diff --git a/utils/patch_header.sh b/utils/patch_header.sh
index adabf5fdc65bc2df297ef8ec7d51d01e5d12d95b..2b6608679ba1eae016e6e66d9dcff83c85735006 100644
--- a/utils/patch_header.sh
+++ b/utils/patch_header.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@
 #
 #header for patch scripts
 
+# load useful functions #######################################################
+UTILS_PATH=`dirname "$(realpath $0)"`
+. $UTILS_PATH/helpers.sh
+
 USAGE="$1 [ --env=ENV_FILE ] [ --patch=PATCH ] [ --backupdir=BACKUPDIR ]\n\n"
 CMD_OPTIONS=$(cat <<EOF
 options: