The Issy Geshen Lamont Home for the Aged situated in the Lamontville township in Durban, South Africa, cares for the physical, emotional and social needs of 69 frail elderly residents from extremely disadvantaged communities.
Pictured above, Gogo Guma, a legendary resident of the home, passed away in February 2022 at the age of 102, after many golden years spent at the home.
In recent months, due to the rising cost of living standards, and increased medical costs, the non-profit organisation, which is a haven for many old folks who have been neglected or abused, is facing financial challenges.
Reaching out to businesses, individuals, faith-based organisations, and the general public to help cover one of the most expensive line items the home faces, disposable nappies, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched on BackaBuddy. The campaign hopes to cover the home’s nappy costs for the next 3 months.
Mr. Guy Levene, Chairperson of the Issy Geshen Lamont Home for the Aged said,
“More than 70% of the frail elders are reliant on disposable adult nappies, which come at a significant cost – one of the home’s highest expenses after food and salaries. The home spends approximately R20 000 per month on disposable nappies.”
Incontinence represents many of the challenges facing frail elderly, and the failure of civil society and government to adequately support this vulnerable group.
Many elders who have disabilities, have suffered strokes or are living with chronic health issues such as diabetes may have reduced control of their bladder and bowel movements.
“The elderly living with such needs and disabilities are denied their most basic human right when their sanitary needs are not adequately provided for with nappies. Many disabilities cause incontinence and when something as essential as a nappy is missing from an elder’s care, it compromises their health, dignity, comfort, and freedom, and undermines their value in society,” added Levene.
The Dignity drive aims to encourage support and donations of adult nappies from local and national businesses, communities and individuals, to increase society’s knowledge and understanding of incontinent issues, including human rights of the elderly, using the Dignity-nappy drive as the theme for the campaign.
The Issy Geshen Lamont Home for the Aged was founded in 1960 by Mr Geshen and a group of volunteers – the Home was established to meet the need of vulnerable, homeless, disabled and needy pensioners in Lamontville.
Since its inception, the Home has provided and continues to provide comprehensive and holistic services and care to frail elders. For varying reasons, black African elders cannot live with family, are alone or cannot care for themselves.
The Home was officially registered as an old-age facility in 1980 to qualify for a government subsidy and acquire a state doctor’s services.
The Home provides accommodation, nutritious meals, medical care, and 24-hour quality care to elders over the age of 60 years.
South Africa’s leading crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R314 Million.
Sarah Ferguson, an ultra-distance swimmer from South Africa, has completed an incredible 516.49km of the 1 500km One Ocean Swim from her home town of Durban through to Cape Town.
However, without further donations towards her plastic pollution awareness campaign, Ferguson will have put her dream of achieving this unmatched feat, within a year, on hold.
“I started this journey to alert people to the realities of plastic pollution and show people what can be done to tackle this global problem,” explained the founder of NPO, Breathe Conservation.
“I’m swimming through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to showcase the incredible coastline we enjoy in South Africa, and am stopping along the way to engage with local communities about ocean conservation and beach clean-up initiatives.”
Ferguson embarked on this adventure on Monday, 21 February from Durban Undersea Club (DUC) and is being accompanied by a team of supporters who are monitoring her progress.
She is swimming the distance in stages, aiming for four-to-five-hour swims at a time with rest days every so often. Throughout every stage, Ferguson is actively documenting the experience in videos and infographics which are being shared online.
Stats include the distances covered per day, the weather, water quality, number of strokes, marine creatures she’s encountered – and the plastic count.
While Sarah’s enjoyed significant encounters with numerous marine life – gannet, hammerhead shark, dolphins and orange jellyfish among them – as well as positive engagements with welcoming communities, the journey is not without its challenges. Some of these include water visibility, as well as rapidly decreasing water temperatures the closer she gets to Cape Town.
Sarah Ferguson (Plastic Oceans)
However, Ferguson is no stranger to challenging adventures. In 2019, she became the first person to swim around Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and, in 2017 she made history by becoming the first woman from the African continent to complete the 46km Kai’wi Channel between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Molokai.
“We have officially finished the first major stage of our One Ocean Swim, and what a ride it’s been! I managed the last 10km in cooler 23-degree water in 2 hours about 3km off the back line before jumping in the boat to meet the most incredible crew from East London. We were given a massive welcome with hot showers and hot chocolate before heading to our home base.
“I am incredibly overwhelmed by the support and love and donations of food, cash, accommodation and encouragement on this journey. It’s been a crazy wild ride but we are here and hope to keep going as soon as possible. Thank you is not enough!”
Ferguson and her One Ocean Swim team are reliant on the generosity of conservation-minded sponsors to complete this epic journey.
Speaking on 5 April 2022, Ferguson said:
“Yesterday was our last day of swimming unless we get more funding. The team and I have given everything we have to get this far and want nothing more than to get to Mossel Bay by May. We are doing this for the ocean, not for ourselves.”
Sarah Ferguson (Plastic Oceans)
Ferguson and her One Ocean Swim team are reliant on the generosity of conservation-minded sponsors to complete this epic journey.
The team is aiming to raise around R3 million on BackaBuddy, which will cover all relevant costs to get to Cape Town, as well as funding for educational talks to communities between June and November.
Since the launch of the campaign, over R70 000 has been raised with kind contributions from 67 donors both locally and internationally.
www.backabuddy.co.za/breathe-fundraiser
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/OneOceanSwim
South Africa’s leading crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R312 Million.
On Friday, Victor du Plessis, 35, sadly passed away due to multiple organ failures after he suffered from various incurable diseases.
Marlene Mans (52) a single mom from Rustenburg, Johannesburg, has dedicated her entire life to caring for her son, Victor du Plessis (35), who was born with special needs.
For as long as Marlene can remember life has been a struggle for her son, who has lived between home and the hospital since he was born.
Always fighting an infection, Victor’s symptoms needed to be monitored closely to avoid devastating consequences.
“When the nurses handed Victor to me when he was just minutes old, I stared into his eyes, and unknowingly gave him the most appropriate name. A ‘victor’ is someone who has overcome an adversary. Considering the battles he’s fought and conquered, it’s a perfect fit” – says Marlene
In his lifetime, Victor has suffered 3 strokes, battled diabetes, epilepsy, bleeding on the brain, and a multitude of rare, incurable diseases. Contracting Covid-19 last year, Marlene says they almost had to say their goodbyes.
“Many times doctors gave up on Victor and told us there is little hope, but every single time our Vicky has pulled through. He’s a champion” – says Marlene
“Of all Victor’s conditions and ailments, this was perhaps one of the hardest to come to terms with. I can’t picture a day when Victor might not recognize me, his sister Vianca, and his nurses who have become an extended part of our family. We all love our little teddy bear” – says Marlene
As Victor was wheelchair-bound, struggled to eat and drink as a result of his brain function and was reliant on a permanent catheter, he needed around the clock care and a top tier medical aid.
Marlene said that without her daughter, Vianca (32), who has lovingly sacrificed her independence, and much of her salary every month to care for her big brother, she doesn’t know how they would have made it this far.
“Vianca is the most selfless person I have ever met. She has been with me every step of the way, and in many ways is Victor’s second mom. She takes him everywhere she goes, shaves him, bathes him and checks up on him. This she does out of pure love, not an obligation” – says Marlene
Victor with his little sister, Vianca
As Victor’s medical needs were extensive, his medical aid was often exhausted at critical times, and Marlene and Vianca were often unprepared for burdening co-payments.
Reaching out to the public for support, Marlene, who had taken a second job as a sales rep to care for her son, launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to help cover Victor’s medical needs which costed about R10 500 a month.
“With Victor’s chronic medication, specialist visits, daycare and dietary needs, his medical expenses are a mountain we try to conquer every month. It’s been difficult physically, emotionally, and financially” says Marlene
While no stranger to hard work and late nights, Marlene says she didn’t picture working this hard at her age to care for her son, but says “it’s what any mom would do”.
“No matter how stressed our situation becomes, it’s all worth it when Victor comes back from the clinic with a paper flower he’s made and a beaming smile on his face. I always say God has put us on this path for a reason, to teach us patience and humility”
It is with sadness in our heart that we say goodbye to our little sunshine boy. Vicky past away on the 8th of July at 16h00 as a result of multiple organ failure.We would like to thank everyone that ever donated towards this fundraising campaign and followed our journey.
We would like to thank Zane and maroela media who went out of their way in supporting is and made our journey a little bit easier. Vicky was a great warrior but in the end he died with peace and love on his little face.
May his life always be an example to others, of never giving up. Rest in peace our little warrior.You will be loved always.
If you would like to attend Victor’s funeral Tuesday, 19th July 2022, at 10h45, please meet at Moepelstraat Rustenburg Oak Proteapark.
South Africa’s leading crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R314 Million.
Janique Venter, a fun-loving 4-year-old young girl from Bloemfontein, was diagnosed with stage 3 Neuroblastoma Cancer, at 6 months old.
With this form of cancer, tumours develop from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body.
Thus far, none of the chemotherapy treatments available in South Africa has been effective for Janique, and because of the placement of her tumour, which is on the right side of her neck, surgery would be life-threatening.
Although Janique’s health is rapidly deteriorating as her tumour grows, she doesn’t know the severity of her condition or that she has cancer.
“Janique always has a smile on her face, despite the pain of the many procedures she’s had to endure since she was a baby. We can’t bring ourselves to tell our little one that she has cancer. We tell her that she has a ‘bug’, that Jesus is busy taking away” – says Janique’s mom, Nadia.
To assist the Venter family, Karin Harmse, founder of Arms of Mercy NPC, is on a mission to help Janique get to Burzynski Clinic in Houston, Texas, for gene-targeted therapy through antineoplaston, which has been used to treat neuroblastoma with highly promising results.
Through the launch of crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, Karin is appealing to the public for support, to help cover the cost of the trip to Boston, as well as the treatment, estimated to cost over R750 000, which is Janique’s ‘last chance’.
“Janique has waited for over 15 months for her miracle and time is running out. She is very close to my heart and my heart just can’t bear the pain anymore. Please open your hearts for this cancer warrior who is in dire need of your help and share her story far and wide” – Karin
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/karin-harmse
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/KarinHarmse
South Africa’s leading crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R313 Million.
7-month-old, Baby Novah De Wet, from Aggeneys, Northern Cape, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type 1, a fatal, rare genetic disorder that affects important motor neurons in the body, responsible for movement and muscle development.
The condition which is the most common inherited fatal disease in infants can be treated with a miracle gene therapy drug, Zolgensma, available only in the US, which costs an astronomical R35 Million rand ($2.3 Million).
For a chance to receive the drug for at no cost, Baby Novah has entered the Global Managed Access programme offered by the drug manufacturer, Novartis, which has been established to offer free access to the once-off treatment to 100 patients worldwide per year in countries in which the drug is not yet approved, including South Africa.
With no guarantee that she will be selected as the one of the patients, as the program works with a ‘lottery’ system, the De Wet family have partnered with the Angel Network to launch a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, appealing to the public, and corporations for financial support during this difficult time.
“Hearing that our beautiful child has a life expectancy of just 2-years, is a sentence we just can’t accept, as we stare in our little girl’s eyes. Sleeping in my arms, we promised her we would fight for a happy ending, and that is exactly what we plan to do. While we have a steep mountain to climb, our mission is not impossible, and that is what we need to believe, to save our little supernova” – says Clement.
Novartis has approved a three year payment plan for the drug, if the family can cover the cost of the R17.8 Million ($1.2 Million) deposit, which the campaign hopes to fund.
Since the launch of the campaign, generous donors have already made contributions to the value of R13 000. Funds raised will be paid directly to the relevant institution. Donors will be eligible for Section 18a tax certificates, issued by The Angel Network.
As baby Novah’s condition is extremely progressive, time is of the essence, says her dad, Clement.
“As a family, our dream is that our little girl can live a long, happy and healthy life. We know that with this drug, a bright future awaits our little one. We ask that you hear our hearts, share our story, and donate if you can. You will be saving baby Novah’s life, and heal our family” says Clement.
Baby Novah with her dad, Clement, mom Charene and her big sister Hayleigh
If Baby Novah is selected in the lottery, funds raised will be returned to the donors or used to fund another patient with the same condition.
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/baby-novah
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/baby-novah
South Africa’s leading crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R312 Million.