Johannesburg, South Africa — A handwritten sign asking strangers for help with a matric dance has sparked an extraordinary response around 21-year-old Johannesburg learner Thabang Kgasane, whose determination to reach the milestone despite financial hardship has now inspired a wider campaign to support other struggling students.
Videos of Thabang standing at traffic lights in Lenasia with a sign reading “Matric Dance Donations” spread rapidly across social media this week. South Africans responded with donations, offers of clothing and transport, and messages of encouragement.
His immediate matric dance needs have since been met.
But those who stepped in to help soon discovered that the challenges Thabang faces extend far beyond one school celebration.
Thabang lives largely independently in Johannesburg and has been managing with limited financial support. The attention around his story is now helping with food, housing and other essentials as he works towards completing matric.
It has also inspired something bigger.
The Because of Thabang BackaBuddy campaign was launched two days ago with a R100,000 target. Already, 27 donors have contributed R6,709 towards supporting Thabang and other students facing financial barriers during their final years of school.
It Started With a Handwritten Sign
Support this campaign: View Because of Thabang and share this story with your community.
Thabang wanted something many matric learners look forward to throughout high school: the chance to attend his matric dance.
His school is hosting the event on 23 September.
But the costs of a suit, shoes and other expenses were beyond what his family could comfortably afford.
Rather than place additional pressure on them, Thabang decided to try raising the money himself.
He stood at traffic lights along Lavender Street in Lenasia, dressed in his school uniform and holding a handwritten sign asking motorists for matric dance donations.
On his first attempt, he raised about R300.
When he returned, he raised a further R1,500.
Then someone filmed him.
The video travelled far beyond the intersection where Thabang had been standing.
People began offering money, clothing and transport. Others volunteered to help make sure he could enjoy the evening alongside his classmates.
One social media user offered the use of a V-Class vehicle, while others offered to cover clothing and other matric dance expenses.
What began as one learner asking passing motorists for help had become a national conversation.
More Than a Matric Dance
As Thabang’s story spread, more of his circumstances became known.
He is 21 and attends Moses Maren Mission Technical Secondary School in Johannesburg.
His educational journey has not been straightforward.
Thabang has spoken openly about repeating Grades 3, 7 and 10 while growing up in the Eastern Cape. Since moving to Gauteng, however, he says his academic performance has improved.
He now hopes to complete matric and study civil engineering at university.
Doing so would make him the first person in his family to obtain a matric certificate.
For Thabang, attending the matric dance is therefore about more than a suit or a night out.
It represents reaching the end of a school journey that has taken longer and demanded more persistence than he expected.
“I’m motivated and I don’t give up easily,” he has said. “I go after what I want and I believe I will achieve my goals regardless of what people say.”
His determination is what eventually caught the attention of campaign organiser Vuyisa Sigonyela.
‘Because of Thabang’
After helping mobilise support around Thabang, Sigonyela realised that his matric dance was only the most visible need.
“His immediate needs for the Matric Dance have been met,” he explains through the campaign. “We are helping him now with housing, food and other essentials.”
Then something else happened.
Other students began reaching out.
Young people facing their own financial difficulties sent messages asking whether there might also be help available for them.
That changed the purpose of the initiative.
Rather than closing the fundraiser once Thabang had what he needed for his matric dance, Sigonyela created Because of Thabang.
The campaign will begin with matric learners from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Funds are intended for verified education-related needs such as school fees, uniforms, stationery, university applications and registration costs. Matric-related expenses may also be supported where appropriate.
The campaign has committed to documenting who receives assistance and how the money is used.
Thabang will remain at the centre of the initiative, but he will no longer be its only beneficiary.
“His courage started it,” the campaign explains.
R20, R50 and R100 Donations Begin Adding Up
The early donations tell their own story.
Among the 27 contributions are amounts of R30, R44, R50, R90, R100 and R200.
One person donated R30 with the message: “It is not much but I hope it helps.”
Another gave R50 and wrote: “I hope the little I am donating will help.”
A R200 donor told Thabang: “You’re gonna go far.”
There have also been larger contributions, including a R2,000 donation.
Together, those amounts have already taken the new campaign beyond R6,700.
The response shows the same principle that shaped Thabang’s original attempt at the traffic lights. He did not need one person to solve everything. He needed enough people to help with what they could.
One Student Opens the Door for Others
There is another reason Thabang’s story has resonated.
His school serves learners from families facing significant financial pressure, and educators have acknowledged that attending the matric dance is difficult for some pupils.
This year’s event is the school’s first matric dance.
Teachers and outside supporters have already been trying to help pupils access clothing and other essentials, but they cannot meet every need.
Thabang became the learner whose situation was captured on camera.
There are others whose stories never reach social media.
That is the gap Because of Thabang now hopes to address.
“A young person’s financial circumstances should never be the reason they feel left behind at school or have to give up on their future,” the campaign states.
The goal is not to fund extravagant school experiences. It is to remove practical barriers that can leave young people excluded from important moments or unable to take their next educational step.
What Started at a Traffic Light Is Becoming Something Bigger
Thabang originally stood beside a Johannesburg road because he needed a suit and shoes.
Within days, strangers had made sure that need was met.
But the most significant outcome may have little to do with what he wears on 23 September.
His willingness to ask for help exposed a much wider challenge facing young people whose ambitions are often bigger than the resources available to them.
His story has also shown what can happen when social media attention moves beyond comments and becomes practical support.
Twenty-seven donors have already taken that next step.
The campaign now hopes the momentum created around one learner can help another student pay an application fee, buy stationery, replace a school uniform or reach a milestone they thought finances would force them to miss.
Thabang asked for help because he wanted to attend his matric dance.
He got it.
Now, because of Thabang, the hope is that the next learner will not have to stand at a traffic light before someone notices that they need help too.
Support this campaign: Support Because of Thabang on BackaBuddy.
How Support Can Help a Matric Learner
Support for Thabang’s campaign can help remove practical education barriers for him and other South African students.
