Kicking for a cause
Even though a few were on the brink of admitting defeat, they knew that their obstacles weren't nearly as challenging as those faced by Nadia du Plooy.
On Saturday, 11 November, more than 40 supporters endured a challenging two-hour kickboxing marathon in aid of the Hope with Nadia cause and even though a few were on the brink of admitting defeat, they knew that their obstacles weren’t nearly as challenging as those faced by Nadia du Plooy.
Nadia is a very special 13-year-old who has the Kearns Sayres Syndrome (KSS), a rare neuromuscular and slow progressive disorder. Although she faces a lot of obstacles on a daily basis with various limitations, she lives to be a normal teenager, attending school and participating in various extra curricular activities.
Currently her biggest struggle is her quality of life. She is in a wheelchair but still believes in miracles. She has made herself available for research and tests so that she and others like her can be cured in the future.
However, the cost of her doctor’s visits for the coming six months adds up to a total of R200 000. This is why Nadia’s aunt, Pat van Schalkwyk, (sister-in-law to Nadia’s mother) came up with the initiative of launching a fund to help cover these costs. This fund was eventually launched approximately two weeks ago.
Even though the kickboxing marathon was the first physical fundraising event organised and hosted by Claudia Ackerman from Claudia’s Body Conditioning Studio, where each supporter donated R100 for two hours of cardio kickboxing, supporters can expect more in future.
“I didn’t know that the residents of Krugersdorp could be so supportive,” Pat said. “We would like to thank everyone who has helped us thusfar in any way, including Claudia and Zumba Studios” she said.
Supporters can still make a donation of any amount at any time. In fact, Pat would like to introduce a ‘5 x R50’ challenge.
“Every R50 makes a difference. If one person donates R50, they should nominate another five people who should also donate R50, and so forth. This has a bigger ripple effect than people might think. We would also like to challenge local businesses to donate to the fund,” she explained.
Claudia would also like to thank all sponsors who contributed in any way and would like to challenge other fitness studios to contribute double her donation, which amounted to more than R4 000 for the day.
If you would like to help or find out more, feel free to visit www.hopewithnadia.org.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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