Family

The term "citizen of the world" is one that you will often hear floating around and you Iolanda, is a prime example of that! With a dad from Namibia in Africa, a mom from Rome in Italy and a German grandmother, you will be born under the shadow of Big Ben in England as one of the most cosmopolitan little babies around!

Mum and Dad

Mum is formally known as Alessandra Foderaro, born in Rome, Italy, from a family that is originally from Milan. She is rightly very proud of her Italian heritage and is adamant that she will only speak Italian to you! As a very well educated lady, she is already passionate about your cultural education, so expect lots of trips to museums, fun exhibitions and other activities that will ensure you have no free time left!

Dad is Heino von Wielligh, and it is obviously from him that you will get your surname that nobody will be able to pronounce! Born in a tiny village in Namibia, he came over to England in the year 2000 to "work and travel for a couple of years". Crazy about sport, he will endeavour to maintain the balance between the physical and intellectual parts of your upbringing!

Nonna(grandmother) Mariapia

Mariapia Genderini is a rare Italian lady in that she is the true Italian mom that is extremely dedicated to her family, but is also a very dedicated career woman as a doctor. It is this balance that made her such a good mother for Alessandra, teaching her the value of dedication to your friends and family, whilst still developing yourself as an individual. It is indeed her patients most common feedback that she is there for them, no matter what time of day or night, proving that being a doctor is to her not a profession, but a vocation! She was born in Milan, but spent most of her life in Rome.

Nonno (grandfater) Gianfranco

Gianfranco Foderaro, an aeronautic engineer by profession, is a very eclectic person that has spent most of his life trying to understand and improve the workings of aircraft engines for Alitalia, Italy's national airline. He is however, much more than this. Hugely intelligent and with a very philosophical approach to life, he is constantly searching for the deeper, more universal meaning to everyday life! He also has a vast interest and knowledge of arts and literature, this being a passion that he planted in your mom from a very young age. He is an extremely active person as well, and every time he visits London, he has a plan to see some or other sight that most other people would never have heard of!

Ouma(grandmother) Sonja von Wielligh

Ouma Sonja was born Sonja Von Hatten in 1948 in Stuttgart, Germany. Her mom and dad emigrated to Namibia when she was about 6 months old to be farmers in the Gobabis district of Namibia, then German South West Africa. She was a very strong, intelligent lady who always made sure that her children were taught the right values, along with the discipline to apply them in daily life. She very sadly passed away in November 2009, a little over a year before you were born. It is one of the great sadness's of life that you could not meet her, however, she will live on through you and will smile down on the little one that has her blood in her veins.

Oupa(grandfather) Joepie von Wielligh 

Born Sarel Jacobus von Wielligh in Namibia in 1948, Oupa Joepie is your Afrikaans grandfather who has a German heritage that goes far back to Hamburg in the 1700's. He is Namibian first and foremost though, also from a farming background. With a great sense of humour, this grandfather of yours has a very gentle heart, and in the way he brought up his children, proved himself as caring, unselfish and ready to do anything that is needed for his family! Today, he still lives in the little village in Namibia, Karasburg, where he and your father were born.

Bis nonna(great grandmother) Delia

You are extremely privileged to have a great grandmother as not many people are in that position! Delia Pertica turned 90 years old in 2010 and was born from a very old family of navy captains, from the Liguria region in Italy. She is very proud of her origins and likes to tell everybody who is willing to listen all about her family. You will, as your mom did, spend many summer holidays in the old family house of bis nonna Delia in Liguria!

Oom(uncle) Henrico and Tannie(aunt) Letitia.

Henrico von Wielligh is your father's older brother. Eight years older than your dad, Henrico had a very big influence on the kind of person your dad is as he has been a constant role model during his childhood. A trained lawyer by profession, he currently lives in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.

Letitia von Wielligh (now Letitia Siebert) is Heino's sister. Six years older than him, Letitia spent many hours looking after Heino when he was a very little boy on the family farm. She also lives in Windhoek and works as an accounts manager for a big medical insurance company.

Zio(uncle) Matteo

Alessandra's brother Matteo Foderaro is about as different from her as chalk is from cheese! For one, he is much more sporty, having spent many years playing basketball, and is also passionate about snowboarding. He is also infinitely more trendy, and in fact, he bought you the set of clothes that you wore for the first time, suggesting that he will make sure you stay up to date with the current fashion trends. Something, sadly, that your parents are not really that able to help you with!

He lives in Rome and co-manages an advertising company that he started with two of his friends. This company also includes Busta, a monthly advertising package that is distributed all over Italy. Matteo has shown a lot of affection for you from the very first day!

Cousins Jacobus and Sonja Siebert

Two more of your African family members include Jacobus and Sonja Siebert, children of Heino's sister Letitia and therefore your cousins. They are both attending school in Windhoek and Sonja is developing a strong interest in art, whilst Jacobus is a keen cricketer. Both are obviously quite a bit older than you, but hopefully you will one day spend a lot of time together to make sure that the family ties between Africa and Europe remain strong! 

Famiglia Genderini

Augusto Genderini is your nonna Mariapia's younger brother, and therefore your mom's uncle. Also a doctor by trade, he lives in Milan with his wife Stefania, an English teacher, and their two sons, Francesco and Giovanni. These two cousins of your mom's live in Milan and are attending university there. Their nonna Benita showed a lot of interest in you as well, so, since they are your nonna's closest family, we will probably spend a lot of Christmases with them in Milan.

Iris, Theo and Demi van Breda

Iris van Breda (born Von Hatten) is the younger sister of your Ouma Sonja von Wielligh and therefore Heino's aunt. She, her husband Theo and their daughter Demi all live in Johannesburg, South Africa. Iris and Theo played a big part in Heino's life as well, especially when Heino studied for three years in nearby Pretoria. Between them they guided Heino into big city life and were always on hand when the boy from the farm needed a helping hand!

Family from Cremona

Cremona is a town in the Lombardia region of Italy, close to Milan. This is also the place where your nonno Gianfranco's father's family are from.

Zio Vitto, zia Lalla and Zia Annadina are all your nonno Gianfranco's cousins, but they are more like brothers and sisters since the two sets of parents were all brothers and sisters, if this makes any sense! To explain it in another way, two brothers married two sisters and from the one side came your nonno, and from the other side came Vitto, Lalla and Annadina!

Part of their families include Anotonio, Giuseppe, Paola, Massimiliano and Riccardo, which means that there are a whole bunch of people in Cremona who can't wait to meet you!