"Pimp my wheels": A new wheelchair for Life
The LottoStar Summer of Millions competition gave listeners the opportunity to win big for themselves and Good Morning Angels. The result was a fabulous R891,000 of LottoStar winnings for Good Morning Angels.
On the latest Good Morning Angels, Martin Bester and LottoStar came together to share the Summer of Millions funds far and wide, to change lives for good.
Johan Cloete, Hercules Community Policing Forum
The Swartland Community Band travelled from Malmesbury in the Western Cape, to Pretoria, to participate in a schools marching band competition this past weekend. The group consisted of 26 primary school children, as young as 6, and four teachers. They were supposed to return with a sponsored bus, but the driver was involved in an accident and couldn’t pick them up. They were stranded as they did not have funds to pay for accommodation or alternative transport home.
The competition was held at Hoërskool Tuine Tech, who with the help of the Hercules Community Policing Forum got together safe accommodation and food for the stranded group of little visitors.
The school pitched in some funds and the CPF mobilised members of the community to donate and chip in. On Monday afternoon, the group left for Malmesbury and returned home safely to their anxious parents and loved ones.
The CPF is made up of volunteers, who serve their struggling community in different ways, like victim support in GBV- and child neglect and abuse situations. The distress of the stranded Swartland Community Band was not something they budgeted for, but they made a plan.
ANGEL: Maria Pavli, representing Lottostar and the Summer of Millions funds.
SPONSORING: From the fabulous LottoStar Summer of Millions funds raised for Good Morning Angels, an amount of R50,000 – to replenish the funds used to host and transport the Swartland Community Band-members and to use in their invaluable community work.
Nokuphila “Life” Ngubane – “Pimp my Wheels”
Her names is Nokuphila, but she goes by the name “Life”. Those who know her, calls Life a force of nature. She once quipped: "Life's an adventure, and I'm the artist painting my own path!" Her spirit is not just awe-inspiring; it's a beacon of inspiration, they say. Life has Spina Bifida and is paralysed from the waist down. This has not held her back. She reports for work every day with a zest for life. She calls her daily commute to work and home “an adventure”.
She travels in the second hand wheelchair, that was donated to her, to catch a taxi. Someone has to fold up the wheelchair, and help her in. This happens every day, every trip. The wheelchair is heavy and has seen better days. That’s why her colleague, Engela Slabbert wrote to Good Morning Angels on her behalf: To “Pimp Life’s Wheels”.
“A new pair of wheels would revolutionise her mobility, and every ride would become a chapter in the story of a fearless explorer”, says Engela.
ANGEL: Maria Pavli, representing Lottostar
SPONSORING: From the fabulous LottoStar Summer of Millions funds raised for Good Morning Angels, an amount of R50,000 towards a brand new, purpose fitted, light framed, big wheeled wheelchair for Life. This will also cover anything else she needs at home to assist with her mobility and ability to look after herself. We have already got a service provider on standby for a consultation with Life, to get the best ride and assistance for her needs.
Mel Meyer, Chairman of the Bela-Bela Fire Protection Association
Various regions of the country have suffered ravaging fires over the past few weeks. One of these is Limpopo province, where thousands of hectares of game reserves and farms were raised to the ground. Homes, lodges and infrastructure were burnt to the ground, with losses into the millions. While the human tragedy unfolds, thousands of animals are left without grazing and the need to feed these animals, who survived the fires, is immense. Some of the farms and reserves whose animal are in dire need are Mabalingwe, Swartkloof, Steenbokpan, Highlands and Lekkerbreek.
All these farms belong to the Bela-Bela Fire Protection Association, who assist to get help to areas during the fires as well as after.
According to experts, the animals will need to be fed for at least October and November, to give natural grazing time to recover. Sending animals into the veld too early, could cause damage to the natural resources for years to come. Many animals are also in gestation and need proper nourishment for themselves and their young to develop.
ANGEL: Maria Pavli, representing Lottostar
SPONSORING: From the fabulous LottoStar Summer of Millions funds raised for Good Morning Angels, an amount of R100,000 for animal feed and supplements for a month, to be distributed amongst the different reserves and farms by the Bela-Bela Fire Protection Association, according to the need.
ANGEL 2: The Good Morning Angels Fund
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will match the LottoStar Summer of Millions donation, with another R100,000 towards the feeding fund for animals in the fire-ravaged Limpopo area.
Quentin and Ché Hattingh from Whiteriver in Mpumalanga
BACKGROUND: Quintin Hattingh is a widowed father of two daughters and he has pleased for help for his eldest, 24-year old Ché. In November 2021, Ché was in an accident on her motorbike. She was hit from the side by a car that cut Infront of her. Her right leg was severely injured in the crash. She suffered a broken femur (open fracture), severe muscle damage, subcutaneous degloving and torn ligaments in her knee. It needed some major surgery just to get her on the mend again. At the time the bone fractured so badly that some bone could not be removed and there was some hope that it might “grow back” . That has not happened and that’s why he needs help.
Quintin writes: “At the time, I was in shock and just wanted to get her help as quickly as possible and she was taken away in the ambulance. After hours of consultation I opted for a second opinion due to the magnitude of the injury as well as the financial implications. I was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon in Nelspruit and he literally saved her leg. He is an Angel in his own right, but there was only so much he could do.
Ché still needs another major operation and bone graft to reattach the broken femur. She recently got offered a job, but due to her restricted movement she was not able to cope with it. She can only walk with crutches, a walker or else a wheelchair. She is in constant pain. The operation, graph, “bone clamp” and hospitalisation costs are estimated at +-R113k excluding physio rehab. “Any assistance or sponsor towards this procedure will be highly appreciated to get my daughter back on her feet and on the road to recovery”, pleads Quintin.
ANGEL: Maria Pavli, representing Lottostar
SPONSORING: From the fabulous LottoStar Summer of Millions funds raised for Good Morning Angels, an amount of R130,000 to cover the costs of the operation as well as some other medical needs, to get Ché firmly back on her feet.
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