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The Farewell Was Only the Beginning of Something Great and Good

It was with a grateful, yet heavy heart that I said goodbye to Marna for the last time in Zurich two years ago.

We met here in Switzerland. Our husbands worked for the same employer in the healthcare industry, but Wednesdays were our days. We would climb onto a train together and, village by village, discover a little more of Switzerland and its breathtaking surroundings.

As the landscapes slipped past the train windows, our conversations flowed. We laughed and dreamed, talked about our children, our challenges, and our worries. Sometimes, we just listened. There was something special about having someone who understood and who was also experiencing the strange and sometimes difficult reality of building a life in another country.

I was unaware that this friend of mine would soon embark on a very different journey with her husband. This journey had the potential to change lives in South Africa.

A New Perspective on Healthcare

Marna’s husband, Wimpie, had spent his entire career in the healthcare industry. Over the years, he had built up a wealth of knowledge, experience, and connections, particularly in South Africa.

Switzerland, however, gave him a new perspective on healthcare. Here, health insurance is compulsory for everyone living or working in the country. This means that people have access to a high standard of medical care — something that is not a given everywhere in the world.

A question developed in Wimpie’s heart: “Lord, how can I use what I know to make a difference in the lives of people in South Africa who do not have access to private healthcare?” That question eventually became a calling.

The Goodness Project

When Wimpie’s corporate chapter ended, he and Marna knew it was time. Time to return, to build and make goodness happen. And so, The Goodness Project was born.

The organisation connects public and private healthcare to unlock surgical capacity, reduce waiting times, and give public-sector patients access to life-changing care. More recently, the organisation became part of a public-private partnership that is helping to make hip and knee arthroplasty available to public-sector patients.

But care is about more than just the physical body. Every patient’s emotional and spiritual wellbeing matters too. That is why, alongside the surgery, The Goodness Project offers an optional Goodness Care & Support Programme, which includes emotional and spiritual support.

Patients’ overwhelming eagerness to take part in the Goodness Care & Support Programme surprised Wimpie and Marna. For many people, joint replacement surgery can mean the difference between dependence and dignity, between merely surviving and truly living. It can mean a mother can care for her family again. A father being able to work again. Someone being able to move without constant pain and finding hope again.

The First Two Surgeries

In August, their vision became something tangible: two people, two hip replacement surgeries, and two lives changed forever. Surgeons from Tygerberg Hospital and Mediclinic Louis Leipoldt performed the procedures. This collaboration showed what is possible when people with both expertise and heart work together.

Marna asked me to join a prayer group for the patients. We each prayed from different places, but with the same two people in our hearts and minds. Their stories touched us deeply: the pain, the income loss, and the pressure of caring for a family while your own body is letting you down.

When the news came that both surgeries had gone well, it felt as though an entire group of people breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The ball is rolling now, with hip and knee replacements taking place weekly, changing not only individuals’ lives but also those of entire families. Even for me, receiving updates from afar and joining in prayer had a profound impact. I witnessed firsthand how God work through people.

“It Can Only Be God”

One of the first patients sent a voice message after his surgery to express his gratitude:

“I want to thank the doctors from Tygerberg Hospital and the Goodness Project team. I nearly lost my faith in God. When you guys came to me and told me the team had chosen me, I drew myself back to God, because it could only be Him. It can only be God. I want to thank you guys for everything. Thank you.”

For him, this surgery could be the beginning of a new life — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

A Calling for the Retirement Chapter

Wimpie and Marna’s new assignment is a big one. The road has not been easy. There have been new skills to learn, administration to master, and many moments where they have had to step far outside their comfort zones. Yet they are deeply aware that they are simply instruments in the hands of their Creator, and this calling requires continuing in faithful obedience.

When I look at their journey, I see two people whose entire lives seem to have prepared them for this season. Wimpie brings his knowledge, network, and experience. Marna brings her creativity, communication skills, and her heart for people. Together, they bring an unwavering faith in God’s greater plan.

Through perseverance and obedience, the right people, with the right hearts, knowledge and expertise, have crossed their path.

The impact already reaches far beyond healthcare alone. It shows what is possible when the public and private sectors join hands and people are willing to use their knowledge and experience to make a difference.

It is also a reminder that retirement is not necessarily the end of meaningful work. Sometimes, it is the beginning of the work you have been preparing for your whole life — work that can still carry purpose, impact, and blessing.

The Calling Already in Your Hands

We don’t always have to search for something completely new to make a difference. Often, the beginnings of meaningful impact are already in our hands. The experience we’ve gathered over the years, the people who have shaped us, and the gifts God entrusted to us weave them into our lives.

When we pause long enough to ask: “Lord, how can You use what I have to make someone else’s life better?” something shifts.

That simple question can broaden our vision, reorient our purpose, and open doors we never knew were waiting.

Regards,
Emsia