A PERFECT MATCH

Madden has blossomed since finding Moon, a cat with a cleft lip and palate and different colour eyes – just like him!

NEED a dose of warm and fuzzy in these troubling times? Well, you’re in luck because feel-good doesn’t come much more heartwarming than this. The starring characters: a boy called Madden Humphreys who was bullied because of his facial differences, and his pal, Moon, a cat whose eyes and mouth perfectly match his bestie’s.

It’s a win-win situation for the pair – Madden has a nonjudgmental pal who follows him around wherever he goes. And Moon has a loving home with a boy who’ll do anything for him.

Madden and Moon, who live in Owasso, in the US state of Oklahoma, have quite a following on Instagram, with their thousands of fans mesmerised by the unlikely “twins”.

The cat has done wonders for the boy’s confidence, Madden’s mom, Christina, says. Her son was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate as well as a condition known as complete heterochromia iridum, which causes his eyes to be different colours. By the time he was seven, Madden had undergone a total of six surgeries to correct his cleft lip and palate. But the scarring left by the procedures and his unusual speech as a result of his repaired palate made him the target of vicious bullying – and the spunky and outgoing kid turned into an insecure and withdrawn version of himself. “The bullying really broke his spirit,” Christina says. “There were some kids saying really ugly, mean things to him.” Three years ago Madden became an internet sensation when he appeared on a video for an anti-bullying campaign. “D o n’ t be mean to people that are different,” Madden says on the clip, which quickly went viral. “We’ve already been through a lot of hard stuff. Show everybody kindness. You’re missing out on a lot of awesome people if you’re being a poophead to them. “Don’t be a poophead!” The bullies backed off as the campaign, which encouraged spreading love and kindness instead of fear and hate, gathered momentum. Madden gained a measure of his confidence back – but it wasn’t until Moon came along that he really started to blossom.

CHRISTINA first became intrigued with the cat when a friend posted a picture of the feline on their cleft mom’s group on Facebook. Moon was being fostered by a rescue group in Minnesota and was in desperate need of a forever home.

Christina didn’t hesitate – she knew Moon was perfect. Not only did Moon also have a cleft lip like Madden, his eyes were different colours too. Like Madden, Moon’s right eye was green and his left eye blue.

“They were destined to be best friends,” Christina writes in a post for her blog, Love What Matters. “Funny how a pet can make you feel less alone.” Christina and Madden

Madden and Moon both have a rare condition that means their eyes are different colours. The condition affects just 1% of the population.

made the nearly 14-hour trek across the country to fetch Moon in Minnesota. “We’re usually not spontaneous people,” Christina says. “But we knew we were meant to love this kitty.”

She believes fate willed boy and cat together. “I’m stunned at how this all played out. It sounds silly, but there’s no other explanation. This kitty was so far away from us. I’m amazed that we found out about him and even more amazed by the friends and strangers who helped us get to him and adopt him.”

Madden and Moon hit it off instantly and are always together. “Every single morning, without fail, Moon is sleeping on Madden’s pillow when I go to wake him up,” Christina says.

“Madden takes such good care of his sweet kitty. He feeds him, cleans the litter box and gives him fresh water every day without being reminded.”

Christina is grateful for the positive impact Moon has had on Madden.

“In a word full of bullies, we will choose to chase love,” she says. “I think it’s safe to say this kitty is love and was meant to be part of Madden’s journey.”

LEFT, ABOVE and ABOVE RIGHT: Madden Humphreys and rescue cat Moon bonded instantly the moment they met. The two do everything together, including sleeping and eating.

MADDEN’S last operation was in June last year when he had bone graft surgery to repair his cleft lip and palate. It was his fourth procedure in nine months. The operations were taxing on the little boy but each time he had his furry friend to help him through his recovery.

“I’m so thankful Madden has Moon,” Christina says. “Not only so that both he and the kitty have a relatable and sweet companion, but also because I hope Moon helps Madden realise that being born unique is an incredible thing. That he’s magic. These two handsome guys truly are a wonder.”

Christina hopes the attention the family has been getting can be redirected to help other kids with cleft lips, “even if just to raise awareness”.

“The bullying still rears its nastiness once in a while,” she adds. “The only thing we can do is try to change our perception on bullies and try to change the way it affects us.

“We’re full of shortcomings, just like every other human, but we’ll always try

Sour best to show others kindness, even when we face our most difficult adversary, even when we’re standing up for ourselves and even when we feel like being kind is the last thing we want to do in a difficult moment.”

And it seems no one is more on board than little Madden.

He has wise words for anyone suffering at the hands of bullies. “If somebody is being mean to you, be nice to them,” he says. “Cause the most unlovable people need love the most.”

SHE’S the most celebrated children’s author of recent times and her beloved characters and intriguing tales have cast a spell over millions of people the world over. But the woman who made a fortune out of conjuring up wizards is now regarded by some as the wicked witch of the internet.

JK Rowling has enraged members of the LGBTQI+ community in the past by weighing in on sensitive subjects and the wisdom of political correctness – opinions many believe she should keep to herself.

But the Harry Potter author clearly isn’t one to keep quiet when she has something to say – and she recently found herself being labelled transphobic again after a highly controversial tweet.

JK (54), whose name is Joanne, took exception to the phrase “people who menstruate”, telling her 14 million Twitter followers, “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

She followed this up with a tweet that said, “I know and love trans people but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”

Her tweets provoked outrage and were condemned by Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as well as actor Eddie Redmayne, who starred in the movie adaptation of another of JK’s creations, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

“Transgender women are women,”

Daniel said. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional healthcare associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

Emma, who played Hermione Granger in the Potter franchise, chimed in: “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.” While Rupert had this to say, “We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.”

Eddie said he wanted to make it “absolutely

COMPILED BY SANDY COOK clear” where he stood. “I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and nonbinary identities are valid.”

As the row deepened, JK posted a 3 600-word blog, saying she would’ve preferred to keep her deeply personal experiences private – but in the light of the fallout she had no choice but to try to explain herself. Her views on transgender issues were influenced by being subjected to domestic violence and sexual assault as a young woman.

“I’m mentioning this now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of

FAR LEFT and ABOVE: Some of JK Rowling’s tweets have caused an outcry in the LGBTQI+ community. ABOVE RIGHT: JK with her first husband, Jorge Arantes, and their daughter, Jessica. She’s described the marriage as “violent”. solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces.”

HER abuse dates back to the early 1990s when she was living in Portugal with her first husband, Jorge Arantes, and their baby daughter, Jessica (now 26). She left him in 1994 and moved to Scotland, where she wrote the book that made her a global sensation.

“I managed to escape my first violent marriage with some difficulty, but I’m now married to a truly good and principled man,” writes JK, who has two children, David (17) and Mackenzie (15), with second husband Dr Neil Murray.

“However, the scars left by violence and sexual assault don’t disappear, no matter how loved you are, and no matter how much money you’ve made.

“I pray my daughters never have the same reasons I do for hating sudden loud noises or finding people behind me when I haven’t heard them approaching.”

At the heart of JK’s argument is the apparent ease with which a man can be declared a woman and the safety implications of this for women.

“The current explosion of trans activism is urging a removal of almost all the robust systems through which candidates for sex reassignment were once required to pass,” she says.

“A man who intends to have no surgery and take no hormones may now secure himself a gender recognition certificate and be a woman in the sight of the law. Many people aren’t aware of this.”

She wants trans women to be safe, she says, but she doesn’t want to make “girls and women less safe”.

“When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.”

However, transgender groups point out trans women make up just 0,6% of the population and that “the amount of obsession over where we pee is disproportionate to the likelihood of bumping into one of us”.

THIS isn’t the first time JK has upset the LGBTQI+ community. In December she voiced her support for tax specialist Maya Forstater, who was sacked after tweeting that transgender people can’t change their biological sex.

Maya is an outspoken trans-exclusionary radical feminist (or Terf) – someone who believes transgender women are men, and should be exempt from the

Slegal and social protections afforded to biological women. JK then compounded the anger by following a woman called Magdelen Burns on Twitter. “Magdalen was an immensely brave young feminist and lesbian who was dying of an aggressive brain tumour,” JK writes in her new essay. “As Magdalen was a great believer in the importance of biological sex, and didn’t believe lesbians should be called bigots for not dating trans women with penises, dots were joined in the heads of Twitter trans activists, and the level of social media abuse increased.” JK is hoping her blog will go a long way towards clarifying her position and seems at pains to prove to the world that she actually supports the trans cause. But many people aren’t convinced. In 2018 JK liked a blatantly transphobic tweet – although she later chided herself for being “clumsy and middle-aged” – and she still follows a number of openly transphobic people on Twitter. Writer and Harry Potter fan Jackson Bird, who wrote about how Harry Potter helped him come out as trans in his memoir, told Variety magazine he felt let down by the author. “For her to decide to use her incredible platform to be critical and hateful towards a particular group of people – it just seems an irresponsible use of the platform by one of the most influential people in the world.” Melissa Anelli, founder and CEO of an events company that runs Harry Potter conventions, feels betrayed by Rowling. “Supporting a creator with this view is difficult. This is like breaking up with someone, you know? It’s so difficult to say out loud.”

‘I know and love trans people but it isn’t hate to speak truth’

With Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, who’ve all distanced themselves from the author’s views.

DON’T take anything for granted. That’s the message a man from Douglasdale in Fourways, Gauteng, is taking away from an ongoing crisis that recently made him take the plunge – straight into a sinkhole filled with freezing water.

The man wants to be known only as Nicholas, although to the people in his area he’s more like a super-hero – even if in his case undies, and undies alone, are his uniform.

No cape for this crusader. No briefs over an electric-blue suit for this water warrior. Just a pair of good old boxers and a case of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”.

Nicholas (37) has lived in Douglasdale for nearly four years and the area has a lot going for it, he says – it’s safe and quiet, it’s close to shops and parks. But one thing he hadn’t banked on were the constant water problems in the area.

It’s become a running joke among the

BY JOY MPHANDE residents. The minute the water comes back after a break in supply, people urge each other to grab a shower as quickly as possible before another burst pipe means the

ABOVE: Nicholas warms himself up with a hot cup of tea as he stands in freezing water during the photoshoot of his protest to bring attention to pipe bursts in Fourways. LEFT: The aftermath of a burst pipe that sent water gushing into his yard. taps are shut off again.

But as the problem went from bad to worse, the sense of humour of even the most happy-go-lucky local started to fail.

Fortunately, they have Nicholas. And Nicholas is anything but a wet blanket.

HE WOKE up early one recent Sunday morning and set out to have his usual jog when he heard “what sounded like a river in full flow” outside his house. “It could’ve been the Jukskei roaring through my property,” Nicholas recalls. It was the sound of yet another burst pipe. But that wasn’t all.

“A giant sinkhole had opened up in the street after the City of Johannesburg removed the tar to get to the pipe,” he says.

That’s when he decided to leap into action.

“The only way to deal with something so frustrating is to see the light side,” he says. “I’d been making tea and coffee for the guys who’d been working for the city and just to make people laugh a bit, I thought I’d jump in to have a bath and a cup of tea.”

He estimates the sinkhole was the size of a small swimming pool – and it was deep. In some parts he couldn’t touch the bottom, he says.

His actions caused a giggle among his neighbours, who were on hand with a towel when he got out of the icy water. But, in truth, goodwill is wearing thin.

“I think in the beginning people tolerated the constant interruption of supply. But when the bursts kept recurring, with eight days on the trot having water coming and going or no water at all, it gets a bit much,” Nicholas says.

Eleanor Mavimbela, communications officer of Johannesburg Water, couldn’t provide information on the cause of the problem – but she wasn’t impressed with Nicholas’ antics. No one should enter an open excavation site, she says.

Workers try their best to rectify problems when they arise, she adds, and a water tank has been installed in the area which “is refilled constantly to ensure the residents have a constant supply of water for the duration of the service interruption”.

Nicholas recalls another incident when he received a desperate call from his neighbour at six in the morning asking for help after a pipe in the driveway burst and water was gushing straight toward their front door. They frantically put sandbags in place to prevent the home from flooding.

There’s great community spirit, Nicholas says.

“It’s become a routine. You put on your wellies, you grab your spade and you go down to help. You find someone on the road who’s got sandbags and everyone’s there together trying to save that one house.”

Nicholas says eventually the city dug out the driveway, found the pipe and turned off the water. They worked all day to fix it, but then another pipe ruptured not far away and had to be dealt with.

Ward councillor Chris Santana is seeking answers to the ongoing problem but says he hasn’t had any joy with Johannesburg Water.

“The issue gets settled between insurance and the city when they claim for the damage caused. We can’t say what’s causing the problem. One of them is obviously water pressure and funding is always a problem. There’ve been quite a lot of bursts in a short space of time.”

‘The only way to deal with something so frustrating is to see the light side’

HSIS icy outdoor “bath” has given him a renewed appreciation for the small things in life, Nicholas says – like the hot bath infused with essential oils he took after the sinkhole problem had been temporarily resolved.

“I lay in that lavender-infused bath for 45 minutes and felt like Cleopatra,” he says, smiling. “It was a humbling moment, really just appreciating the simplicity and the luxury of being able to have running water.

“I also thought about how spoilt I was and how I take things for granted. Some people don’t have the privilege of running water.

“It was a bittersweet moment. And I thought what I’d take from all this is gratitude.”

‘You put on your wellies, you grab your spade and go down to help’