Send-off for bug with a big heart in Bredell on Sunday
The little 1970 VW Beetle will travel from Cape Town to Romania in aid of children who need heart surgery.
A huge send-off for the #TheLittleBugWithBigHeart will take place in Bredell on July 14.
Named the Boikanyo Bug, the 1972 VW Beetle will travel from Cape Town to Romania in aid of underprivileged children who need heart surgery.
Members of Benoni-based Round Table Golden East 181 will embark on this six-week journey in Cape Town on Mandela Day, visiting Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.
You too can be part of this send-off on Sunday, which will feature Beetles, burgers and beers at Nkanga Lodge, 72 4th Road, Bredell, from 11am to 4pm. Tickets cost R150 (entrance, burger and a beer) and all children under 18 are free. Visitors are urged to bring their Beetles.
Tickets can be booked at dylan@nkangalodge.co.za. The venue accepts no cash.
The Boikanyo Foundation was established by members of the Round Table Golden East 181 group in 2006 and has since funded 100 surgeries, 30 of which were at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
An estimated one in every 100 children worldwide is born with a congenital heart condition. Many of these children will die if they do not receive the necessary treatment.
Boikanyo Bug Project convenor Gareth Coats said, “We became aware of the never-declining waiting list of children in need of heart surgery and wanted to play our part in changing this.”
CEO of the children’s hospital Mandisa Maholwana said, “Fundraising is an important part of our history as a hospital. We are honoured when partners and members of the public put their creativity forward in the spirit of supporting patients at our hospital. This is an incredible demonstration of Mandela’s vision for this facility and is more poignant as we celebrate his life and legacy this month.”
Paediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Kathy Vanderdonck explained that since advances in technology assist to diagnose children earlier with more complex cardiac lesions, children with the more simple lesions were often pushed to the back of the list.
“Boikanyo has helped pay for the more simple procedures where children can go on to live a normal life following surgery,” said Vanderdonck.
Paediatric cardiologist Dr Mamaila Lebea said, “Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction, but with the Boikanyo Foundation and Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, every child can live, thrive and become an economically productive adult.”
Driver Alex Staniland used parts from three cars to refurbish the 1972 Bug and is determined to get the car to Romania.
The Bug will be auctioned at the Round Table International Meeting in Romania in August.
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