On 20 June 2021, Nicolaas Serfontein (36), an admired swimming teacher from Melkbosstrand Cape Town, was rushed to the emergency room at Blaauwberg Netcare Hospital, after his wife, Tina, struggled to wake him up.
Doctors soon realised after conducting two Lumbar Punctures, and several tests, including multiple CT and MRI scans, that Nicky had contracted a rare form of meningitis and was also experiencing kidney failure.
Pictured above: Nicolaas Serfontein
To save Nicky’s life, he was put on a ventilator, placed in an induced coma for 4 days, and given a number of medications and drips.
A Long road to recovery
While Nicky has moved into a medical ward, after 20 days in ICU, doctors predict that his road to rehabilitation will be a long one due to the severe medical trauma he has endured.
Nicky will soon need to begin occupational therapy as well as physiotherapy to make a full recovery and continue living life to the fullest.
Crowdfunding on BackaBuddy
To assist Nicky with his medical costs as well as his living costs for the next couple of months, a member of his family, Zaren Knight (33), has launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to appeal to the public for support in raising R100 000 to help Nicky get back on his feet after this traumatic and unexpected ordeal.
“Everyone knows Nicky as the kindest person with the biggest heart. He has a spirit of love and always puts others first. I always say that I’m a black-and-white person (yes and no), and Nicky is all the beautiful colours in between. He is the love of my life, and he is loved by so many. He is always ready to help someone else, but right now he needs our help. Please stand with us in prayer as now, Nicky needs our help” says Nicolaas’ wife, Tina.
Pictured above: Nicky with his wife, Tina.
Since the launch of the campaign, over R14 000 has been raised from kind contributions from 22 donors who have left warm messages of encouragement for Nicky in his time of need.
‘Running with a smile’, Zaren, who is admittedly not a trained runner, ran over 20km, around the entire Swakopmund in Namibia on the 10th July 2021, to raise funds for Nicky’s campaign, pledging to donate R100 herself, for every kilometer she completed.
Make a donation to support Nicolaas by donating here:
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.
In July 2020, Shaun and Bianca Pretorius from Benoni, Johannesburg, learned the devastating news that their son, Shaunie (12), a bright and happy young boy, was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive, and terminal type of brain cancer called Brainstem Glioma.
A devastatingdiagnosis
At the beginning of lockdown, Shaunie was struggling with fatigue and constant vomiting. Thinking that his condition was perhaps brought on by school stress and adapting to online learning, his parents took him to a number of doctors to see what was wrong.
Matters soon got worse when the antibiotics he was given did little to remedy his condition. Shaunie began struggling with his eyesight, had difficulty moving around and battled to communicate.
Shaunie having a CT scan at Linmed Hospital
To determine the cause of Shaunie’s rapid decline, he was taken for CT scan at Linmed Hospital in Johannesburg.
The heartbreaking results of the x-ray determined that Shaunie has a cancerous tumour in his brain stem, a fatal condition known as Brainstem Glioma, which has a median survivalrate of only 9 months.
With doctors unable to operate on Shaunie, he underwent 12 aggressive Radiation Therapy sessions to shrink his tumour and alleviate some of his pain.
To shelter Shaunie from the severity of his condition, his parents didn’t tell him that his tumour was cancerous, but he understood why he was beginning to lose his hair and that he was unwell.
“Hearing that your child, who has always been perfectly healthy, is fighting a deadly disease and only has a few months left to live is devastating. We don’t know how to tell Shaunie that he is dying. We still have hope that God will hear our prayers and that he will make it through” – his mom, Bianca said.
As there is no cure for Shaunie’s condition, he was being treated symptomatically with cannabis oil and steroids to help the swelling on his brain and increase his appetite.
Shaunie’s Birthday Wish
As only 1% of children diagnosed with Brainstem Glioma live up to 5 years, the Pretorius family focused on keeping Shaunie as healthy, as pain free and as comfortable as possible so he could enjoy the time he had left with his parents and his little brother, Mattie (3).
Shaunie with his little brother, Mattie.
Focusing on all the things that spark joy for a young boy, Shaunie’s uncle Juandre Botha launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, to fulfil Shaunie’s ultimate dream of owning a Playstation 5, just in time for his 12th birthday on the 9th of March.
Shaunie on his 12th Birthday
With generous support, Shaunie’s campaign raised over R24 000 and he was able to get the playstation he always longed for and was able to cover more of his medical expenses.
Shaunie playing with his brother
Update: Rest in Peace, Brave Shaunie.
On the 2nd of July 2021, Shaunie lost his battle with Brainstem Glioma.
“It is with devastating sadness that we would like to let you know that Shauni passed away in his father’s arms this morning after a year fighting Brainstem Glioma.The family’s hearts are broken and we please ask for your prayers and love for them on this most devastating day. Shauni is a hero, having fought through all this time and will be remembered as being forever young – a bright, kind and loving child who brought joy to everyone around him.Thank you to everyone for all the love and support through the year that Shauni and his family have been fighting this monster disease.Thank you to all the contributors, well wishes, prayers, blessings and kind words from you all. It is greatly appreciated.You are welcome to send us messages on this group so that we may forward on to Shauni’s family.” – A message posted on Shaunie’s Facebook group.
Create a crowdfunding campaign
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 R200 Million.
To help support medics during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Masks for Medics, a non-profit initiative based in Cape Town, South Africa, has re-launched its crowdfunding campaign to supply non-hospital-based front-line healthcare workers with medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE).
Pictured above: “We still need to be caring for the carer by providing much need PPE especially during this third wave,” Dr Julie Etellin, one of the founding doctors of Masks For Medics
Masks for Medics was launched by a group of caring family doctors in May 2020, with the profound understanding that in order for individuals, families and communities to be kept safe during the pandemic, it is imperative that our courageous healthcare workers on the front line have the necessary resources to keep themselves safe.
Picture above: Keeping the nurses at Badisa safe.
Generous public support
Over the last 11 months, with tremendous support from generous donors both locally and internationally, as well as over R605 000 raised through their crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, Masks for Medics has supported frontline workers by:
Distributing PPE to 212 individuals and 386 institutions including 29 102 gowns, 345 080 aprons, 251 535 surgical masks, 29 248 respirator masks, 10 484 visors, 11 286 gloves, 18 792 sanitiser bottles, 401 pulse oximetry monitors and 478 thermometers – all medical grade.
They have also provided 261 sanitiser foot pedals and 328 Perspex screen dividers to allow elderly care facilities to continue allowing visitors and to keep administrative staff safe.
Picture: Cooks and staff at over 550 feeding scheme locations in the Western Cape now have PPE!
Protecting carers in the third wave
With the increase of COVID-19 cases in this third wave with a new variant, Masks for Medics, aims to broaden their beneficiary base within the Western Cape province to include homeless shelters and more feeding schemes with a continued focus on Elderly Care Facilities and individual Healthcare Workers, ensuring that those who are frontline carers receive medically certified PPE. This will not only keep them safe but also the children, the elderly and the sick in our communities.
Pictured above: Masks for Medics Directors – Dr Lauren Lee, Dr Sonia Hough, Dr Julie Etellin
“We call on those who can, to please donate generously and assist us in fulfilling our mandate of keeping our Frontline Workers safe! Please support our BackaBuddy campaign and help grow our emergency relief fund. This will directly impact us all and help Masks for Medics in caring for the carers,” says Dr Julie Etellin, one of the founding doctors of Masks for Medics.
All donors to this campaign are eligible to receive a Section 18a Tax Certificate upon request.
Picture above:Thank you Masks For Medics!
About Masks for Medics
Drs Lauren Lee, Sonia Hough and Julie Etellin are 3 family doctors who banded together during a unique time in history. After witnessing the chaos the pandemic had on the entire world, Masks for Medics needed to act swiftly and be prepared to keep our healthcare workers safe. The prediction filtering in from Europe was for overwhelming numbers of sick people and they knew we needed to urgently collaborate on ideas to protect our frontline so they can better serve patients within their communities. Thus, the emergency campaign called Masks for Medics was launched. The initiative strives to procure and provide the necessary PPE to all our heroes on the frontline. The medical grade PPE we procure includes gowns, aprons, surgical masks, respirator masks, visors, gloves, sanitiser, pulse oximetry monitors and thermometers.
Create a crowdfunding campaign
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 risen over R260 Million.
Asher-Rheed is our pride and joy, our Rainbow baby. Our fighter in every sense of the word. We are from Parklands, Cape Town.
After going into early labour at 15 weeks and almost losing him, he fought to stay with us, at 34 weeks he made his grand entrance into the world, after only 18 days in the NICU we took our trooper home with us. He has been a blessing ever since.
In and out of hospital
Unfortunately despite every Dr and clinic app showing he was progressing well and doing great suddenly in February 2021 we had to rush him to the ER, the result was him having emergency surgery, the first of two. As we prepared ourselves for the second one after success on the first, we were faced with more health issues and now have loads of tests that need to be done to determine what exactly is wrong. lung tests, allergy tests, ENT’s, pneumologist the list goes on. Our medical aid is depleted and after all this, we still have that pending second surgery to do this year. We need help covering all the medical bills.
Our 19-month-old ball of sunshine and happiness deserves a normal childhood free from sickness and constant Dr trips. He loves school and hates missing so much of it. We hate seeing how not being at school hurts his little heart, we as parents just want to get him back on track and hopefully 100% healthy as fast as possible. We prayed for this little boy, we would give our lives for this little boy.
We are asking for any help to keep his medical bills, and medications covered so that he can get back to being at school all the time, thriving and growing and learning. Back to walking into school every day waving goodbye because he is so happy there, he doesn’t even cry when he is dropped off. No more constant coughs, runny noses, sleepless nights for weeks on end. No more sore body or wheezy chests, no more specialists and operations. Just a normal happy healthy almost 2-year-old boy. Please if you can spare something we would be ever so grateful and if not at least share it because you never know who might see it and be able to assist.
If you missed our introduction to crowdfunding and still need to create a campaign, please click through to this guide.
In this article, we will discuss the first steps in your crowdfunding campaign after you have signed-up. We will guide you through receiving your first donations, how to find your network and touch on the power of social media in fundraising online.
Getting started – Your First donation
Just like no one likes to be the first person on the dance floor, the members of the public typically support causes once they have a few initial donations from the beneficiaries family and friends .
We have also found through data research that campaigns with initial support from family and friends also tend to raise 220% more funds than those who don’t.
This is because your first donors, in a way, vet your campaign. They let others know that you are a trusted person, and that your campaign is for a reasonable request because they know you or have interacted with you at some point in your life.
How to communicate with close family and friends:
Accompany your BackaBuddy crowdfunding campaign link with a short personalized message to introduce your fundraiser. We recommend sending a Whatsapp, Facebook message, email or SMS to close family and friends, extended family, neighbours, co-workers, social groups or sportsclub to get started.
See this example of a message you could send:
“Hi Monique, I hope you are well!
I have created a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to feed 100 families in Pietermaritzburg who are unable to provide for their families during the lockdown.
We have so far raised R 15 000 towards our fundraising target! Funds raisedwill be used to purchase digital food vouchers for those in need.
Please support us by making a small donation on BackaBuddy.
If you’re unable to contribute, please be so kind as to share our campaign with your friends and loved ones.
Did you know? 98% of WhatsApp messages are both opened and read within the first 3 seconds. – Hoodsuite .
Now that you have shared your campaign with those closest to you, such as your friends and family and hopefully, if you were able to, donated to your own campaign, it’s time to reach out to your wider network.
Finding your network
You will find in your crowdfunding journey, that most of your donors will be people you know. This is because your friends and family know you well, they know your character, your lifestyle and they have a personal connection with you in some way.
This is not to say that the public can’t be generous in their support of worthy causes.
Who makes up your network?
Close family and friends.
Extended family, neighbours, co-workers, social groups, sportsclub
Social media followers and friends (Facebook/Whatsapp/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Snapchat).
School/University friends
Your local community, church and the wider public.
Local Media (Local paper, radio stations, pubic forums)
Sharing your crowdfunding campaign on Social Media
Crowdfunding campaigns are 5 times more likely to succeed if shared on social media. Take a look at our social media guides to reach your wider network:
Every week the BackaBuddy team showcases a few campaigns to share on social media. When posting about your campaign, please mention us:
@BackaBuddy on Twitter and Instagram
@BackaBuddySA on Facebook
Snapscan
Lastly, ask your campaign manager to create a Snapscan code for your campaign for an additional donation option.
BackaBuddy has partnered with Snapscan to generate unique snapscan QR codes for each crowdfunding campaign on the platform. Once scanned, donors will be able to donate to your campaign easily via the unique code. These are also great to add to your campaign, print on posters or share on social media.
Create a crowdfunding campaign
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 risen over R390 Million.
Raise funds for an individual or cause.
Register your non-profit organisation.
Create a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a non-profit organisation.
Picture above: Keeping the nurses at Badisa safe.
Picture: Cooks and staff at over 550 feeding scheme locations in the Western Cape now have PPE!
Pictured above: Masks for Medics Directors – Dr Lauren Lee, Dr Sonia Hough, Dr Julie Etellin
Picture above:Thank you Masks For Medics!
