A South African has started a crowdfunding initiative to honour his close friend, and also help the family left behind after the tragedy.
Cape Town, South Africa – Ryan Bluett first got to know Sandiso Ndinisa as his mentor in 2011 and over the years they went on to become very close friends.
Sandiso became a source of encouragement to Ryan when he faced challenges – by just seeing how he tackled the many obstacles and adversities he confronted with positivity, determination and strength.
“Sandiso is one of the most inspirational people I have met in my life. Born into grinding poverty and deserted by his father at 6 years old, Sandiso had to fight for every bit of education he could get, which he did with fierce determination.
He was an inspiration to me and all those who came into contact with him.”
Tragically, Sandiso’s life was cut short in a brutal attack just before Christmas last year, near his home in Guguletu… leaving his mother, brother, sister and her two children without their main breadwinner.
“Sandiso’s Big Dream was always to provide a proper house for his family, to escape from the appalling conditions in which they live, in a tiny, wood and iron shack with a leaking roof and no running water.”
Sandiso was working extremely hard and was on his way to achieving his goal. With two tertiary qualifications under his belt, he was doing a graduate internship with Distell, which would have enabled him to start saving towards his dream house.
While overwhelmed by the tragedy and cruelty of Sandiso’s death, it occurred to Ryan that his remarkable legacy must be carried forward to honour his life and dream, by making his goals for his family come true.
Ryan set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds in memory of Sandiso but he has also created an event to bring family, friends and supporters together to make his dream real.
“Please help me to raise the funds to build or buy the family a home, one that Sandiso would be proud of. I have no doubt that given precious time he would have accomplished his dream, despite being faced with all the enormous challenges in his life, and I believe we can raise the funds to make this a reality.”
On Thursday March 21st 2019 (Human Right’s Day), the day after what would have been Sandiso’s 30th Birthday, Ryan is planning a walk to raise funds for Sandiso’s cause.
The total distance is approximatley 24km and the route is all on pavements on the road sections. At 7am we’ll walk from Gugs Cemetery on Klipfontein Road up to the Main Road (M4) at Rosebank toward Cape Town, on to Buitenkant Street, on to Deer Park Avenue, on to the mountain path to Tafelberg Road, on to Platteklip path and to summit our beautiful Table Mountain with all our spoirting goods in hand.
“Sandiso and I often spoke about the positive impact sport can have on young people’s lives. He shared how he used sport in his own life to create discipline, to keep positive, enabling him to make better choices and how sport connected him to many opportunities in his short life.”
Ryan is also collecting sports equipment to donate and has asked anyone joining the walk to bring a piece of sporting equipment (new, old and un-used) of your choice (tennis racket, hockey stick, cricket bat, soccer ball, rugby ball, golf clubs, bodyboard, surfboard etc) to walk to the top of Table mountain with.
To join this event and cause, click here.