The Garden of Hope in the Free State Garden has been created as a symbol of hope for all people suffering from HIV and AIDS and other incurable diseases. It offers a sensory experience and a peaceful haven for visitors to relax and heal in beautiful, natural surroundings. The following features make this garden a true Garden of Hope:
- Water symbolises life and renewal
- Sculptures of faces represent all people affected by HIV and AIDS
- The sandstone circle symbolises unity and infinity and also depicts the journey of life.
- The green lawn is a symbol of compassion, love, empathy and support for all living with HIV and AIDS
- Sandstone rocks signify the difficulties and painful realities of life
- The sweet fragrance of the honey bell bush represents the beauty and prosperity life has to offer
- A mural represents breaking the silence about the disease and bringing it into the open where there is hope.
The creation of the Garden of Hope is a realisation of a long-held dream of the Free State National Botanical Garden. It was inspired by the courage of people faced with HIV and AIDS in their lives.
The garden will serve as a living testimony of compassion, hope and love and it is dedicated to the memory of those who have lost their lives to this disease and those whose lives have been changed forever by it.
Read more about the Official Opening of the Garden (beacon) of Hope.