310 days ago
Sowing the Seeds of Hope.

By Lauren Goliath.

The 14^th of July saw six Grade 10 pupils from Wynberg Girls’ High School come together to heed the call from  Lead SA to do precisely that, lead South Africa. Having been challenged by them and our school to confront a social ill that bothered us, we decided to raise money in response to the recently raised price of testing for bone marrow donors as recruited by The Sunflower Fund. Our second goal was to change some of the common incorrect perceptions regarding bone marrow donation.

Our target was R2000( the current cost of one test) which we reached by spending the 14^th of July at Kenilworth Centre handing out bags of edible sunflower seeds to shoppers in exchange for donations. Posters were displayed that aimed to correct common misconceptions. We were pleased to be met with people genuinely interested in becoming donors and who also graciously opened their purses and wallets to give money toward the fund. With this, we managed to raise R2200 which we handed over to the Sunflower Fund on the 24^th of July.

Over and above being able to make a small difference in the name of a cause we wanted to assist, our perceptions of being able to make a difference changed significantly. In light of having had our perspectives broadened, we are thankful to LeadSA for being the catalyst in a chain-reaction of doing good, which would not have been possible without the initiation of this project.

Our own personal awareness of cancer and cancer-related illnesses has expanded as well.

Group members: Thaakiyah Wentzel-Ryklief, Davita Ramjee, Azrah Ismail, Lauren Goliath, Natashia Young and Anjali Kooverjee