Participate in 12 day corporate fundraising drive for Sam

Every once in a while, if you are fortunate enough, you meet someone with such positivity and a zest for living, even though they are going through hardship, that it makes you appreciate your life more. Meeting Samkelo Mzobe has that effect on a person. Despite undergoing an above-knee amputation after being diagnosed with high-grade osteosarcoma in January and having to endure horrific chemotherapy sessions, the 16-year-old’s infectious beaming smile has not dimmed a bit.

How does he do it? “First you have to be comfortable with yourself. I’m comfortable with myself and I’m accepting the situation. I didn’t have a problem with dealing with it from the beginning. Before I lost my leg, I prepared myself for the worst. When they said they have to amputate my leg, I didn’t take it to heart. The hardest part for me through all this is not having my usual routine, of waking up and going to school. It’s hard to not know what I will be doing for the day. I miss school and my friends, but all the people’s support has really helped me through this.”

Fortunately for Sam he has five guardian angels fighting in his corner – Heather Tait, Veronica Jensen, Azalea Rizza, Dee French and Joanne Feasey. Family friends, they have taken it upon themselves to fundraise for Sam’s medical costs, which are prolific. “One cycle of chemo, privately, can cost R100 000, which we might have to do,” said Joanne.

“We are now looking at a prosthetic leg, at a minimum cost of about R20 000, and Dr Basil Statoulis evaluated his stump for free and gave us the all-clear. There are various pockets of people helping, which has made it easier and we thank them. At once stage we were worried we might lose Sam, but his positive response to the chemo and meds has giving us hope.” Sam has now progressed to a more manageable chemo and underwent his first two sessions. He is due for his third on 30 May.

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“It has not been easy, but what has helped has been all the love and support coming from friends and family, and people we don’t even know,” said his mother Zanele. “That has kept us going, and having faith in Jehovah. It has not been an easy journey and some days are hard on Sam, but he is such a strong child and his positivity uplifts me and he often cheers me up when I’m down.”

Alister Abrams, the owner of Circus Cafe in Galleria heard about Sam’s story and met him at a fundraiser marker organised by Joanne Feasey at her home on 30 March. “His story has touched my heart and I’d like to be a part of his journey by making a real difference. As a businessman I understand the sacrifices we go through to keep our businesses alive – let’s all pull together now and help fight to keep this Sam alive.

I’d like to challenge every restaurant owner, business and individual to participate in a ‘12 Day Corporate Drive for Sam’, starting from Thursday, 23 May and ending on Monday, 3 June. I will begin this drive by donating R3 000 to his medical treatment fund. I challenge each of you to match or better my donation.” Donors to the 12 Day Corporate Drive for Sam will be acknowledged in the South Coast Sun newspaper. To donate, call Joanne on 083-661-6175 or email jojofeasey@gmail.com.

Alister has gone one step further to help Sam with his medical costs. He invited the teen to his restaurant to design his own burger. Sam’s burger now features on the menu and for every one ordered, Alister will donate 50 percent of the turnover to his medical fund.

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To make a donation towards Sam’s treatment, use the following bank details: Capitec Bank, VL Jensen (administrator), account number: 1624541699, branch code: 470010. Use your cellphone number as a reference, so the family can acknowledge receipt and thank donors. To stay updated on Sam’s progress, follow the Facebook page ‘Go white for Sam’.

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