. FREEDOMS FOUNDATION AWARD
  11. LINDA BIEHL INTERVIEW IN MARIE CLAIRE MAGAZINE
  12. VIOLENCE PREVENTION INITIATIVES LAUNCHED - MARCH 1998
  13. AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST YOUTH PANELS CREATED
  14. FUNDERS VISIT STEMBELE MATISO HIGH SCHOOL
  15. THE BIEHLS AND THE PRESIDENTS
  16. EXTRA NEWS FEATURE
  17. YANNA LOMBARD TO ATTEND COLLEGE IN AMERICA
  18. REFLECTIONS ON BRIDGE-BUILDING
  19. AMY'S EXHAUSTING WORK CONTINUES

Since our last newsletter, Linda and Peter Biehl have made five trips to South Africa and, as Amy's thirty-first birthday approaches in two weeks, it is fair to say that her memory is very much alive and that her work continues to reach South Africa's free, but disadvantaged, people. At home in America, Amy's life and values continue to inspire young people in schools throughout the country, as committed teachers weave Amy's story into the daily lives of their students. Amy would be pleased that youth in her home and adopted countries have found motivation and inspiration from the way in which she lived her life.

SOUTH AFRICA AND AMERICA: BRIDGING TWO CONTINENTS AND TWO CULTURES

As we travel so frequently between America and South Africa, we are struck by the vast distance between these two countries. At the same time, we are continually impressed with the similarity between the two societies and the socioeconomic challenges they face. Clearly, we can learn from each other and can strengthen one another in our struggles for human dignity and fulfillment. The NEWSLETTER, then is about bridge-building. Back To The Top

AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST CREATED

Shortly after our last NEWSLETTER, on September 9, 1997, the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATlON TRUST was chartered in Pretoria, South Africa. Creation of this charitable TRUST provides balance with our U.S. foundation and permits greater flexibility in structuring programs and partnerships in South Africa. The TRUST now has its office in Cape Town at Room 39, Porter House, Belmont Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700, South Africa.

Telephone is 011-27-21-686-8116; fax is 011.27.21.686.1774;

Email is abftrust@iafrica.com. Back To The Top

USAID COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT SIGNED

On September 19, 1997 a cooperative agreement was signed between the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST in Cape Town and USAID SOUTH AFRICA in Pretoria. This agreement -

in recognition of the TRUST's "special relationship with South Africa" - launched a major violence prevention initiative by the TRUST aimed at adolescents (10-15 years) living in townships and squatter settlements near Cape Town. The demonstration project -"WEAVING A BARRIER AGAINST VIOLENCE- is centered in Guguletu Township, where Amy died. This holistic approach to violence prevention, in South Africa's most violent area, is the most ambitious and challenging task we have undertaken to date and we are honored to have the opportunity to serve the communities whose people Amy loved. Back To The Top

LONG BEACH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP TOWN HALL

Five days later, on September 24, 1997, Linda and Peter Biehl attended a special Town Hall on Community Safety as guest of the LONG BEACH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP, in a historic church near the city center of Long Beach, California. As honored guests, Linda and Peter listened as community residents and social service providers discussed the gang activity and other threats to community safety and security in Long Beach. The discussions and comments mirrored those which have been heard many times in Cape flats communities, as residents express their frustrations and fears at having lost control of their streets and communities to gangs and other perpetrators of violence. Clearly, there will be many opportunities for the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION and the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST to bring concerned and creative Americans and South Africans together and to provide a conduit for dialogue and possible solutions to the violence which dominates our respective cultures and societies. These remarkable opportunities are consistent with our bridge-building vision. Back To The Top

AMY BIEHL INTERNSHIPS AT STANFORD'S HAAS CENTER

Twenty days following their evening in Long Beach, Linda and Peter Biehl met with Tim Stanton, Director of Stanford University's prestigious HAAS CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE, to launch the Amy Biehl Internship program on October 14, 1997. These unique summer internships will enable talented, service-oriented Stanford students to build bridges to South Africa and then to share lessons learned in South Africa with their Stanford and Palo Alto communities. At this date, three Stanford students have been selected to travel to Cape Town during summer, 1998; having survived a rigorous screening process. Each will devote time of her choosing to our violence prevention program and to projects of special interest. It is worth noting that Amy's first visit to South Africa (and to Namibia) was made on a small Stanford grant, following her graduation in 1989. We look forward to the relationship with HAAS CENTER and to the challenge of fund-raising to replace and to expand the funding base that makes the Amy Biehl Internships possible. Back To The Top

LINDA BIEHL INTERVIEW IN ORANGE COUNTY WOMAN MAGAZINE

Two days later, on October 16, 1997, Linda was interviewed for a cover feature in ORANGE COUNTY WOMAN magazine. In an effort to build a bridge of understanding for South Africa's Truth & Reconciliation Commission process among Southern California women, Linda's reflections on Amy and on the dignity of forgiveness and reconciliation were well-reported by Editor Janine Robinson for the magazine's December, 1997 issue. This well-received interview piece is available in reprint, upon request, from the FOUNDATION. Back To The Top

LOS ANGELES TIMES VISITS BIEHLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

To learn what the Biehls do in South Africa, the LOS ANGELES TIMES Magazine assigned feature writer, Renee Tawa, to join them in Cape Town for eight days in November, 1997. Within one hour of her arrival on November 12, Renee joined the Biehls for a meeting with prison officials in the office of Human Rights Commissioner, Rhoda Kadali; followed by a prearranged curbside meeting with leaders of the Wonder Kids in Manenburg - a gang war zone near Guguletu. Renee - who has covered gang violence in Los Angeles - commented she had never experienced a ghetto environment such as she found in Manenburg. Her whirlwind visit in South Africa, followed by months of subsequent research and interviewing, will be chronicled in her TIMES Magazine feature piece on a Sunday very soon. Knowing Renee as we do, it will be a feature worth reading and should help Americans understand post-apartheid South Africa and Amy's work and legacy there. Again, we will reproduce this feature and make it available to anyone, on request. Back To The Top

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT LAUNCHES VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROJECT

On December 15, Peter and Linda Biehl returned to Guguletu's St. Gabriel's Church and Community Centre for an official dedication and launch of the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST's "WEAVING A BARRIER AGAINST VIOLENCE" project by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The unexpected visit by Secretary Albright created a high-profile, but very touching event attended by dignitaries and community residents, alike. Secretary Albright paid very personal and meaningful tribute to Amy and to her continuing presence on behalf of South Africa's disadvantaged people. Back To The Top

THEMBA MUSIC FROJECT HIGHLIGHTED

The FOUNDATION'S holiday greeting this past season featured the children of the Themba Music Project, who are receiving instrumental instruction in their schools from volunteer instructors Benjamin Lewu and David Shuping. To date, we have delivered approximately 50 musical instruments from U.S. donors to the Themba Music Project for the children's lessons and practice sessions. This is 1 used instrument per each 50 households on our U.S. mailing list. We had hoped to deliver closer to 100 used instruments to this wonderful violence prevention project, so if FOUNDATION friends have used musical instruments gathering dust in their closets, they can mail them to the FOUNDATION and receive a tax deduction for the gift. A used trumpet can represent a life changing opportunity for a young township music student. In South Africa, we have collected instruments, as well, and have equipped two Themba classrooms with pianos. Linda Biehl is currently working with David and Benjamin on plans for a fund-raising concert to be held in a few months. Back To The Top

LIFE AND DEATH IN SOUTH AFRICA AND AMERICA

At approximately 5:45 Wednesday evening, on January 21, 1998 - four hours after Linda and Peter Biehl landed in Cape Town - a 55 year-old doctor was robbed of less than $15.00 and stabbed to death in his Guguletu surgery. Dr Aadil Moerat - "the people's doctor" - left a loving family, wife Rashida, and two sons, ages 4 and 18 months. Amy was killed on a Wednesday evening, not 100 yards from Dr. Moerat's surgery. Linda and Peter participated in a special memorial service at St. Gabriel's Church - the church which held a memorial service for Amy. An enormous gathering of Christians and Muslims overflowed the church. On Wednesday, January 28, the Biehls participated in a march from Dr. Moerat's surgery to the police station to protest the violence. Many of those marching had marched for Amy. To assist the Guguletu Community Policing Porum - a citizen's volunteer organization working closely with the police to apprehend the five alleged killers of Dr. Moerat, the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST donated 6 state-of-the-art two-way radios and Dixon Electronics donated a base station "In Memory of Dr. Aadil Moerat".

Thirty kilometres from Guguletu, in a squatter settlement near Kraaifontein, preschool children receive love, nourishment and attention at Masakhane Educare Centre. Founder/Principal Hazel Mlata has transformed an abandoned farmhouse to a first-rate preschool; well-organized, with a kitchen which serves the children a hot lunch and snacks each day. Because the school building is frequently vandalized on weekends, it was determined that a resident caretaker was required as a deterrent. However, no funds were available for this purpose. The AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION has underwritten a caretaker so that Masakhane's beautiful children have their school intact each Monday morning.

January 13, 1998, marked the second anniversary of the murder of talented South African, Anthea Williams, in Los Angeles. Her brother Darrell Williams - Harvard educated like Anthea - has recently joined the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST staff in Cape Town. Sometimes, from death comes life. We are thrilled and touched to have Darrell working hard with Cape Flats youth to break the cycle of violence in their lives. Back To The Top

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION AWARD

Linda and Peter Biehl returned to California to accept an award of recognition for their work with the AMY BIEHL POUNDATION from the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge at its annual award dinner at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel on February 19. We are very grateful to the Freedoms Foundation for honoring Amy's continuing work for human rights in this way. Back To The Top

LINDA BIEHL INTERVIEW IN MARIE CLAIRE MAGAZINE

In February, the March issue of MARIE CLAIRE magazine went to the newsstands. It carried a well-written interview of Linda Biehl by Cape Town writer, Cathy Eden, whose understanding of South Africa and of its Truth & Reconciliation Commission contributed to a very thoughtful and empathetic piece. Copies of this article -written in the first-person as if by Linda - are available, upon request. Back To The Top

VIOLENCE PREVENTION INITIATIVES LAUNCHED - MARCH 1998

On March 11, the Biehls returned to Cape Town to join Project Manager, Sheila Roquitte, and the TRUST's grassroots-level organization to advance the "WEAVING A BARRIER AGAINST VIOLENCE" project from fact-finding to preliminary implementation phases. During this visit, the AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST launched and committed to fund...

  • a continuing evaluation of a community justice system as a possible model for a youth justice system - outside the criminal justice system;

  • an expansion of the St. Gabriel's Community Centre after-school tutorial program to provide adolescents with a safe and well-lit study centre, access to a resource library and excellent tutoring and counseling with emphasis on mathematics and sciences;

  • the Amy Biehl Centre for Special Education, as a Saturday program for educationally-challenged youth who are passed along but receive no attention in black schools and who usually drop-out to become involved in violence and in criminal activity;

  • a partnership between Child Welfare Department and Buthisizwe Training Centre to train out-of-school Guguletu youth in welding and in sewing. These two programs -- with assistance from the TRUST - will become self-sustaining through manufacture of low cost soccer goals and sports uniforms for Cape Flats sports clubs;

  • a program to traln 60 adolescent males in violence problem-solving and approaches to violence prevention in their neighborhoods, with leadership provided by the "Five in Six" program of Catholic Welfare Development of Cape Town;

  • an initiative to create a model and to develop quality and sustainable playing fields, attached to public schools, for use by disadvantaged youth - in partnership with the Ministry of Education's new "Safer Schools" program and with the community.

Approximately twenty additional initiatives in violence prevention will be launched in coming weeks and months. Back To The Top

AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST YOUTH PANELS CREATED

On March 14, at Guguletu's Uluntu Centre, the first four TRUST Youth Panels were launched in a gala celebration attended by our youth panelists, their parents and caregivers and our team of Community Liaison Representatives from each of Guguletu's four sections. Each panelist and parent received an AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION TRUST button, made especially for them in California. The panels - operated as focus groups using the native Xhosa language--are an invaluable resource to understanding violence and its impact on youth. The Youth Panels are a big hit and our panelists say no one has ever asked them what they think about anything important! Perhaps this approach could be a successful if applied with youth in American violence centers. Back To The Top

FUNDERS VISIT STEMBELE MATISO HIGH SCHOOL

On March 26, the Biehls escorted 24 American funders led by Mary Tiseo (SOUTH AFRICAN PARTNERS) and Sharon Gelman (ARTISTS FOR A NEW SOUTH AFRICA) to a visit to Stembele Matiso High School in New Crossroads. Other than the Biehls, these were the first Americans ever to visit this very deprived and violent black school. A moving program and traditional feast were presented by students, teachers and parents and a presentation was made of the school's dream plan to elevate itself to a position of excellence. Linda Biehl delivered bags of art supplies facilitated through a caring bridge by St. Louis, MO students of Gloria Sadler, Judy and Tracy Kendall. Those St. Louis, MO school children have come through once again! Back To The Top

THE BIEHLS AND THE PRESIDENTS

On the evening of March 26, Linda and Peter Biehl were guests of U.S. Ambassador and Mrs. James Joseph at a private reception for President and Mrs. Clinton and for their accompanying Cabinet, Congressional and business delegations. The following evening,, the Biehls were guests of President Mandela at his State Dinner for the President of the United States. They were honored to be included in these historic events. Back To The Top

EXTRA NEWS FEATURE

Meanwhile - back in the Unites States - NBC EXTRA NEWS aired a small feature on Amy and on the continuing work of her FOUNDATION, which was nicely produced by Erica Hanson. Back To The Top

YANNA LOMBARD TO ATTEND COLLEGE IN AMERICA

Following in the footsteps of her friend, Solange Jacobs, Yanna Lombard has elected to pursue a U.S. college education following her graduation from Rolling Hills Preparatory School this Spring. With significant assistance from her American "family" - the Taylors - Yanna has survived the college application process and has been admitted to St. Louis University and at Stephens College, thus far. We congratulate Yanna, the Taylors and the great staff at Rolling Hills for successfully bridging the gap between South African and American cultures and academic preparation. All we at the FOUNDATION had to do was find Yanna and get her here. Back To The Top

REFLECTIONS ON BRIDGE-BUILDING

The most difficult thing about writing these NEWSLET'TERS is knowing how much must be left out. The AMY BIEHL FOUNDATION and its new sister TRUST have lives of their own now. People are in constant contact and are continuously sending us touching examples of the ways in which Amy has affected their lives-has reached out to them.

We are reminded that bridge-building occurs at many levels. The first visit to Africa by a seated U.S. President. The request from Secretary AIbright to visit Cape Town to launch our project and say a few words for Amy. The promise of Stanford's Amy Biehl Interns working in South Africa. A young South African woman with a chance for a U.S. College experience. It is satisfying to note that Amy and her FOUNDATION have been directly involved in much of this activity. Back To The Top

AMY'S EXHAUSTING WORK CONTINUES

As we fly continuously between Los Angeles and Cape Town pursuing Amy's unfinished agenda, we are often reminded of her battered U.S. passport. Its well-worn pages chronicle a brief, but intensive, life of bridge-building - linking people, cultures and countries as only Amy could. She had an intuitive sense of how to create these human links. We are not so gifted.

Amy was also able to summon-up an inexhaustible reserve of energy with which to sustain her work. Age is definitely not our friend in this department.

There are occasions when we exhaust ourselves. There are times when we come close to exhausting the foundation's financial resources in our desire to push Amy's envelope a bit further. This is one such time.

There is so much to do and we are getting better at doing it. But - at this time - we shall ask for help and support in our efforts to remember Amy in creative and intelligent human service. In making this request, we do so knowing that Amy asked for help occasionally, as well.

Thank you.

< Back to Newsletter listings





Donations can be sent to:
Amy Biehl Foundation
P.O. Box 66
San Marcos, CA 92079-0066
Phone: 949.650.5356
Or Donate online
through PayPal: