Pieter's Blog about Marang House and South Africa

Koula's Second Comrades Attempt

2008-06-12T18:28:00.000+02:00

One signature away from Muzi's transplant

2008-05-21T17:48:00.005+02:00

Guess who that is on the photo together with Muzi? It's Dr Vusi Magagula, Deputy-Director of Health Services in Swaziland, a.k.a. one of the oblivious Swaziland government officials who experienced some difficulty with authorising little Muzi's kidney transplant. After having received numerous phone calls from media and prominent individuals and waking up several times with Muzi's plight on the front page of the Swazi Observer, Dr Magagula finally figured that the time was right to resolve the situation. Hence his visit to the Johannesburg General Hospital, the hospital that the Swaziland government owes ZAR 300.000+ for the dialysis treatments that Muzi received so far and that needs to facilitate the transplantation.

After some discussions, the situation is as follows:

- The outstanding hospital account will be settled within the next three weeks.

- Dr Magagula made photos of Muzi and acquired the quotes from the hospital. Added to his proposal, these will be forwarded to the Prime Minister of Swaziland - the honourable Absalom Themba Dlamini - who will then officially authorise Muzi's entire transplant procedure to be paid from the Phalala Fund, a fund under the auspices of His Majesty King Mswati III.

- In other words, this means that the work-up of Muzi's mother can start in about July this year and Muzi will receive his transplant in November.

- Marang House will take care of Muzi for at least another year after the transplant and furthermore assist with sourcing additional funding and resources to assist the family when Muzi returns to Swaziland.

- Dr Magagula was so impressed with Marang House that he will consider sending more children from Swaziland to Marang House - wow.

So is this good news? The most important development is that they are taking the situation seriously, which helps. If they keep all their promises this is fantastic news and if they don't then in July we will start making noise again.

Now we must just hope that the xenophobic South Africans have a humanitarian streak in them after all.

CIVICUS Youth Assembly

2008-04-23T17:47:00.002+02:00

I am honoured to have been selected to attend the CIVICUS Youth Assembly. The theme of this year's Assembly is People, Participation and Power. I will publish more about the event and my attendence in June when the Assembly is taking place.

About the CIVICUS Youth Assembly

The CIVICUS Youth Assembly will offer young delegates a program and a space to develop and commit to action internationally. The theme of participation in civil society will be explored over the course of the event and delegates will learn about issues that effect billions of people worldwide.

The programme will develop not only delegates knowledge, but also build personal capacity through a series of workshops and skills development sessions. Participation is key and all delegates will be fully engaged in a programme of full participation.In attending the Youth Assembly delegates will also go on to participate, as full delegates, in the CIVICUS World Assembly where they will have a voice and opportunity to meet and influence some of the world's leading NGOs, groups and individuals who are committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world.

More info: www.civicusyouth.org

Swazi High Commissioner takes interest in situation of Muzi

2008-03-15T12:52:00.001+02:00

The High Commissioner of Swaziland, Mr Muntu Mswane, took time out of his busy schedule yesterday to meet me and discuss the situation regarding Muzi’s dire need of a transplant. Together we visited the Johannesburg General Hospital, where he met Muzi while he was receiving his dialysis treatments, after which we had brief discussions with Muzi’s doctors and the CEO of the hospital, Mr Sagie Pillay.

We then drove to Marang House, where he could see where Muzi has been living for the past one and a half years or so. I shared all my documentation with him, proving the various allegations that I have made against the Minister of Health and his team.

At my request, the High Commissioner has agreed to mediate between the various stakeholders to resolve the matter. He will soon be having discussions with the Minister of Health to share what he has learned about Muzi’s situation.

We have lost a little bit of momentum since the announcement of the marriage between Muzi and Lerato, but I needed more time to explore various opportunities to make his transplant happen. Even though the Minister of Health in Swaziland has publicly declared that he will fund Muzi’s transplant, the official authorisation has still not been granted.

I am confident that the High Commissioner has Muzi’s interest at heart and await his response with great anticipation.

Update on Muzi

2008-02-28T00:19:00.002+02:00

It has been reasonably quiet during the past few days. Apparently we have been in the Swazi Observer again a few times, but I have not seen the articles as they are not online.

We are currently in negotiations with the hospital management and potential sponsors who have come forward, to find a solution to Muzi's situation.

Keep on visiting this blog to find out if Muzi will live!

The Minister clearly has no idea what he is talking about

2008-02-22T17:36:00.006+02:00

The Minister's secretary informed me yesterday that he was in Pretoria. I immediately tried to phone him on his cellphone him to see if we could get together to resolve the situation, but he has yet to respond. In fact, the Minister has never contacted me regarding Muzi's situation.

In response to yesterday's article in the Swazi Observer, that once again made the front page, I would like to clarify a few things. I wish that the Minister could also clarify certain things from time to time instead of simply denying everything and saying that he will pay.

Marang House has never received any payments from the Swaziland government, as we are an independent NPO funded by corporate South Africa. The fact that we have taken care of Muzi is our responsibility and is for our account. We are not using the media to collect a debt, as there is no debt. The Minister clearly has no idea what he is talking about.

We acknowledge the fact that the Swaziland government referred the child to South Africa, but before the intervention of Marang House, Muzi had stayed in hospital for four months, not coming outside at all with his mother sleeping on a chair next to his bed.

Muzi also currently has an outstanding account of 276,076.00 ZAR, which indicates that the Swazi government has never paid the hospital for his treatments. We can prove this black on white. The Minister's statement that they have paid for the child is therefore false.

If the Minister's department was working efficiently, the transplant would have already taken place and I would not have to come up with crazy ideas like having a celebrity marry a child to get their attention. My normal job is to run a charity and raise funds to provide a stable home-environment to seriously ill children, not to fight with incompetent government officials. Our sponsors however are paying us to take care of these children and that is what I am doing, all the way.

The Minister can say and promise whatever he wants, but we want written confirmation and authorization send to the hospital to start with the transplant. We have had enough promises and postponements already. Muzi is very ill and suffering every day. The sooner he gets his transplant, the better. The fact that the department of Health cannot manage the Phalala fund properly is no excuse to have Muzi wait any longer.

The way forward

Since the Minister has publicly declared that the government will pay for the transplant, next week we will focus on making this happen. We will attempt to involve the hospital management in this issue to at least start with 'working-up' the mother, while we will continue to do whatever it takes to obtain official authorisation from the Swaziland government to start with the proceedings and not merely a media statement that was perhaps just made to make this problem go away.

Media Coverage on Muzi's Situation

2008-02-22T15:40:00.001+02:00

The Swazi Observer:
http://www.observer.org.sz/main.php?id=41660&section=main
http://www.observer.org.sz/main.php?id=41638&section=main
http://www.observer.org.sz/main.php?id=41683&section=main

De Beeld:
http://www.news24.com/Beeld/Suid-Afrika/0,,3-975_2274408,00.html
http://www.news24.com/Beeld/Wereld/0,,3-71_2226736,00.html

The Citizen:
http://www.citizen.co.za/index/article.aspx?pDesc=58667,1,22

The Herald:
http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n02_19022008.htm

Other media include:
702 Talk Radio, E-TV News, SaturdayStar, SAfm, MetroFM.

Message from Lerato

2008-02-22T14:37:00.001+02:00

hi Guys

thanks for the encouraging words.

i firstly have to make it very clear that this is not some sort of way to get attention, cos if that was the case there are other things i could have done to do that. All i’m trying to do here is help a little boy who has an opportunity at life but is being robbed of it by his government. i do hope that the Swazi government will do something before it gets to the extremes of “marriage”. but this is an extreme situation and i am willing to take extreme measures to help him. because right now i believe he is being robbed of a right to live!

What makes me even more determined is that he has already found a donor (which is great for him becos the waiting period is ridiculous!) but his government would rather send him back to Swaziland (where they have no facilities to deal with his kidney failure) to basically die. all that runs thru my head is that he is someones son, someones brother. i have a sisters so all i can do is imagine what his family is going thru.

i obviously am checking all the legal implications of this but like i said i hope it wont have to get to that. Muzi (the little boy) is running out of time so i’m doing the best i can.

i would adopt him at a blink of an eyelid but that process takes too long…..unfortunately he doesn’t have that that much time.

Anyway guys, thanks for the support and please keep us in ur prayer so we can get this resolved before its too late.

Regards

Lerato

Public responses to marriage claim Lerato and Muzi

2008-02-22T14:00:00.000+02:00

MetroFM:

"I love Lerato & i think she's got a good heart, she rockd the BB house & now she's rocking SA, wat she's doing for the little guy is humbling & not many people would do that!!!!"

"I think it is unfair on the rest of the foreigners coming to mzansi for similar reasons,if they can do it,how many more people are going to want to do the same? Lerato should first consider the consequences before she goes ahead with it...could she be starting a trend? How many people will abuse this cause?"

"I think what she doing is very noble of her because not every one will be to do what she has done for the boy in pain. South Africa please lets not only the bad side of other people we should try by all means to good in people even thy are tring to seek attention from us if that the case anyway. We all know marriage is a big step but I am sure they will be to get that marriage as time gone on. So please people lets not punish the boy for issues we have with Lerato."

"If marrying an 8 year old boy to help him is a publicity stunt then you need to do some serious thinking and i doubt that hating on Lerato will make any difference in your life and i dont think you make a difference in hers!!!!! So Lerato i wish you all the best in everything and God Bless you!! And i wish the 8 yr old boy a Speedy Recovery... "

From: BB2 - The Ultimate Fan Weblog:

"Raise your voice. Tell them how you feel. Get in touch with our President’s office. Get in touch with the Department of Health. Get in touch with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Through the Thabo Mbeki “African Rennaissance” programme and their liaison, the officials from Swaziland must listen. Get all the right connection. Get them to end the “red tape” and save the little boy’s life.
Be loud. We are proud of you."

"Muzi Sifundza you are in our prayers.
Be strong. Lerato is helping you."

"If SA laws permit the marriage, and if after considering all the legal implications you decide to go ahead with it Lerato, you have my full support. hey i could even become you best lady. O na le pelo e ntle."

Source:

http://www.metrofm.co.za/news/newsheadlines/bba2019s-lerato-to-marry-a-boy

http://bbafrica2.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/lerato-to-marry-an-8-year-old-boy

Letter to the Swaziland Minister of Health

2008-02-20T15:57:00.005+02:00

Dear Honourable Minister Njabulo Mabuza,

GCINUMUZI SIFUNDZA – RESPONSE TO YOUR REQUEST FOR A LETTER

We would very much appreciate you answering the following questions, before we send you a letter to request a kidney transplant for Muzi:

1. Why do you require a letter from Marang House requesting the kidney transplant, as we are not a hospital and cannot perform the operation nor are we the legal guardian of the child?

2. Is it your statement that the doctors and social work department at the Johannesburg General Hospital never (officially) requested permission to perform a kidney transplant?

3. If you say that you never refused to pay for Muzi’s transplant, wouldn’t you agree that more than two years of postponing an answer on the matter is a form tacitly refusing or at least making things complicated?

4. Since you are now not refusing to pay, what is the problem with confirming in writing that you will pay for Muzi’s transplant? Especially since you are so confident that this will happen in April 2008? Your permission will allow the doctors to start the proceedings of ‘working-up’ the mother.

5. Why did you not respond to my fax of 13 August 2007 in which I kindly requested a conference call to speak to you about Muzi’s case to resolve the matter and offered my assistance with approaching the private sector for support?

6. Why wasn’t Muzi’s outstanding medical account paid towards the end of 2007 when the hospital requested this, which resulted in the hospital management of Johannesburg General Hospital wanting to stop Muzi’s life-sustaining treatments?

7. Referring to the previous question, if at that stage there was no money in the Phalala Fund, do you think that the fund is administered properly, especially considering that Muzi would have died without his treatments?

8. Since it appears that there is currently not enough money in the Phalala Fund, what steps will you be taking to ensure that the fund does not dry up again in future?

9. Are you aware of the fact that there is currently an outstanding hospital account for Muzi of ZAR 276.000 for treatments that he has received so far and when do you anticipate that this account will be settled?

10. Since Muzi alone has such a huge outstanding account, will there be sufficient money in the Phalala fund in April 2008 to cover the outstanding account plus pay for treatments and transplant for the next year? Also if you consider all your other patients who require medical treatment in South Africa?

11. Is it the policy of your department to keep children on dialysis for years while there is a kidney available, using government resources to pay for the dialysis treatments and an expensive hospital bed, instead of a once-off kidney transplant and post-operative care which makes far more sense economically on the long-term?

12. Since Dr Magagula referred Muzi to Johannesburg General Hospital and therefore was aware of his case and plight since the very beginning, did he never think of taking a more pro-active approach to help this suffering child? Instead of creating bureaucracy he could have for instance taken the initiative of making the transplant happen and used the assistance of very well meaning doctors, social work department and media in South Africa.

13. Can the Swaziland government please send a letter of thanks to Marang House and its sponsors for services provided to Muzi, that were an alternative to the expensive hospital bed that your government would have been liable for? Or can we alternatively send you an invoice (for a third of the price what you would have had to pay the hospital)?

14. Why does the Swaziland government not have any paediatric renal facilities available?

15. Do you as Minister of Health and as a person truly believe that Muzi was treated in a fair and humane way by your department and that you and your department did everything in their power to assist this child?

16. If Muzi was your son, would you be glad that I am asking these questions to the Minister of Health in Swaziland?

We are awaiting your response with great anticipation.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Pieter Ernst, Jr.

CC: Various international media and human rights organisations.

As faxed to his office on 20 February 2008.

Swazi boy might receive transplant after marriage claim with Big Brother star

2008-02-19T14:27:00.002+02:00

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

In response to an article published in today’s Swazi Observer (http://www.observer.org.sz/main.php?id=41638&section=main) in which the Swaziland authorities denied all allegations made in the media statement released yesterday by Marang House, we wish to inform the media of the following:

Marang House challenges the Swaziland Minister of Health, Njabulo Mabuza, and the Deputy Director of Health, Dr Vusi Magagula, to confirm in writing that they will pay for Muzi’s transplant in April 2008, when there is money available in the Phalala Fund.

“Dr. Magagula claims in the article that they never refused to pay for Muzi’s transplant and we therefore don’t anticipate that it would be a problem for them to send us a signed letter by the end of this week, confirming that they will pay for the transplant. I hope they send it to all the media as well to show their good intentions” says Pieter Ernst Jr, Executive Director of Marang House.

Marang House released a media statement yesterday in which we claimed that Big Brother Africa star Lerato Sengadi was prepared to marry the chronically ill Muzi to have him receive South African citizenship. This was in order for Muzi (8) to receive a kidney transplant. Lerato is still prepared to go all the way on this should this save Muzi’s life. We would like to refer media to yesterday’s press release for more information on Muzi’s sad and challenging situation (http://www.link2media.co.za/PrView.cfm?id=2475131).

“I also would like to emphasize that Muzi has been in South Africa since 2006. Without Marang House, Muzi would have had to stay in hospital permanently even though he only needs dialysis three times a week. The Swaziland government would have been liable for paying for an expensive hospital bed or the child would have had to sleep in the hallways. In that regard, Marang House and its sponsors have saved the Swaziland government a tremendous amount of money”, adds Pieter Ernst Jr.

We invite the Swaziland authorities to in future send their children to Marang House immediately. “I welcome a good chat with the Swaziland authorities to improve the situation of their seriously ill children” says Pieter Ernst Jr.

We further urge all media to follow this story. Muzi has suffered enough and dire need of his transplant. We need your help!

Big Brother star wants to marry eight-year-old

2008-02-18T09:20:00.003+02:00

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

South African Big Brother Africa star Lerato Sengadi has set her sights on marrying the eight-year-old Gcinumuzi (Muzi) Sifundza. Lerato fell in love with the chronically ill boy last week on the evening before Valentine’s Day, when she threw a party for the children of Marang House – a home for seriously ill children in Johannesburg.

Muzi, who is from Swaziland, suffers from chronic renal failure and is in dire need of a kidney transplant. He is currently receiving his life-sustaining dialysis treatments at the Johannesburg General Hospital, as there are no paediatric renal facilities available in Swaziland. Muzi’s mother has agreed to donate one of her kidneys to her child, but the Swaziland authorities refuse to cover the costs for this operation, even though they have paid for other patients in similar situations.

Lerato Sengadi: “I would do anything to help this child. Muzi is an amazing boy with a big heart and an even bigger will to live. He is very smart, funny, has an amazing personality and is extremely brave. We had an instant connection and bond. It pains me terribly to see him suffer when there is a solution to his illness and suffering.”

Executive Director of Marang House, Pieter Ernst Jr: “The children of Marang House are huge fans of Lerato and Big Brother Africa and they were very excited that she took time out of her busy schedule to visit. Muzi, charming as he is, took a rose from our garden and handed it to Lerato, leaving her completely speechless and touched.”

Pieter continues: “When I explained Muzi’s challenging situation to Lerato, how he is denied his transplant, how he and his family have been treated by the authorities and that I so far not have been able to raise the required ZAR 380.000, the tears were pouring out of her eyes. I also explained that should he have been a South African citizen, the operation would have already taken place – especially since the doctors affirm that there is a nearly 9 out of 10 chance that the transplant will be successful.

Lerato adds: “I then asked what I could do to help and someone joked that I should just marry Muzi and he will perhaps receive South African citizenship. This is a very serious situation and extreme measures are necessary at this stage, so I thought about it and it seemed like the only option at this stage for Muzi to survive.“

Lerato elaborates: “It is very heartbreaking that a sick child like Muzi is being denied a chance to live. I believe it is every human’s right to have a chance at living a full and meaningful life, but the Swaziland government is denying him this. This could be Muzi’s only opportunity at even having a chance at having a near normal childhood and grow up to become a positively contributing member of society.”

Lerato is currently dating fellow Big Brother Africa star Maxwell Chongu from Zambia. “He knows how passionate I am about children and their wellbeing. Our relationship is solid; we have endured a lot together already. We love each other so this will not affect our relationship. Time is running out for this amazing boy, I am doing this in hopes of giving Muzi the gift of life, I am sure Max will understand”, says Lerato.

Permission from the Minister of Home Affairs will be requested this week, as this is one of the requirements for a minor to enter into a valid marriage. A legal team is also currently investigating how and if a marriage would grant Muzi South African citizenship and how long this process will take.

Everybody involved however hopes that this issue will be resolved before it comes to a marriage and that people start realising how serious and incredible sad Muzi’s case is. Hopefully the Swaziland government or private hospital groups and sponsors will come to the party to assist Muzi and resolve this matter in a more ethical and humane way.

Lerato was the South African contestant in the recent second season of the controversial reality show ‘Big Brother: Africa’.

About Marang House

Many children in South Africa who suffer from life-threatening diseases unfortunately do not have the home environments that will facilitate their recuperation and restoration to normal health. This lack of a suitable environment results in young children living permanently in government hospitals, which is not only unnecessary but also has a negative impact on their survival and future health.

Marang House is a successful non-profit organization caring for these ill children by providing them with a stable home environment including a family setting, twenty-four hour medical care, regular monitoring and hospital visits, nutritious meals and lots of love. Marang House is a registered non-profit organization (006-182 NPO) and has been approved as a public benefit organization (PBO 930 003 724). For more information please visit http://www.maranghouse.com/.

Special performance of FNB’s Swan Lake to benefit the seriously ill children of Marang House

2007-09-11T02:21:00.001+02:00

Proudly South African has joined forces with the internationally renowned South African Ballet Theatre to organise a special performance of FNB’s ‘Swan Lake’ at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre on 12 September 2007 in aid of Marang House. This event is supported by the esteemed Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe and will be attended by a number of high-placed representatives from government and business, as well as a number of well-known celebrities.

This is your last chance to book seats for this unique fundraising event, as there are still a limited number of seats available. Please e-mail support@marang.org.za.

This performance of FNB’s Swan Lake is also the last chance to see this production with accompaniment by The Johannesburg Festival Orchestra.

Event Details
* Date: Wednesday, 12 September 2007
* Time: 19h00 for 19h30
* Venue: The Nelson Mandela Stage, Johannesburg Civic Theatre

Hope to see you there!

Big Brothers Big Sisters SA: ‘Marang House most committed organisation’

2007-09-01T04:10:00.000+02:00

Marang House was awarded the title of ‘most committed organisation in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Programme’ today during the annual awards ceremony of the Big Brothers Big Sisters SA organisation (BBBSSA) in Johannesburg.

Last year, Marang House entered into a partnership agreement with BBBSSA to match all of its children with a dedicated volunteer. BBBSSA has made a significant impact at Marang House and we are very honoured and grateful for this partnership and to receive this title. More info on BBBSSA on http://www.bbbssa.org.za/.

During the ceremony, three of the matches at Marang House (volunteer and child) also received certificates, this for successfully completing the minimum of one year in the programme.

Photo: Sharmala Govender (Executive Director, BBBSSA), Pieter Ernst Jr and Jacqueline Mphatsoe (Chairman, BBBSSA).

Very special welcome to all the Dutch visitors

2007-07-19T08:19:00.000+02:00

Today an article about myself and Marang House made it onto the frontpage of one of the most respectable tabloid newspapers in The Netherlands, De Pers. It is in this regard that I am specially welcoming those readers who took a moment to visit my blog with a little note in Dutch.

Welkom!

Een speciaal welkom in het Nederlands aan alle bezoekers die naar aanleiding van het artikel dat vandaag in De Pers verscheen deze blog bezoeken. Hartelijk welkom en heel erg bedankt voor uw interesse in Marang House.

Ik ben heel erg benieuwd naar uw ideeen, vragen, reacties en suggesties, dus reageer er op los of stuur mij een e-mailtje: contact@pieterernst.com.

Wat heb ik verder op dit moment nodig vanuit Nederland:

- Ik wil heel graag een stichting in Nederland beginnen, maar ik ben nog op zoek naar een goede notaris om het papierwerk te doen en iemand die de kosten wil sponsoren voor het opzetten van een stichting. Ik heb zelf al verschillende contacten in Nederland die de fondsenwerving op zich kunnen nemen.
- Voor bedrijven die al dan niet zakelijke belangen hebben in Zuid-Afrika en hier graag iets willen doen aan ontwikkelingswerk heb ik een heel interessant voorstel om een nieuw project te beginnen.
- Geld doneren aan Marang House kan hier (Let op, donaties zijn in Randen (9,6 Rand = 1EUR).

Marang House is lid van SANEC, de Zuid-Afrikaanse -Nederlandse Kamer van Koophandel en onderhoudt ook goede relaties met de Nederlandse Ambassade in Pretoria.

Is Marang House a disruptive health care innovation?

2007-07-16T08:17:00.000+02:00

Changemakers, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, presented a collaborative competition for the best disruptive innovations that transform health and health care in the U.S. and globally.

Check out Marang House its entry on http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/1433

Are we disruptive enough?

DJ Koula completes the Comrades Marathon

2007-06-18T01:36:00.000+02:00

She did it! Koula completed the Comrades marathon. The whole country was watching when Koula crossed the finish line after more than eleven hours of running and did a shout-out to all the Marang House children. Keep on checking this blog to find how much money she has raised for Marang House with this magnificent achievement.

Also, check out the pictures of the 'Good Luck' party that the kids organised for her.

UPDATE: I can unofficially tell you that Koula raised around ZAR 80.000 for Marang House.

Seriously ill Muzi (7) beats famous kwaito singer Kabelo at a friendly game of pool

2007-06-14T10:33:00.000+02:00

A friendly game of pool turned into a victory for the seven-year-old Muzi. During a 'good luck' party that was organised for Koula and Kabelo, who are running the Comrades ultra-marathon to raise funds for charity, Muzi took the opportunity to challenge his favourite singer to a game of pool. With a little bit of help, Muzi eventually managed to beat the famous kwaito star - a moment that he will not easily forget.

Muzi (who's real name is Gcinomuzi) is supposed to receive a kidney from his mother, but as he is from Swaziland, the South African government refuses to pay for the operation. He is therefore still on dialysis treatments. Ever since he came to Marang House, he became much stronger and is putting on some weight. Muzi is a very active child and although he hardly speaks any English, he is very able to communicate with everybody in his own way.

Koula and Kabelo on Yo.TV's Wild Room together with Marang House children

2007-06-14T05:44:00.000+02:00

Yesterday afternoon Koula and Kabelo, joined by Annah and Dieketseng - two of the children who are currently staying at Marang House - were guests on the tv show 'Wild Room'. Wild Room is one of the most popular shows in South Africa and is part of the youth programming on SABC 1, which goes by the name of Yo.TV.

They were on the show to promote the charity angle of the upcoming Comrades ultra-marathon. Kabelo, who is a popular kwaito singer, and Koula, a dj from 5fm, are running the race to raise funds for charity and you can support them by smsing either of their names to 38338 (R10/SMS).

This was the television debut of the young girls, who both are seriously ill. Annah (12) is an insulin dependent diabetic and Dieketseng (15) suffers from chronic renal failure. They both however enjoyed all the attention and the glamour of being on television tremendously.

Last chance to support Koula!

2007-06-13T12:14:00.000+02:00

There is less than one week left for you to support Koula with her admirable attempt to make a difference to the lives of South Africa’s disadvantaged seriously ill children by running the Comrades ultra-marathon. You can help her in the following ways:

SMS the word ‘KOULA’ to 38338 (R10/SMS). SA only.
Make a (corporate) pledge by sending an e-mail to charity@comrades.com

5fm DJ Koula will be running the upcoming Comrades ultra-marathon to raise money for Marang House. Koula is competing against kwaito-singer Kabelo and SAfm's Thabiso Sikwane in a head-to-head challenge to determine who can raise the most money for charity.

Koula has been training for the past eight months under the guidance of Comrades winner Nic Bester. She has completed all of her qualifying races, but is still having terrifying nightmares about the race. To find out more about what drives Koula, listen to an interview by Mike Finch (the editor of Runner’s World) or visit her website.

Marang House receives biggest cheque ever!

2007-06-13T12:12:00.000+02:00

Today I accepted the biggest cheque ever on behalf of Marang House. The Independent Cash and Carry Group, its shareholders and suppliers together donated ZAR 650.000 to Marang House.

A total of ZAR 2 million was raised during their recent annual golf day. Smile Foundation received a cheque for ZAR 1,35 million to operate on children with disfigured faces and ZAR 650.000 went towards Marang House to provide a stable home-environment to disadvantaged seriously ill children.

The Independent Cash and Carry Group is now the biggest financial supporter of Marang House.

Win a kidney transplant on television - What took them so long?

2007-06-01T06:03:00.000+02:00

Tonight the controversial television show where three contestants who suffer from chronic renal failure stand a chance to win a new kidney will air on Dutch television. A terminally ill lady, who has not more than a few months to live, will decide during this live television show to whom of the three contestants she will be donating her kidney.

Viewers can sms during the live broadcast to advise the 37-year-old kidney donor on the tough decision to make. The messages will be free of charge and will offer the opportunity to request the necessary documentation to sign up as an organ donor. What took them so long to come up with this clever marketing campaign?

Contrary to the perception that many people outside of the Netherlands might have, BNN – who is the initiator and broadcaster of the show - is not a commercial television channel trying to develop the latest cash-generating format. BNN is one of the public (non-profit) broadcasting organisations in the Netherlands that receives free broadcasting time and government funding to air and produce its television and radio programmes.

BNN’s founder, Bart de Graaff, passed away several years ago after having been sick most of his life. Despite his illness he managed to start up this very successful PBO and he has always tried to promote the interests of all sorts of ill people, specifically those suffering from chronic renal failure. He for instance allowed a camera crew to follow the entire process that he went through as he underwent a kidney transplant himself, also with the aim of persuading people to become donors.

It really seems to me that BNN has honourable intentions to seriously engage in a discussion and encourage citizens to become organ donors by simply confronting them with the harsh reality. They however have a very direct and controversial way of doing this, but nobody can deny that they already managed to grab the attention of both national and international media, without having broadcasted a single thing. To me this is the best marketing campaign promoting organ donation so far. According to a Dutch newspaper, there are even several people already who offered to donate one of their healthy kidney to the loosing contestants.

I am very curious to see how this television show is going to turn out and hopefully the number of organ donors in the Netherlands will drastically increase during the next couple of weeks. Knowing BNN and its programmes, I am confident that tonight's show will be an entertaining and thought-provoking one to watch. I also think that BNN will deal more respectfully with this sensitive subject than you might expect.

Desperation

One easily underestimates the desperation that many patients awaiting a kidney transplant are in. The dialysis treatments and the uncertainty of their future are not the most pleasant circumstances to live with.

As for the children staying at Marang House, all of them for instance always make sure that there is a packed bag next to their bed to leave the house in the middle of the night should a kidney become available. The sadder part is that some kids literally dream that the phone rings with 'the good news' and wake up the nurse to then realise that they have dreamed it all. All the children also love to attend church, mainly because this gives them the opportunity to pray to God for a new kidney.

Another example, in the early days of Marang House we had a little child by the name of Gordon. One afternoon the phone rang with the exciting news that there was a kidney available for Gordon. As there was nobody else available, my late father decided to drive Gordon to the hospital himself. Gordon however was so worried that he would not arrive on time in the hospital that, as small as he was, he managed to lift my little brother out of his baby seat and put him next to the car while my father was inside Marang House collecting the paperwork. Gordon simply wanted to eliminate every possible threat of slowing him down as this kidney transplant was his only chance of survival. The transplant was a success and as far as I know Gordon is living a happy and normal life at the moment.

UPDATE: The Big Donor Show was a HOAX. Well done!

Franchising as a business model for the expansion of a charity

2007-05-29T11:22:00.000+02:00

I just returned from a short trip to Cape Town, where I gave a presentation at a Proudly SA CEO Forum. The forum was held at one of Cape Town's trendiest restaurants, Forty Ate, and the topic of the forum was corporate social investment.

I took this opportunity to present the expansion plan that I have for Marang House and specifically focused on the sustainability part of this plan and how the benefits of the traditional franchise system can assist us with sustaining future Marang Houses. I hope that I managed to trigger some interest among the attendees of the forum, as I would love to also establish Marang Houses in Cape Town.

The social (enterprise) franchising model, as I like to call it, will not only sustain the new houses, but will also provide a very interesting investment opportunity for social investors. I will at a later stage further explain this model on my blog. In the meantime, if you are a social investor, please feel free to contact me to find out about this investment opportunity.

Download the presentation (PowerPoint) here.

We didn't win :-(

2007-05-25T10:55:00.000+02:00

The winners of the prestigious Homegrown Awards were announced yesterday evening during a high-profile gala dinner in Fourways. The Deputy President Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Nguka was one of the esteemed guests who addressed the 3rd Annual Homegrown Awards finalists. Marang House unfortunately didn’t take the award home.

Marang House received national recognition after being short listed as one of the finalists in the Wesbank / PSA Homegrown Awards in the category ‘Nation Builder of the Year’. The Homegrown Awards, which are endorsed by President Thabo Mbeki, are the leading showcase for South African organizations that are contributing to South Africa's economy and society.

We would like to thank Proudly South African and its sponsors for organizing Homegrown Awards and for continuously promoting South African organisations, products and innovations and the people behind them. We were very honoured to have been one of the finalists this year and we will proudly continue to operate according to Proudly South African's high standards.

Click here to read all about the finalists, the winners and the gala evening.

Pieter together with Koula from 5fm, who is running the Comrades to raise money for Marang House.

Salome Parkies, Head Nurse at Marang House, in traditional African attire.

South African Deputy President Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Nguka

"Police too slack, so Scouts make arrest"

2007-05-18T06:11:00.000+02:00

I came across an interesting story in a recent edition of the Sunday Times. This story especially cought my eye, as these guys volunteered and fixed up one of the bedrooms at Marang House during their last holiday. Well done guys!

Police too slack, so Scouts make arrest

Two Ferndale Boy Scouts arrested a woman’s attacker and took him to the holding cells themselves as their local police were “too busy” changing shifts.

The brothers, Wilko, 17, and Arno Tillwick, 24, have been awarded police certificates for making “an outstanding” citizen’s arrest, but they said they merely acted in accordance with the Scouts’ motto: “Be prepared”.

Wilko said he was asleep one Sunday morning in late March when he woke to a woman’s screams and his neighbour’s barking dogs. He jumped out of bed and ran outside with his brother hot on his heels. “We ran up the road and saw a woman wrestling a man. We pulled the man off her and dragged him towards our gate,” Wilko said.

Read more >>>

Wesbank / PSA Homegrown Awards: The countdown has started

2007-05-15T05:00:00.000+02:00

The countdown towards the Wesbank/PSA Homegrown Awards has started. Only nine days to go and we will finally find out if Marang House is this year's Nation Builder of the Year. It will be a very busy period with lots of exposure for Marang House, which is great. Please hold thumbs for Marang House to win this prestigious award and keep on checking my blog to stay informed with all the latest developments.

On the above picture I gave an interview to a crew from ATTV, who is producing the promos of all the finalists. You can read the official media release regarding the Homegrown Awards here or surf to http://www.proudlysa.co.za/.

Nashua North donates R60.000 towards Marang House

2007-05-11T05:25:00.000+02:00

Nashua North made a very generous donation of R60.000 towards Marang House earlier today. This was the second year in a row that they supported Marang House. Nashua North is very committed and they took the time to come and visit Marang House and spend some time with the children, which everybody enjoyed very much.

On the picture: Jeff Wilson, Sean Ferris and Nick Tuttelberg from Nashua North hand the cheque over to Pieter Ernst Jr and the children of Marang House.

5fm DJ Koula to run the Comrades Marathon - sponsored by Reebok - to raise money for Marang House

2007-05-09T04:06:00.000+02:00

I just returned from the press launch of the Reebok Triple Charity Challenge and am very honoured to announce that 5fm DJ Koula will be running the upcoming Comrades Marathon to raise funds for Marang House.

Koula is competing against multi award-winning kwaito star Kabelo and SAfm's Thabiso Sikwane in a challenge to see who can raise the most money for charity. You can support Koula and Marang House by SMSing "KOULA" to 38338. R10/sms. If you want to donate a larger amount of money or want to make a corporate pledge, then e-mail to charity@comrades.com, but be sure to mention Koula and Marang House!

Koula has secretly been training for the past seven months to prepare for this 89km race on 17 June 2007. Follow all the developments during the final weeks towards the event on 5fm and on this blog.

From the official press release:

Johannesburg. 9 May 2007 - Three of South Africa’s most celebrated voices – popular 5fm DJ Koula, SAFM’s Queen of Talk, Thabiso Sikwane and multi award-winning kwaito star, Kabelo have announced their Reebok-sponsored head-to-head challenge in this year’s Comrades Marathon.

This is Koula and Thabiso’s first attempt at the race, while it’s Kabelo’s second: Last year this top-selling artist rose to the challenge of training for the Comrades, completing it under 11hours and in doing so raising R240 000 for charitable projects for the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) and three other charities he selected.

The three have been training under the guidance of Nic Bester who is reportedly pleased with their progress. All have now completed their qualifying races and have a programme set for optimum personal success.

"The last six months have been an incredible journey: physically, psychologically and spiritually. Initially I'd risen to the Comrades challenge because it seemed like an utterly insane idea! But now I'm totally hooked on running! And if underprivileged kids can benefit from all of this, even better!" enthuses Koula.

Koula is supporting Marang House, a half-way house based in Johannesburg that provides a stable home-environment to disadvantaged seriously ill children who are otherwise forced to stay in hospitals for extended periods.

Reebok Marketing Manager Dave Turnbull says: “Koula, Thabiso and Kabelo represent the new generation of respected celebrities on the cutting edge of youth culture. They are smart, streetwise and sussed. They are also profoundly in tune with life and what makes us tick. They possess such awesome self-esteem - the very epitome of our Reebok brand for the individual. We trust their participation and success in both running and raising money will inspire many other young people to follow their dreams and realise their unique potential.”

Support DJ Koula in her head-to-head challenge by SMSing "KOULA" to 38338 - R10/SMS

Some of the children currently staying at Marang House...

2007-05-07T03:12:00.000+02:00

Here are some of the children who have stayed at Marang House since the beginning of this year, but who I haven't spoken about on my blog before:

Innocent (10) – Chronic Renal Failure - Innocent is a straight-forward, funny and very active young man. He is on peritoneal dialysis, which means that he has to connect a dialysis bag to a tube in his chest every six hours. The bag first has to go into a microwave and the hygienic procedures are very strict, he for instance has to wash his hands between every step of connecting the bag to his body. Many children like Innocent don’t have running water and electricity at home, which obviously is required for this form of dialysis. Innocent wants to become a boss when he grows up, as he figures that as a result of the operations that he still has to undergo, he will not be able to work anymore.

Gcinomuzi (7) – Chronic Renal Failure - Gcinomuzi (a.k.a. Muzi) is supposed to receive a kidney from his mother, but as he is from Swaziland, the South African government refuses to pay for the operation and he is therefore still on dialysis. Ever since he is at Marang House, he has become much stronger and is putting on some weight. Muzi is a very active child and although he hardly speaks any English, he is very able to communicate with everybody in his own way.

Dieketseng (15) – Chronic Renal Failure - Dieketseng has settled into life at Marang House very well since she arrived in January 2007. She is a lovely and no-nonsense girl who really enjoys the company of all the other children. Dieketseng enjoys reading and swimming and she wants to become a nurse in a renal unit when she grows up, as she figures that by now she knows exactly how to operate the machine herself.

Is Marang House this year's Nation Builder of the Year?

2007-04-17T05:23:00.000+02:00

Earlier today I was informed that Marang House is one of the finalists in the Wesbank / Proudly South African Homegrown Awards. Marang House is a finalist in the 'Nation Builder of the Year' category, which is a special category for non-profit organisations.

On 24 May 2007, during a big gala dinner, the winner of the award will be announced. It would really be a big honour and milestone for Marang House to receive this award, as it is one of the most important awards that a South African organisation can win. Everybody at Marang House is therefore very excited about this news and we are all holding thumbs to win this prestigious award.

You can follow all the developments that will lead to big gala dinner in May on this blog.

Mbeki urges donors to help non-Aids orphans too

2007-04-04T07:03:00.000+02:00

In an interesting article in today's newspaper Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, is urging donors to also assist non-aids orphans. This is something that Marang House has been advocating for since its establishment in 1998.

I have had many experiences where potential donors were interested in supporting Marang House, until they realised that it doesn't care for children affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis. There is however definitively already a trend going on where donors are slowly getting a little 'bored' with the huge HIV/AIDS problem and are looking to diversify their support efforts.

People tend to forget that there are many other South African children who are struggling, with their health or otherwise, and who are sometimes forgotten due to the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. These children also deserve the support that they so desperately long for and I am very glad that President Mbeki has raised the issue.

Mbeki urges donors to help non-Aids orphans too

The Star, 4 April 2007

President Thabo Mbeki wants to know why Aids orphans should be given special treatment while other parentless children go hungry.

Mbeki also criticised donors for preferentially funding non-governmental organisations (NGOs) looking after children whose parents had died of Aids while other orphans were being neglected.

He was reacting yesterday to a plea from a member of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Siphiwe Kunene, for all orphans to be taken care of.

Kunene told a story of five children living in the same house. Two of them are Aids orphans who are fed by charities, but the other three, though poor, go hungry.

He said one of the children with parents had said: "I wish my mother and father could die (so that) I can also enjoy those meals".

Mbeki said: "An orphan is an orphan. You cannot say (these orphans) are special because their parents died from Aids.

"An orphan whose parents died in a car accident is an orphan. We have to respond to the conditions of these children …

"We can't have a situation where there are five hungry children and you feed two and leave the other three. It can't be right," Mbeki said, urging traditional leaders to speak out loudly about this issue.

He cited an example of how some NGOs were funded for looking after Aids orphans.
"(An) NGO would go to people with money and say: 'I have established a non-governmental organisation to look after orphans whose parents have died in road accidents,' and the people with money don't respond," the president said.

"And when you go to the same people and say, 'I have established an NGO to look after children whose parents have died of Aids,' then you get the money. It's wrong."
Mbeki was at a debate of traditional leaders in Pretoria when Kunene brought up the orphans story.

Kunene said they had established centres in rural villages to feed Aids orphans.

5th World Summit on Media for Children

2007-03-28T06:33:00.000+02:00

During the past few days I had the pleasure of attending the 5th World Summit on Media for Children, which took place in Sandton. As I am trying to get Marang House more involved with public awareness activities and as I have a little bit of a background in the media industry, I thought it would be a good idea to attend and check out the scene.

The theme of the summit was "Media as a tool for global peace and democracy". The word 'quality' was later suggested as an adjective to this theme by Roy Disney and I could not agree more. After having participated in the summit, to me there is one really important issue that arose and that is that it is critically important that children's voices are heard, even if it is just for the simple reason that children's voices are pure, uninfluenced and most often very straight-forwards and therefore of very high quality. They should certainly not be disregarded and must not be underestimated as a tool for global peace and democracy.

Obviously, it is important that policymakers and such listen to the stories of children, but maybe it is even more important that children are being given the opportunity to listen to each others stories to create a better understanding about each others cultures, lifestyles and beliefs, to hopefully shape their minds without prejudices, as their minds are still to be shaped.

It was fascinating to realise how immense the impact of media is on children throughout the world. A definite trend in the right direction that I seemed to notice was the growing involvement of children with the actual creation process of media. Another positive and noteworthy development was that children are still increasingly being taken seriously by global media, not just by advertisers, but also by content producers and even policymakers.

As for Marang House, I think that there still is a big need for education in South Africa about diseases and things such as organ donation and healthy lifestyles and that together with the media Marang House can play a very important role with providing this education by simply allowing our children to communicate their stories effectively to their peers.

I have met a lot of interesting people during this summit and have been once again inspired by the potential that lies within media. I will leave you with a short animation that Roy Disney showed as part of his speech and with some quotes from this speech that I think summarise why children's media can help change the world.

"Today, there is a tremendous opportunity for progress. Human history has been a record of near constant conflict. But now, for the first time ever, we have the capability of instant communication. The media mirror can be held up to more people more often and more widely than ever. This is potentially a seismic shift in the human experience. It becomes very hard to wage war when soldiers on both sides have grown up sharing e-mails with each other about their favorite movies."

'To be sure, the world will not change overnight. We know that many adults are simply incapable of conquering their fears and prejudices. But children can. If young people around the world are consistently exposed to quality media that responsibly opens doors of communication and understanding, then this can at long last become the century of peace. This is not another Disney fairytale. This could happen. Happy endings are possible. It's up to us, as the song says -'One by One' - to make them into realities."

World Kidney Day

2007-03-08T02:04:00.000+02:00

Today, the second Thursday in March, is World Kidney Day! All over the world activities are organized to raise awareness for chronic kidney diseases. Time for you to seriously consider becoming an organ donor. You may very well be able to give somebody 'the gift of life' in the future.

The Organ Donor Foundation can answer all the questions you may still have about this sensitive subject and can also provide you with all the material to become an organ donor.

Click here to become an organ donor!

Some Facts

10% of the adult population has some form of kidney damage.

Every day our kidneys filter an average of 200 litres of blood.

Chronic kidney diseases and cardiovascular diseases will kill 36 million people by the year 2015.

Transplantation is now a highly successful procedure, which is considered routine surgical practice for people with serious kidney, liver, heart or lung disease.

One year after transplantation of a kidney from a brain-dead donor around 90% of transplants are still functioning well. After five years over 60% are still healthy and overcoming any need for dialysis. Some kidney transplant patients have survived more than 25 years.

Because people have two kidneys but need only one, a living relative often serves as a donor, retaining one kidney for his or her own use.

In 2005 there were 1,084 organ transplants in South Africa, of which 232 were kidney transplants. Of those kidney transplants, 31% of kidney donors were related to the recipient.

In South Africa there are about 40.000 people who suffer from chronic renal failure and are waiting for a new kidney.

More information on www.worldkidneyday.org and www.odf.org.za

Lorraine and Elijah share their stories on Kids News

2007-03-06T10:46:00.001+02:00

Today a television crew of Kids' News, a daily news programme for children, followed both Elijah and Lorraine to show other South African children what it is like to suffer from chronic renal failure. The crew went with them to the hospital school and Elijah gave an interview while he was on the dialysis machine. Lorraine, who received a kidney transplant last December, shared her story and told them how this event has changed her life.

The interviews will be broadcasted on Friday 9 March 2007, 16:00 on SABC 2 as part of the activities around World Kidney Day.

Ronald McDonald visits Marang House

2007-03-01T10:35:00.000+02:00

Ronald McDonald visited the children at Marang House last week and treated them to a very entertaining magic show.

Marang House on Channel Africa

2007-02-21T03:57:00.000+02:00

Marang House was featured today on Channel Africa. The award-winning weekly 30-minute radio show 'Tam Tam Express' was entirely dedicated to Marang House this week. In this edition the children of Marang House tell you their stories and further challenge you to look into the world of organ donation.

Tam Tam Express is broadcasted worldwide as the show is syndicated on the World Radio Network. Click here to listen to the Tam Tam Express edition about Marang House.

Lorraine wants to meet Beyonce!

2007-02-20T11:57:00.000+02:00

Last December Lorraine (12) finally received her long awaited kidney transplant. She is recovering exceptionally well at Marang House from her operation and is enjoying all the benefits of having a kidney, such as being allowed to eat nearly everything and drinking lots of water.

Lorraine is a huge fan of Beyonce Knowles and the music of Beyonce has meant a lot to Lorraine while she was still sick and receiving her dialysis treatments. Lorraine’s biggest dream is therefore to meet Beyonce Knowles to personally tell her how much she admires her.

Can you help to turn Lorraine’s wildest dream into reality?

Situation of people suffering from chronic renal failure and organ donations in South Africa featured on Special Assignment (SABC 3)

2007-02-19T06:03:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow's Special Assignment will focus on the situation in South Africa with regard to people suffering from chronic renal failure and the availability of dialysis machines and scarcity of organs for transplants. As most of the children staying at Marang House are waiting for a new kidney, I am very familiar with the situation in South Africa and I am very glad that Special Assignment is covering the subject.

A few highlights of tomorrow's documentary:

"Chronic kidney failure is not much talked about in this country, yet the number of sufferers, especially blacks, keeps growing."

"While there are about 40 000 chronic renal failure patients, the country has about 3000 dialysis slots in both private and public hospitals. This means some patients get sent home to die and others, like those in Mpumalanga, have to travel over 400km to a dialysis machine in Gauteng. Clearly, kidney donations would alleviate the problem and keep many from dying. "

Special Assignment, The Gift of Life, will be broadcasted tomorrow (20 February 2007) on SABC 3 at 21:30.

See also the story of Lorraine, who received a kidney last December.

Special Assignment
Organ Donor Foundation

Ellis returns to Marang House after nearly having a stroke

2007-02-16T05:35:00.000+02:00

Ellis was rushed to the hospital last week as she fainted and lost consciousness. She apparently nearly had a stroke and as a result of this Ellis was blind for two days. Thankfully she is doing well again. I was very happy to see her back at Marang House today. As always, she had a lovely smile on her face and was playing with her dolls.

Sometimes when people come and visit Marang House they wonder if these children are really that sick, as they see them in a home-environment playing and being happy. Those people I always tell that I might have to phone them the following day as these kids, despite the fact that they may appear healthy, are indeed at the stage that their illness is life-threatening and can literally die.

Gift's longtime dream becomes reality

2007-02-02T05:25:00.000+02:00

Gift (12) always dreamed of flying in an aeroplane and his 'Big Sister' Kerry Davis fulfilled that longtime wish by taking him on a trip to Durban for his birthday. The trip was really a dream come true for Gift and the highlight of the day was speaking to the pilot, as Gift wants to become a pilot when he grows up. Kerry and Gift spend the day in Durban visiting the beach and uShaka Marine World.

Gift suffers from chronic diabetes and stays at Marang House to learn how to control his sugar levels and live with his disease. It is great to see how much of a positive influence 'Big Sister' Kerry has on Gift. Apart from taking him on trips, Kerry helps Gift with his homework and is great role model.

Ever since Marang House signed a partnership agreement with the amazing Big Brothers Big Sisters SA organization last year, most of our children have been matched up with a dedicated volunteer who agrees to spend at least one hour a week with a child for a minimum period of one year. Visit the BBBSSA website for more information on how to volunteer your time and become a Big Brother or a Big Sister to a child in need.

Update: Gift's surprise trip even made it into the local newspaper!

Marang House Promo Video

2007-01-29T06:30:00.000+02:00

Marang House on Google Earth

2007-01-25T09:38:00.000+02:00

Wondering what the area around Marang House looks like? You can now see exactly where the house is located with Google Earth. Download this file to be directed to the exact location of Marang House.

About Google Earth

Google Earth streams the world over wired and wireless networks enabling users to virtually go anywhere on the planet and see places in photographic detail. This is not like any map you have ever seen. This is a 3D model of the real world, based on real satellite images combined with maps, guides to restaurants, hotels, entertainment, businesses and more. You can zoom from space to street level instantly and then pan or jump from place to place, city to city, even country to country.

Get Google Earth. Put the world in perspective.

Marang House joins the MyCommunity initiative!

2007-01-23T08:42:00.000+02:00

It is time to announce this year's first exciting development at Marang House: "Marang House joins the MyCommunity initiative!"

The MyCommunity initiative (which includes MySchool and MyVillage) is South Africa's number one community support system and raises over R1 million a month for schools and charities all over South Africa. Supporters of Marang House can apply or a FREE MySchool Supporter Card and every time this card is swiped at one of the 2500 participating retail partners nationwide, the transaction is recorded and a percentage of the purchase (sometimes as high as 5%) is donated to Marang House - at no (extra) cost to you!

Apply now and nominate Marang House as your beneficiary. Within weeks your personalized MySchool Supporter Card will be mailed to you and you can start supporting Marang House. Retail partners include: Woolworths, Spar, Engen, Kalahari.Net, Mecer, Wimpy, Spur, CNA, Mugg&Bean, SupaQuick, Ola Milky Lane and Jack's Paint and Hardware stores. For a full list of the 2500 participating retail outlets and for more information, please visit http://www.myschool.co.za/.

Do you already have a MySchool card and do you want to support Marang House? No problem, phone 0860 100 445 and add Marang House to your list of beneficiaries. You can also phone this number if you have any more questions or problems with your application.

Supporting Marang House has never been this easy!

Apply Now!

Latest South African hype: Robbing charities

2007-01-17T06:04:00.000+02:00

Marang House once again made headlines this week after an armed robbery took place at another children's charity in Johannesburg just two days before Christmas. Two men visited the Princess Alice Adoption Home in Westcliff pretending to be dropping off a donation of nappies. When the guys were inside the house they pulled a gun and demanded money. According to an article in the local Northcliff/Melville Times newspaper, they 'casually' left after ten minutes with some cash, a watch and a necklace.

Some of the recent incidents of crime at Marang House were also mentioned in the article as it almost seems that robbing charities is turning into some sort of a hype in South Africa. After all the problems we have had this year at Marang House, I can just imagine what they must be going through at the Princess Alice Adoption Home and I really hope that attacking children's charities is not going to turn into a hype. It is really the last thing we need.

Back in SA

2007-01-15T05:50:00.000+02:00

I’m back in South Africa and after three weeks of living in miserable weather in the Netherlands I nearly forgot what the sun looks like. Luckily, I only had to step out of the plane to be reminded what it means to live in a country with a pleasant climate. I had a lot of meetings during my stay in Holland and within the next few months we will have our Dutch based foundation up and running to actively start raising funds in the Netherlands.

Everything went well during the festive season and by now things have returned back to normal at Marang House, which means that the kids have come back and the house has the 'happening' vibe again. Lorraine has also returned to Marang House to recover from her transplant operation. All is going very well with her and hopefully she can go home soon. All the children are doing very well. Ellis however is still admitted in hospital, but hopefully she will also return to Marang House as soon possible. We have also welcomed a few new children at the house. I will load their profiles on the Marang House website ASAP and obviously write about all their activities on this blog.

We really have a lot of things in the pipeline this coming year. Please keep on visiting this blog to stay informed with all the exciting things that we have planned, I promise that I will not disappoint you!

Marang House: This year's developments in a nutshell

2006-12-25T11:44:00.000+02:00

I wish that I had started this blog earlier during the year as so many things happened. As promised, let me at least give you a summary of the most noteworthy developments at Marang House during 2006.

Hoax plane crash turns annual Christmas Market into huge success

Because we don't have any advertising budget, we have to be very creative to attract people and attention to and for our fundraising events. Every year the 'Friends of Marang House' (a dedicated group of volunteers) organize a Christmas Market where they sell all kinds of stuff and food to raise funds. To attract people to the market this year we came up quite a different different advertising strategy.

An apparent plane crash had to encourage people who were passing by to come and visit the Christmas Market. A crashed plane was placed in front of the entrance of Marang House by supporter who works in the aviation industry. He came up with the idea to attract people to the annual event by simulating a crash. Cars that drove pass that morning stopped to see what had happened. Some people even called the emergency services and the Civil Aviation Authority. I only arranged the stunt with the police and the person who arranged the crashed aeroplane and therefore the volunteers organizing the event were also quite flabbergasted by this advertising strategy. The Christmas Market was a huge success and was very well attended.

SAVRALA Car Manufacturer of the Year Awards

In October I was invited to attend the annual SAVRALA Car Manufacturer of the Year Awards where Marang House received a donation of R 30.000 from the members of SAVRALA. Nissan SA, won the Award, doubled the donation so I left that evening with R 60.000 in total for Marang House. On the picture handing me the cheque was newly elected association president, Paul Pauwen. They also gave me the opportunity to say a few words about Marang House, which is always useful if you are speaking to the top of the South African car industry.

Proudly South African Launch

As part of the National Woman's Day celebration here in South Africa, Marang House was adopted by the Proudly South African campaign. This campaign aims to promote locally produced products. The staff of PSA organised a wonderful picnic for the children and together with the staff of the local Nedbank branches, arrived with loads of gifts including bicycles for all the children.

During the day Marang House also became a 'Proudly South African' organization and now carries the official logo that certifies that we are proud to be a South African organization. Later during the year I went 'campaigning' and attended several of their CEO Forums where I presented Marang House to other PSA members.

New volunteering programme at Marang House: Big Brothers Big Sisters SA

Marang House entered into a partnership this year with Big Brothers Big Sisters South Africa that is affiliated with the American BBBS programme. All the children at Marang House will be matched up with a dedicated volunteer who commits to spend at least one hour a week with a particular child for a minimum period of a year. Volunteers go through a selection process and receive a training course before they become a Big Brother or Big Sister to one of the children.

We are very honoured to be in partnership with this great organization and they have already made a very positive impact in a very short period.

Nthabiseng dies just before her 'big break'

The sparkling-eyed Nthabiseng lived at Marang House since May 2005. In September of this year, just before she was featured in a national ad campaign for 'Proudly South African'. She unfortunately passed away as a result of a brain hemorrhage. She was ten years old.

Nthabiseng needed both a kidney and a liver transplant to live a normal life again, but enjoyed life despite her serious condition. She had a very open personality and her sweet and honest laugh made everybody’s life a little brighter. Thanks to volunteers, she was able to spend a day with her family in Rustenburg earlier this year. This was her first visit in a number of years.

Marang House showcased at GreaterGood SA Giving Exchange

During September Marang House participated in the Giving Exchange organized by GreaterGood SA. Twenty charities were selected to showcase their projects at exhibitions held in Sandton City and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town to the general public and to CSI managers and other invited guests. GreaterGood SA promotes giving in South Africa and also facilitates the online donations on the Marang House website.

Royal Netherlands Embassy donates new vehicle to Marang House

The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria donated R150.000 towards Marang House through their Small Projects Fund to assist us with the purchase of a new vehicle. The new 11-seater Kia Pregio Bus that was purchased can safely and comfortably transport the children to and from hospitals and school everyday. The children were obviously very excited when the new car arrived and so is everybody who sees the stylish designed vehicle standing in the carport of Marang House.

Unfortunately the new car was stolen from the Marang House premises not even three weeks after it had arrived, but not to worry, the car was replaced by the insurance and is even today still transporting the children every day.

ICC Golf Day raises R1,5 million

During the Independent Cash & Carry Golf Day in February this year an enormous amount was raised to support The Star Smile Fund and Marang House. 1,5 million rand to be precise, of which Marang House received R500.000. This was the third time that Marang House was one of the beneficiaries of the ICC Golf Day. In July the cheque was handed over at the Nelson Mandela Foundation offices by Peter Dodson, CEO of the ICC Group. As you can imagine, the support of the ICC Group members and suppliers has made a very big difference at Marang House.

Salome nominated for Westgate Woman of the Year

Salome Parkies is one of the nurses at Marang House and does an amazing job every single day caring for the eleven children staying at the house. She was nominated for Westgate Woman of the Year in the category Health. She made it to the finals, but unfortunately did not take the award home. For us at Marang House Salome is most definitively the Woman of the Year and we are very proud of her!

Khulile returns home with a new kidney

13-year-old Khulile received a kidney from her mother last February in a transplant operation which took place at Johannesburg General Hospital. The doctors have pronounced the transplant a success and Khulile has now returned to her family in Pietersburg. Khulile stayed at Marang House from June 2005 to March 2006. Marang House provided the necessary stable home environment to prepare her for the transplant and also provided post-operative care.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T07:46:00.000+02:00

I want to wish all of you (the readers of this blog), as well as all the people that have supported Marang House in any way this year, a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a very successful and healthy New Year.

Most of the children have left Marang House to go home for a few days and I am in the Netherlands at the moment celebrating Christmas and preparing myself for another hectic, but hopefully very exciting year. I have a lot of interesting things lined up and I promise you that they will be very entertaining. So keep on visiting this blog in the next year to stay informed with all the latest developments at Marang House and my crazy attempts to build more houses throughout the country. Until then, have fun and I am looking forward to seeing you soon again!

Last commitment before my ‘holiday’ to the Netherlands

2006-12-18T01:17:00.000+02:00

Today I gave a radio interview for Channel Africa about Marang House that will be broadcasted throughout the world early next year. This was my last commitment for this year and tomorrow I’m off to the Netherlands for three weeks of ‘holiday’. It is about thirty degrees Celsius here in Johannesburg and I am really wondering why it was again that I wanted to go to Holland so badly, since it will be freezing over there.

It is now summer holiday here in SA, everything is closed and most Joburgers have left the city, so there is not much to do anyway. I’ve got several meetings scheduled in the Netherlands to get some fundraising activities going over there and of course my family is eagerly awaiting my arrival. It has been a hectic year and I'll soon post a blog with some of this year's highlights.

South Africans are ‘gatvol’ (fed up) with crime

2006-12-16T02:25:00.000+02:00

“While two would-be robbers lay dying in the street outside of a Johannesburg restaurant this week, their potential victims looked on and laughed.” reports The Star this morning. The robbers were shot by a police reservist who was coincidentally in the restaurant. “They died slowly, we all stood and laughed at the fuckers” as quoted in the Beeld newspaper.

Today the biggest newspaper in Johannesburg opened with an article titled ‘Justice!’ It is a summary of cases where civilians fought back against the shameless criminals that make South Africa unsafe. To give you a clear idea of the crime situation in South Africa, let me summarize how Marang House – a well-known charity for sick children! – has been targeted by criminals during the past year.

A new car that was donated to Marang House by the Dutch Embassy to transport the children to and from the hospital was stolen from the premises not even three weeks after it had arrived.
About three months ago there was a burglary at the Marang House itself where burglars entered the house and went off with one of the children's cellphones, a computer and a mini-scooter. They also tried to steal a giant teddy bear and the children's karaoke machine, leaving the children in shock.
There was an armed robbery two weeks ago at the doctor’s rooms that adjoin Marang House where a guy sat in the waiting room claiming that he wanted to see the doctor to then pull a gun and demand money from the secretary. There was a runaway car waiting for him outside. Luckily nobody got hurt.
The doctor's rooms have been burgled into twice this year and the storage facility of Marang House, where jumble is stored, was also broken into twice.

That adds up to seven times this year just at Marang House! Maybe it is time for justice.

Burglars hit children's home
Thieves steal minibus from diabetic kids' home in South Africa
Sick kids rob ill kids
Thieves hit children's home again

Lorraine finally receives a new kidney

2006-12-11T11:55:00.000+02:00

Last week Tuesday the phone rang at Marang House with the news that there was a new kidney available for Lorraine (12). A volunteer got in the car and rushed her to hospital where the doctors immediately started with the transplant. The operation went well and Lorraine is very happy. She has told everybody that she is now able to pee again, which to her is a miracle. In a few weeks Lorraine will return to Marang House where she will recover further from operation to then return home as soon as possible.

Lorraine is a delightful little girl who has been at Marang House since 2003. It was first hoped that Lorraine would receive a kidney from her mother, but it was established that she is not a close enough match. This has been a great disappointment, but Lorraine kept smiling. She is a tiny bundle of energy and has a beautiful singing voice and with her new kidney she will be able to live a normal life again and fullfill her wildest dreams.

World Diabetes Congress

2006-12-09T06:55:00.000+02:00

I returned back from Cape Town last night after a very busy, but exciting week. Marang House was showcased at the 19th World Diabetes Congress. We joined forces with another charity - Kids & Care SA - that publishes educational material for children suffering from diabetes.

It was a week full of running around and meeting lots of people. The congress attracted 12.000 people from all over the world and we were the only charities attending. As you can see on the picture above, we had a beautifully designed stand that was busy all the time. I did a lot of networking and I am sure that early next year all the contacts that I've made will start to pay off.

Coca-Cola South Africa has generously covered all the expenses related to my attendance. A big thank you to them for their support!

Storytelling time for kids with diabetes
África do Sul alberga 19º Congresso Mundial sobre diabete (we even made it into an Angolan newspaper)

Ellis can play with her dolls again

2006-12-05T02:04:00.000+02:00

Ellis is the newest child at Marang House. She is nine years old and suffers from chronic renal failure, which means that she needs a kidney transplant. Ellis has only recently started with her dialysis treatments at the Johannesburg General Hospital. She needs these treatments three times a week to stay alive. Ellis her father disappeared years ago and her mother was recently murdered by her new boyfriend, which makes Ellis an orphan.

Ellis really enjoys staying at Marang House and she especially loves playing with her dolls. Without Marang House, Ellis would have had to stay in the hospital 24/7 while she awaits a new kidney, which can take several years. Ellis can now at least wait for her kidney transplant with some sunshine in her life and a smile on her face.