On Freedom Day, the 27th of April 2021, South African’s will celebrate 27 years of democracy. Inspired by the significance this day holds, Kola Cohen, a 19-year-old from Hout Bay, will be paddling 27km to provide 27,000 meals for vulnerable Capetonians.
Paddling on a prone board, Kola will be participating in the Freedom Paddle, an initiative where paddlers paddle from Cape Town to Robben Island (and back) to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela and the struggle heroes who fought for South Africa’s freedom.
Looking to pay it forward, Kola has launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to support Love in a Bowl, a community farming initiative that delivers a ‘community pot’ of nutritious, organic food to 32 different creches, soup kitchens, and NGOs in the Hout Bay community.
Kola Cohen (Image credit: Jacque Smit)
“Although South Africa has a lot going for it, we still have some very deep systematic issues. A notable one is food security, as an athlete, I know that there is a direct relationship between nutrition and people’s ability to succeed. Love in a Bowl is playing their part by providing people with locally grown organic vegetables and I think there will be some great outcomes in the future.” – says Kola
With his ‘Paddle for Love’ campaign, Kola hopes to provide Love in a Bowl with enough funds to make 1000 community pots that will be able to serve 27 000 meals to those who need it the most.
In anticipation of his paddle, Kola has raised over R70 000 towards his fundraising target of R150 000 with contributions from 80 donors.
Cohen (Image credit: Jacque Smit)
Support Kola’s campaign on BackaBuddy 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 risen over R240 Million.
On the 18th of April 2021, a devastating vegetation fire quickly spread towards the University of Cape Town, destroying iconic landmarks, including Rhodes Memorial’s restaurant, Mostert Mill, the UCT library as well as residences and upper campus buildings.
Tasked with providing food and other essential items to over 4000 students that have been displaced and affected by the blaze, The Gift of the Givers have launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, to assist the Cape Town community in rising from the ashes.
In less than 12 hours, generous donors both locally and internationally, have contributed over R64 000 towards their fundraising target of R250 000 to support their various relief efforts.
Gift of the Givers
With great joy, The Gift of the Givers team and volunteers in their numbers, have begun cooking, packaging and distributing meals door-to-door to help those in need.
“While the full extent of what is needed is currently being assessed, the requests for soap, toothpaste and personal hygiene items have been overwhelming”, says Dr Imtiaz Sooliman – Founder of The Gift of the Givers
Gift the Givers
How you can help.
Make a donation to the Gift of the Givers on BackaBuddy by donating here:
Between the 5th and 9th of April, Christine Roos (29) – a passionate swimmer and philanthropist from Benoni – will brave the cold Atlantic in a 7,4km swim from Robben Island to Big Bay to raise R50 000 for the SA Bone Marrow Registry.
The historic Robben Island crossing, dubbed the “Island Escape” is described as “gruelling” by elite open-water swimmers, but this has not deterred Christine, who is a novice swimmer.
To allow for safe weather conditions, a five-day window period has been allocated for the swim.
Christine says the challenge is nothing compared to suffering from a life-threatening blood disorder and not being able to afford the treatment.
“The swim is but three or so hours of my life compared to many hours, months or even years that patients suffer with blood-related cancers and often a transplant is their only hope of survival. As a registered stem cell donor, I’ve made it my mission to spread awareness of the life-saving work that the SABMR does and the difference every one of us can make by becoming a donor – be it via word of mouth or pushing myself to the limits.” – says Christine
Christine signed up as a bone marrow donor at a registration drive in Gauteng some two years ago and has been an advocate for bone marrow donation ever since. The same year she also participated in the 947 Cycle Challenge as part of a team of cyclists, where R150 000 was raised for the registry on BackaBuddy.
Christine says the swimming challenge has been months in the making.
“I have been training in dams and pools around Gauteng every opportunity I get. I have always played competitive sport, so enjoy challenging myself and pushing boundaries. You have to be both physically and mentally fit for this swim. Once your head is in the game, the battle is half won.” – says Christine
The money raised from Roos’ BackaBuddy Champion page will go towards the SABMR’s Patient Assistance Programme, that provides financial assistance to families who cannot afford the cost of finding a suitable donor.
Christine says she hopes that the public will support her cause on BackaBuddy.
“I know that times are tough, but I’m asking each and every one of you to give what you can. Even if it’s just a little bit, it all contributes to saving someone’s life.” – says Christine
Kamiel Singh, Head of Sustainability for the SABMR says the NGO has been trying to recoup lost funding.
“The majority of our physical fundraising events were cancelled last year due to lockdown restrictions, so we’re slowly, but surely trying to get back on our feet. We are extremely grateful to Christine for championing this cause and making life-saving treatments available to more patients. She’s a true hero!” – says Kamiel Singh
Kamiel Singh
To donate to Christine’s cause, visit her BackaBuddy 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.
While the iconic great white shark is without a doubt the most recognisable in False Bay in the Western Cape, it might surprise you that more than 20 different shark species have been seen in the region.
Bringing awareness to the 13 lesser-known species that are commonly found on these shores, a group of enthusiastic swimmers will dive into the award-winning Fish Hoek exclusion net on the 27th of March 2021, and swim 13km inside the exclusion zone, to raise awareness and funds for Shark Spotters.
Show your support for the swimmers
Leigh De Necker (28), an from the Two Oceans Aquarium and the driving force behind the swim, has been a long-time supporter of Shark Spotters, having been a past student at the organisation, completing her thesis on the trophic dynamics of the broad nose sevengill shark.
With her crowdfunding campaign launched on BackaBuddy, Leigh has raised over R11 000 towards her fundraising target of R13 000 in anticipation of the swim that will benefit Shark Spotters and their safety, education, and conservation activities.
Braving the water with Leigh, but swimming in a relay, 13 members of the Shark Net Crew, who raise the Fish Hoek shark exclusion barrier in the sea every day during the spring and summer months, have also launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to raise funds for the wages and equipment of 40 of their fellow team members.
They have thus far raised over R12 000 towards their fundraising target of R26 000 on the fundraising platform.
The Shark Spotters Net Crew has been training hard for their upcoming swim
“Swimming inside the award-winning Fish Hoek shark exclusion net highlights our ability, to live alongside sharks, coexisting in the shared ocean space, rather than resorting to lethal methods to prevent human-shark interactions.” Says Sarah Waries
Connect with Shark Spotters
Shark Spotters is a pioneering shark safety and research organisation that has attracted international attention because of the novel way it pro-actively reduces interactions and conflict between recreational water users and white sharks. Started in 2004 in response to a spate of shark bite incidents and increased shark sightings, Shark Spotters is now the primary shark safety strategy used in Cape Town.
Image credit: Gerald Schombs
Shark Spotters improves beach safety by applying innovative and responsible shark safety solutions that reduce the spatial overlap between people and sharks, thereby reducing the risk of a shark bite. We also provide emergency response in the event of a shark incident, as well as to conduct cutting-edge applied research on shark behaviour and ecology, raise awareness about shark safety and conservation issues, and provide employment opportunities and skills development for shark spotters.
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.
With an ever-increasing litter problem in Fourways, the Jukskei River, and its surrounds, The SW Living Creatures Trust, led by Sean Williams (50) from Lonehill, Johannesburg, has embarked on a clean-up project that is gaining momentum.
Launched in November 2020, the Live Life Always project, which has created job opportunities for 8 otherwise unemployed Diepsloot residents, has collected over 62 280 bags of litter, which amounts to over 410 tonnes of waste.
The program is not only supporting families who have been tremendously affected by the lockdown, but is highlighting the devastating impact waste plastic and litter has on our planet.
“My passion has always been about saving our beautiful planet and if we don’t as a human race make a change, then my daughter being 5 years old, will be the last generation on this planet. Together we have to make the change and not leave it for someone else to take on this responsibility. We will clean up this planet, one bag at a time” – says Sean
Sean Williams
Crowdfunding on Backabuddy
As the operation relies on donations to operate and sustain itself, the enthusiastic planet-warriors have launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, to appeal for the public for support.
Since the launch of the campaign to cover the program’s operational costs and pay the salaries of the volunteers, overR155 000.00 has been raised from kind residents and donors across the globe. Live Real Estate (Lonehill), fourways (Leroy Merlin), Plastics SA and Fourways Crossing have also come on board to support the cause.
The project, which caters to the community of Fourways & Diepsloot in Gauteng and Rosendal in the Eastern Free State, and has recently expanded into Sunninghill, Sandton, Douglasdale, Rivonia, and Strydom Park, requires an estimate of R25 000 a week to run effectively.
The campaign hopes to raise a total of R250 000 to keep the project running smoothly for the next 10 weeks.
‘In efforts to create more funds, I have built this Plastic muncher, Ecobrick maker for schools to stuff their single use plastics into a empty 2 litre plastic bottle. I sell them for R2600 per unit. The colours can change depending on the different school houses in the schools, so it can be a competition between children at schools. We have finished another Ecobrick bench, using 1000 ecobricks at the Beverley Park in Lonehill and Lita at Play was the mural artist’, says Sean.
Solomon Majwe.
How your donation can make a difference:
– Your R100 donation will pay for transport for 3 employees for a day.
– Your R250 donation will cover 1 day’s wage, lunch and transport for 1 employee.
– Your R1,000 donation will cover 4 employee’s costs per day.
– Your R3,750 donation will cover the team’s wages, food & transport for 1 full day
– Your R5,000 donation will cover the admin costs of the operation for 1 week.
– Your R18,750 donation will keep a whole team of 15 people employed for 1 week.
– Your R25,000 donation will sustain the entire operation for 1 week.
Support this cause on BackaBuddy by donating here:
In July 2020, Shaun and Bianca Pretorius from Benoni, Johannesburg, learned the devastating news that their son, Shaunie (11), 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 haven’t told him that his tumour is cancerous, but he understands why he has begun losing his hair and that he is 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” – says Bianca
As there is no cure for Shaunie’s condition, he is currently 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 are focused on keeping Shaunie as healthy, as pain free and as comfortable as possible so he can enjoy the time he has 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 has 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.
“Sadly we do not know exactly how much time we have left with our little man, so we really want to make every single day as special and as comfortable as possible for him. As I’m sure anyone can imagine this battle is really hard on him but he’s a very strong-willed little fighter and we are so proud of him.” – says Jaundre
With generous support, Shaunie’s campaign has already raised over R 9000 towards his fundraising target of R12 000, with contributions from 16 donors across the country.
Additional funds raised will be used to cover Shaunie’s additional medical expenses, specialized food and living expenses.
Kola Cohen (Image credit: Jacque Smit)
Cohen (Image credit: Jacque Smit)
Sean Williams
Solomon Majwe.
Sean Williams with Edharage Mukaro.
