67 Children’s hearts saved by a local radio station’s morning show and listeners who care!
Johannesburg, South Africa – On Mandela Day 2019 Jacaranda FM supported the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, specifically to perform life-saving heart operations on needy children.
The two-year-old, state of the art facility has all the latest technology and world-class medical practitioners to perform these delicate life-saving surgeries. However, they need public funding for consumables to perform these operations on children from impoverished families.
#GMAHeartsOfHope aimed to raise enough funds to enable the NMCH to mend at least 10 children’s hearts and in this way to give them, their families and communities hope for a better future. For an average of R40 000,00, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital can heal a child’s heart. This is only a fraction of the cost in a private hospital, but still out of reach for the majority of South African families.
More than 11-thousand children are born with heart defects in South Africa every year. The theatre waiting lists at state facilities are endless, and many of these children will not live long enough to wait for their turn. The waiting list for pediatric cardio surgery in Gauteng alone is over 300.
After three hours on-air, that total shot up to 30 hearts – with a total pledged of R1,2 million!
But the giving didn’t stop ….
At the end of the Jacaranda FM Breakfast with Martin Bester Mandela Day Broadcast from the hospital, the Boikanyo Bug – a 1970’s VW Beetle – departed on a 14 500 km journey through Africa – to raise more funds for the heart operations at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
The journey ended in Romania, at the International Round Table Conference in Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania on 24 August 2019.
The two drivers, Leigh Michael and Alex Staniland, arrived back in South Africa on the 10th of September with more good news for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. The Boikanyo Bug did not come back to South Africa but continued its journey to Norway – with its new owner.
And selling the bug was part of the total fundraising effort.
During this morning’s show, a cheque of R2,7 million – which equals 67 heart operations – was handed over to Prof Hopewell Ntsinjana on behalf of the Round Table Boikanyo Bug Drivers and Good Morning Angels – representing all the Jacaranda FM listeners.
Now that’s a GREAT update to a really good news story. Thank you, Joburg and all the Jacaranda listeners.
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