Sasfin and Smile Foundation hosts Spin-a-thon 2022

Banking controlling company, Sasfin, together with the Smile Foundation recently hosted its annual Smile Spin-a-thon event to raise money for reconstructive surgery on children with cleft, lip, palate and other facial abnormality.

The Smile Foundation is a nonprofit, which started in 2000 by Nelson Mandela and Marc Lubner. Since inception, The Smile Foundation has helped over 4 000 children with facial abnormalities and burns, receive corrective plastic and reconstructive surgery.

For over 15 years Sasfin has partnered with The Smile Foundation to help make a meaningful impact in the lives of these children through annual sponsorships and being the headline sponsor of the annual Smile Foundation Spin-a-thon.

Due to Covid-19 there is a huge backlog of about 800 children and since 1 March 2022, they have done 436 surgeries on children.

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However, it is not just the surgeries that the Smile-Foundation offers, it is support and care for the entire family. These children come from low-income homes where they’re unable to access the assistance they need.

Working with maternity units, The Smile Foundation identifies children born with cleft palates and immediately steps in to provide help and support to the child and the entire family.

“It doesn’t only affect the children, it affects the entire family,” says Kim Robertson, CEO of The Smile Foundation.

She explained that they also provide special cleft bottles for the babies so they can be fed and give the mom a bag filled with everything she needs to meet her and her baby’s basic needs. In addition they provide psychological help.

Smith shared that they aim to get the first surgery done at 3 months and the second at 6-9 months. The key she says is to do it before the child reaches school age and can be affected by teasing and bullying.

Her goal is “to make sure that every child can become a healthy adult and to live the life they are supposed to live free of any stigma and bullying”.

She goes to every Smile Week, which happens twice a month and sees them doing 30-40 surgeries. Her phone is filled with pictures of the children they’ve helped and she says, “Holding a child in your arms who now has the opportunity to live a normal life makes all the difference”.

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This year’s Spin-a-thon, held at Fourways Mall, saw 256 riders come out to spin in one of 8 hourly slots. Amongst the riders was a group of Sasfin riders who rode the entire day –  Puso Mtimkulu, Evonia Olifant, Paul Muhlamaenza and George Ratema.

Evonia Olifant has been doing them since 2016, and says she’s always chosen to ride the whole day instead of just an hour. 

“It’s an opportunity to make a difference, to give back to the community, my company and put a smile on a child’s face, you don’t get a lot of opportunities like this.”

Puso Mtimkulu has been doing them for 3 years and is a self-confessed fitness junkie who regularly does Tai-Kwando, CrossFit, running and spinning. Spinning for the full day he says is just another way he gets to push himself and get in his fitness fix. 

Whatever the individual reason for spinning, each rider came out, had fun, pushed themselves and made a tangible difference in the lives of the children of The Smile Foundation.