Our Mission

At Happy Healthy Hearts e.V., we are wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that no child in South Africa with a congenital heart defect is forgotten, regardless of how much money their family has or where they live. Every child deserves a fair chance at a healthy, fulfilling life.

We do everything in our power to enable as many children as possible to receive life-saving treatments. Behind every operation is not only medical help, but also hope, humanity, and the power to achieve great things together.

We see ourselves as partners. We want to support CHD projects in South Africa, show what is already being achieved on the ground with great dedication, and move this important work forward together.

Together with clinics, doctors and generous donors, we fund operations, medical equipment and the necessary aftercare. We support families not only financially but also emotionally - with dignity, transparency and genuine humanity.

Our Journey for Strong Children’s Hearts

The Beginning

In early 2024, a friend from South Africa reached out to our board member Dennis. She told him about her work with the Vertice Congenital Heart Disease Project (Vertice CHD Project), which gives children a future through life-saving heart surgeries and raises awareness about congenital heart conditions. At the time, she was collecting donations for this project.

In a country without a universal healthcare system, many parents do not know enough about these congenital heart defects. On top of that, families often lack the financial means to get their child the help they need.

First Steps

Inspired by the South African project, we at Happy Healthy Hearts e.V. decided that we could do more than just donate once. We want to be a voice for doctors, parents and children, and to share their reality in an honest and transparent way.

Together for Children’s Hearts

That is why we work together with the Vertice CHD Project to give affected children a real chance through modern, minimally invasive heart surgeries.

The doctors and medical team work largely on a voluntary basis, but we depend on your support to provide the necessary equipment and medical care.

Our Team

Our team brings together expertise and passion: specialists from medicine, non-profit management and marketing work hand in hand, with one shared goal: to make a lasting difference in the lives of children with heart conditions. Every one of us contributes not just knowledge, but genuine commitment.

Dennis Huiskens

Founder, Initiator & Board

vorstand@happyhealthyhearts.de

My name is Dennis Huiskens and when Idoné told me about the idea of helping children with congenital heart conditions in disadvantaged regions of South Africa, it moved me deeply right away. I knew: this is exactly what I want to stand up for beyond my own borders. After several years in hospital construction and my current work in care, I have seen how important medical support is, and how much it can change when it reaches those who need it most. Happy Healthy Hearts e.V. is more than an organisation to me. It is a matter of the heart. Together with friends, I started this initiative because I believe that every child has a right to health and a carefree life, regardless of where they were born.

Florian Giulio Votta

Founder & Board

vorstand@happyhealthyhearts.de

I am Florian Giulio Votta, founding member and together with Dennis on the board of Happy Healthy Hearts e.V. For me it was clear from the start: I want to build something that gives hope. Not an organisation that only talks about suffering, but about the strength to create lasting change. To bring a smile, for life. I have worked in online marketing since 2012. This experience helps me especially when it comes to making our organisation visible, with creative ideas and a feel for what moves people and how to reach them today.

Nicole Langer

Founder, Finance & Board

finanzen@happyhealthyhearts.de

My name is Nicole Langer and I am part of Happy Healthy Hearts e.V. The idea of making life-saving treatment possible for children with congenital heart defects in South Africa moved me deeply right away. It is a personal motivation, because I firmly believe that every child has a right to health and a carefree life, regardless of where they come from. I bring over a decade of professional experience in customer service, project management and international logistics. This experience helps me approach tasks in a structured, solution-oriented way with a broad perspective. Skills that I also bring to my work in the organisation. My commitment to others goes beyond my professional life: between 2011 and 2013 I worked at the Tierheim Geldern, a formative time during which I learned how important care and reliability are. Since early 2024 I have also been serving as a volunteer lay judge at the Amtsgericht Gelsenkirchen, where I stand up for justice and social cohesion. For me, Happy Healthy Hearts e.V. means not just help towards healing, but also hope, perspective and humanity. Values I am proud to stand for.

Idoné Visser

Member of the Vertice Congenital Heart Disease Project

My name is Idoné Visser and I am part of the Vertice Congenital Heart Disease Project in South Africa. Industrial Psychologist by trade, with a passion for children with heart disease. The mission from the start has been to give children with congenital heart disease a better chance at life. I am proud to continue this work alongside an inspiring team committed to making a lasting difference.

Constanze Weinert

Founder & Communications

My name is Constanze Weinert and I work as a care consultant in Cologne. In 2015 I went on my first major trip and travelled to South Africa together with Dennis Huiskens. Not only the beauty of this country impressed me, but also the unequal living conditions of the people there moved me deeply. This made me all the more interested in getting involved with a non-profit organisation that works together with locally based doctors and medical professionals in South Africa to support children in need. Through my work in the medical and care sector here in Germany, I know the hardships and helplessness of people who are seriously ill. It is therefore my firm belief that children who are affected by social inequality in their home country are in particular need of external support, to take away their fears and those of their families and to make comprehensive medical care accessible even without their own financial means. That is what I stand for at Happy Healthy Hearts e.V.

Our Volunteers

Happy Healthy Hearts lives from people like you - who get involved with heart and dedication! Our team consists not only of permanent members, but also of a diverse group of committed volunteers. Whether medical professionals or event planners - they all contribute their time, knowledge and enthusiasm for our mission.

Would you also like to get involved and support our work? Then let’s make a difference together! Feel free to write to us - we welcome every helping hand and will tell you more about current opportunities to get involved.

Help that makes a difference

Your donation gives children with heart disease in South Africa a real chance to survive.

In South Africa, many babies are born with a congenital heart defect (CHD), but these life-threatening conditions often go undetected, or there are not enough resources for treatment.

What your donation makes possible

Life-saving surgeries

Pediatric cardiologists at the public Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria treat children with conditions such as septal defects. The surgeries (usually at Zuid-Afrikaans Hospital) are performed voluntarily by doctors. Your donation helps fund closure devices and hospital stays.

Mobile heart ultrasound device

To ensure that babies in rural areas can also be examined, we are raising funds for a mobile echocardiography device. Pediatric cardiologists from Bloemfontein use it to detect heart defects early and start treatment.

How do we stay connected locally?

Our direct contact person in South Africa is Idoné. Through her, we stay in touch with the pediatric cardiologists who carry out the treatments and identify local needs.

Our vision

We want to help ensure that children with congenital heart defects in South Africa can be treated more quickly and closer to where they live, for example by expanding medical care in the province of Limpopo.

What sets us apart

Personal Contact

Every voice counts with us. Through our contacts in South Africa, we are always in close, personal exchange.

Flexibility

Our lean structure allows us to respond quickly to local needs.

Transparency

You can see at any time where every donated euro goes. Openness and accountability are a matter of course for us.

Sustainable Impact

Your donation improves the lives of children and their families, enables vital medical care and gives hope for a healthy future.

Become Part of Happy Healthy Hearts e.V.

Whether you donate once or support us long-term, every contribution counts.

Fill out membership formor donate todayDonate

Because every heart deserves a healthy life!