12 Days of Christmas: Wheelchair Edition 2019

Background

The sweethearts Foundation aims to help underprivileged people receive the gift of movement by recycling plastic Tops and Tags which are sold, and the proceeds used to fund wheelchairs. It takes approximately 450 kg of bottle Tops or 50 kg bread Tags to fund a standard wheelchair. Against incredible odds,  we managed to collect enough plastic to hand over our first wheelchair on Valentine's Day 2013.

Our beneficiaries come from the most marginalized communities in South Africa and something as simple as a wheelchair is often out of their reach due to financial issues and long government backlogs.

The foundation is driven completely by volunteers, who we endearingly call “sweethearts”. They are the ones who make the magic happen and help change the lives of our beneficiaries, as well as their families. It is thanks to our enthusiastic, energetic, and absolutely awesome sweethearts, like you, who continue to help us, support us, and motivate us to give all that we can to those who need our help.

12 Days of Christmas Fundraising Campaign

Wheelchairs do not have a one-size-fits-all solution and providing the “wrong” type of wheelchair can do more damage in the long run. We made the important decision to ensure that every beneficiary should receive a wheelchair that is suited to their specific needs. Unfortunately, though, these specialized wheelchairs often come with a big price tag and the plastic recycling funding does not cover all the costs – as a result, we’ve created 12 Days of Christmas which aims to help 12 beneficiaries with extra special needs.

Our 12 Days of Christmas: Wheelchair Edition campaign was started in 2016 and in 2019 it really blossomed! We were completely overwhelmed with the support and donations received from all around the world.

A whopping 70% of donations made towards our annual fundraiser were made on Giving Tuesday and match funding from GlobalGiving helped raise another 16% of our funds! We raised a grand total of R97 881.66 which was distributed between 7 beneficiaries.

Thanks to the generosity of everyone who contributed to the fundraiser, we were able to fully fund Ofentse, Jolet, Karabo, and Lanné’s wheelchairs and partially fund Danette, Siphelele, and Pearl’s wheelchairs. Over the course of 2020, we continued fundraising the remaining funds, and together with Tops and Tags revenue, we managed to fund the remaining wheelchairs.

These wheelchairs would not have been possible without each and every sweetheart, who has given in such a generous way – thank you, sweethearts!

Karabo’s Wheelchair Handover

Karabo has fought all his life, even during birth. As a result of multiple complications and largely due to a complete halt in breathing 20 minutes after birth, Karabo suffered brain damage. At 6 months old, little Karabo was diagnosed with a severe form of Cerebral Palsy which has left him unable to crawl, walk, unable to speak, and completely unable to sit on his own.

When you meet Karabo, there is so much joy, mischief & happiness in his eyes and smile. Karabo, a pupil of Amari School in Welkom, is always keen on an adventure, whether it’s a walk around the block with one of his most favorite people (his older brother), just being outdoors, or living the adventures through his favorite cartoon characters on television.

We had the privilege of handing Karabo’s wheelchair over on 2 July 2020, with Covid-19 restrictions in place we did not have a big handover, but it was indeed a very special one. Initially, he was uncomfortable in being in the “unknown” but after a good night’s rest, he woke up mentally prepared for his first ride. There have been many more happy rides since then in his wheelchair which was custom-fit for his special needs and designed to last a couple of growth spurts – perfect for a growing boy!

It was truly a blessing to have been able to help Karabo, his mom, Mosa, and his family.

Mosa keeps in touch with us with the most heartwarming updates and recently let us know, “Karabo is doing great. He is getting bigger and heavier by day. The wheelchair is of tremendous help and Karabo love’s it!”

Danette’s Wheelchair Handover

Danette, a mother, and businesswoman from Warrenton, near Kimberly. Danette experienced two strokes in 2007 and 2012. The effects of the stroke on Danette’s body were extreme and resulted in her being right hemiplegic and wheelchair-bound. Danette was given a manual wheelchair however this was extremely difficult to use as only one side of her body has the ability to move. Danette has wished for an electric wheelchair for so long to give her the independence to carry on with her life. At the time Danette told us, “Having no independence for 12 years really breaks down a person emotionally. Having the ability to do things on my own again would bring such joy to my life, it would lighten the responsibility of my family too.”

On the 28^th of June 2020, we were honored to bless Danette with a forever life-changing motorized wheelchair. Unfortunately, since the handover she’s had some additional medical complications, including a hypersensitive foot and kidney-related complications; however, with the wheelchair on hand, the journeys to and from the hospital have been life-changing – Danette we continue to pray for strength and wish you all the best with your new wheelchair!

Ofentse’s Wheelchair Handover

Ofentse is a sweet, amazing, and bright girl, who aspires to become a doctor or businesswoman one day! We believe we will see her face on Forbes magazine in the near future!

Due to Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, Ofentse is not able to use part of her body and is wheelchair-bound and reliant on friends and family to help her get around.  

On the 23rd of August, 15-year-old Ofentse received her very own electric wheelchair!

“The new wheelchair has changed my life a lot because I can move more freely around the house and around the neighborhood without being dependent on anyone. I am able to go to the shops, water the garden and have me-time without any assistance.

Thank you, a lot, for this amazing beautiful gift that you gave me.

Lots of love from Ofentse.”

An endless amount of thanks to a very special sweetheart who fully funded Ofentse’s wheelchair.

Jolet’s Wheelchair Handover

Jolet was diagnosed with Gullian Bare Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that attacks muscle and tissue and can lead to paralysis. A mere 48 hours after this diagnosis, Jolet could not move any muscles and was in a coma. After spending 5 months in ICU, Jolet regained some movements and could breathe on her own again. After about 18 months, Jolet could start doing things that she normally could’ve done on her own. Her need for a wheelchair was necessary, as she has not regained total mobility.

The wheelchair that Jolet had use of was far too heavy and difficult to maneuver and Jolet was homebound and in desperate need of a lighter more mobile wheelchair. Jolet told us, “While having a physical wheelchair may seem like you’ve got enough if the wheelchair is not perfectly suited to the beneficiary, it is worse than not having one.” This highlights why it is so important that our beneficiaries are accessed and we ensure they get exactly what is needed to really make a difference in their life.

During an emotional handover on 27 January Jolet received her new wheels and told the children at Rietvallei Voortrekkers who collect Tops and Tags, “I just want to say thank you very much, I really appreciate the wheelchair very much. I want to tell you to not stop doing what you’re doing. What you’re doing means a lot more than you think. Please don’t stop!”

 2019 12 Days of Christmas was a HUGE success, let's try to do it again in 2020!

No words exist to convey our sincere appreciation for helping our beneficiaries receive the gift of movement!

Links:

• To follow all the action, subscribe to our Facebook Page!
• Donate to 12 Days of Christmas: 2020 Edition