A promise kept in the month of love
"My daughter will be able to finish her matric year and go study to be a nurse next year; I am overwhelmed by the many good, kind-hearted people living among us.”
Monday, February 14 saw Ruimsig Montessori International School learners cheering on entrepreneur, business owner and manager of Curves for Women Strubens Valley, Nickey Seger who has kept a promise to one of their own.
Nickey made a commitment to run half a marathon for 14 consecutive days to raise funds for Nellie Khuzwayo’s school fees and give a new spin on what love can look like during the month of love.
At the beginning of February Nickey reached out to all South Africans to help Nellie finish her schooling while demonstrating to the country that “the power of a promise matters”.
Nickey committed to running the equivalent of seven marathons to pay the 18-year-old learner’s school fees – the goal being R75 600.
“No matter your circumstances, one can always rise above it, make a plan and maintain one’s integrity. It was amazing and to finish at the school with all the cheering children was so emotional,” said Nickey.
At midday on Thursday, January 27 the BackaBuddy campaign reached a whopping R100 000 from generous donors, both locally and internationally, and by the next day the amount had escalated to R120 949,73.
Donations to date stand at R134 663,18 as a result of generous community members who responded to Nickey’s call.
Nickey said that even before she started running they managed to cover Nellie’s entire final school year’s fees in just a couple of days.
“This is an overwhelming accomplishment; I am amazed by the pure generosity of so many kind people in this world,” said Nickey.
Nellie’s father, Goodwill Khuzwayo who stays with his family in Cosmo City said he could not believe what he was hearing when Nickey called him to tell him the good news.
“I was out of words. I burst out crying, and I am so humbled. I still get emotional when I think about it. My daughter will be able to finish her matric year and go study to be a nurse next year; I am overwhelmed by the many good, kind-hearted people living among us,” said the emotional Goodwill.
According to Nellie, becoming a nurse has always been her passion. “I want to become a nurse so I can help my father to walk again. I want to be the one to nurse him back to good health. I am so eternally grateful to every donor who has contributed to my schooling,” said Nellie.
The Khuzwayo family said life hasn’t always been easy for them since Goodwill’s taxi accident in 2001, which left him with permanent injuries.
Nickey explained that the money collected would be handed over to Nellie’s school to cover her fees and the remainder would be kept in a bank account to pay for her studies.
