When Monet van Deventer stopped at a petrol station in Cape Town and realised she had forgotten her bank card at home, good samaritan, Nkosikho Mbele, offered to fill her tank with R100 to ensure she got home safely.
To thank him for his kind deed, she set up a campaign with a fundraising target of R100 000 that soon gained support from over 2500 donors, raising over R500 000 in total.
Aaron Lipschitz (5) from Sea Point, Cape Town, is the first child in South Africa to be diagnosed with Interleukin-12 Receptor Defect, a rare genetic condition that affects the immune system.
With no cure for Aaron’s condition, the only way for him to overcome his recurrent infections, was to have a bone marrow transplant which was made possible in August 2018 with the support of generous donors.
To date, over R1.6 Million has been raised to support Aaron’s medical treatment on BackaBuddy.
Romario Valentine (11) is a young eco-warrior from Umhlanga, Durban, who has dedicated his last two birthdays to raise funds to support his favourite bird park, plant trees and build an aviary.
Focused on saving our environment, Romario’s efforts have garnered international attention, and he has been featured by 50/50, National Geographic Kids, Global Citizen and has even appeared on a panel with The United Nations!
When Naledi Thahanyane was 4-years-old, she was in urgent need of surgery after it was discovered that she had a heart defeat.
Without the funds to cover Naledi’s medical needs, the children’s home in which she lives, reached out for support. With an outpouring of love and support, over R260 000 was raised to save her life.
Rebuilding Knysna
In the wake of the Knysna Fires in June 2017, Former Miss South Africa, Demi Leigh Nel Peters launched a campaign on BackaBuddy to help rebuild her hometown after fires raged through the Garden Route.
Urging South Africans to support her cause for the Sedgefield Lions Club, over R820 000 was raised, exceeding the initial target of R500 000 to provide supplies for the families that lost their homes and livelihoods in the blaze.
Read more of our impact stories by clicking below.
Why is BackaBuddy South Africa’s trusted platform?
“It is truly an honour to work with such an incredible organization and team that are always kind, super efficient and truly make the journey easy and perfect.” – Jo-Ann Joffe
Thank you for all your service, guidance and backing. BackaBuddy is a wonderful initiative and such a positive way to support those who ask for a little help. – Adene Heinz-Krüger
“BackaBuddy has been a great help, especially in us accepting International Payments.” – Tim Human (Gary Kirsten Foundation)
*International media tracker Meltwater.
“Thank you for all the amazing media support and exposure for my cause” – Leilani Kuter (Yellow for Survivors)
“As a platform, BackaBuddy allows us to come together as communities to support people and causes that we believe in, regardless of our differences. For every cause, accident or catastrophe that we face, we bear witness to the many who step up when asked to by their peers. This is the immense power that crowdfunding facilitates and which goes far beyond just the funds that are raised” says BackaBuddy, CEO, Patrick Schofield
Why is BackaBuddy South Africa’s trusted platform?
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched on BackaBuddy by FundingHub, to help small business owner, Suveer Pakkoo (38), from Howick, Pietermaritzburg, recover from the devastating looting and unrest that destroyed his company Badges and Signs.
To help Suveer get back to business, he will need to replace 6 machines (estimated at R20 000) and almost R15 000 in raw materials that were stolen during the looting. Some suppliers who are affiliated with the business have kindly lent a few machines to Suveer so they can continue their operations and deliver on the jobs they were busy with prior to the unrest.
Without insurance Suveer has suffered a tremendous loss, but thanks to kind support from his community, he is almost back on his feet.
With generous support from 11 donors, almost R29 000 has been raised towards Suveer’s fundraising target of R45 000 on BackaBuddy.
“I’m 38 years of age & have two kids, so I am not at a stage to quit, I have built my business from the start & am going to see this through. I appreciate that there is still hope out there.” – says Suveer.
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/
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 R260 Million.
Digital Content Creator and Trans Rights Activist, Zoey Black (33) from Kuils River, Cape Town, has openly shared her life and journey as a trans woman for the world to see in recent years.
Now, after much consideration, the tenacious Capetonian is ready for the next big step in her life, undergoing a breast augmentation, or ‘Top surgery’ as it’s commonly known, to affirm herself.
“It was incredibly hard being raised and socialised as a boy. Since childhood, I knew I was a woman. But I didn’t have the language to articulate or explain why I felt so displaced and why I struggled with my identity and relationships. Only coming into my gender identity in my late 20’s was rough, but it was by far the best decision I made for myself… to live as myself, openly.” – says Zoey
To realise her life-long dream of becoming her authentic self, Zoey has launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to appeal to family, friends, LGBTQI allies, as well as the wider public for much-needed support.
“I’m the kind of person to take my time when I make big decisions. I’d been thinking of having top surgery done for about 5 years now. But before I decided to undergo such massive change, I wanted to make sure that it was the right decision for me. And it was. So here we are… Me, asking you to help make that decision a reality.” – says Zoey.
Since the launch of Zoey’s campaign on 4 August 2021, over R5000 has been raised towards her fundraising target of R60 000, which will cover the cost of the surgery, time in theatre, as well as the routine post-surgery check-ups she will need.
To show her appreciation to those who have supported her op and stood by her through the years, Zoey hopes to document her experience in detail, to pave the way for her ‘trans siblings’ who are contemplating affirming themselves through surgery.
She also hopes that through educating others on what it means to be trans, more people will have compassion for the vibrant community. ‘There is always something we can learn from each other’ says Zoey.
Make a donation to support Zoey’s transformation:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/zoey-black
Donate via Snapscan
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/Zoey-black
For regular updates on Zoey’s journey, subscribe to her YouTube channel here.
Follow Zoey on Instagram here.
Gender DynamiX (GDX), established in 2005, is the first registered Africa-based public benefit organisation to focus solely on trans and gender diverse communities. What started as a mere vision, slowly grew into a grassroots organisation. GDX has since become an institutionalised non-profit organisation (NPO) that is fundamental to the development of the trans and gender diverse movement(s) in South Africa and across southern Africa.
For more information, visit:
https://www.genderdynamix.org.za
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 R260 Million.
