I wish that I had started this blog earlier during the year as so many things happened. As promised, let me at least give you a summary of the most noteworthy developments at Marang House during 2006.

Hoax plane crash turns annual Christmas Market into huge success

Because we don't have any advertising budget, we have to be very creative to attract people and attention to and for our fundraising events. Every year the 'Friends of Marang House' (a dedicated group of volunteers) organize a Christmas Market where they sell all kinds of stuff and food to raise funds. To attract people to the market this year we came up quite a different different advertising strategy.

An apparent plane crash had to encourage people who were passing by to come and visit the Christmas Market. A crashed plane was placed in front of the entrance of Marang House by supporter who works in the aviation industry. He came up with the idea to attract people to the annual event by simulating a crash. Cars that drove pass that morning stopped to see what had happened. Some people even called the emergency services and the Civil Aviation Authority. I only arranged the stunt with the police and the person who arranged the crashed aeroplane and therefore the volunteers organizing the event were also quite flabbergasted by this advertising strategy. The Christmas Market was a huge success and was very well attended.

SAVRALA Car Manufacturer of the Year Awards

In October I was invited to attend the annual SAVRALA Car Manufacturer of the Year Awards where Marang House received a donation of R 30.000 from the members of SAVRALA. Nissan SA, won the Award, doubled the donation so I left that evening with R 60.000 in total for Marang House. On the picture handing me the cheque was newly elected association president, Paul Pauwen. They also gave me the opportunity to say a few words about Marang House, which is always useful if you are speaking to the top of the South African car industry.

Proudly South African Launch

As part of the National Woman's Day celebration here in South Africa, Marang House was adopted by the Proudly South African campaign. This campaign aims to promote locally produced products. The staff of PSA organised a wonderful picnic for the children and together with the staff of the local Nedbank branches, arrived with loads of gifts including bicycles for all the children.

During the day Marang House also became a 'Proudly South African' organization and now carries the official logo that certifies that we are proud to be a South African organization. Later during the year I went 'campaigning' and attended several of their CEO Forums where I presented Marang House to other PSA members.

New volunteering programme at Marang House: Big Brothers Big Sisters SA

Marang House entered into a partnership this year with Big Brothers Big Sisters South Africa that is affiliated with the American BBBS programme. All the children at Marang House will be matched up with a dedicated volunteer who commits to spend at least one hour a week with a particular child for a minimum period of a year. Volunteers go through a selection process and receive a training course before they become a Big Brother or Big Sister to one of the children.

We are very honoured to be in partnership with this great organization and they have already made a very positive impact in a very short period.

Nthabiseng dies just before her 'big break'

The sparkling-eyed Nthabiseng lived at Marang House since May 2005. In September of this year, just before she was featured in a national ad campaign for 'Proudly South African'. She unfortunately passed away as a result of a brain hemorrhage. She was ten years old.

Nthabiseng needed both a kidney and a liver transplant to live a normal life again, but enjoyed life despite her serious condition. She had a very open personality and her sweet and honest laugh made everybody’s life a little brighter. Thanks to volunteers, she was able to spend a day with her family in Rustenburg earlier this year. This was her first visit in a number of years.

Marang House showcased at GreaterGood SA Giving Exchange

During September Marang House participated in the Giving Exchange organized by GreaterGood SA. Twenty charities were selected to showcase their projects at exhibitions held in Sandton City and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town to the general public and to CSI managers and other invited guests. GreaterGood SA promotes giving in South Africa and also facilitates the online donations on the Marang House website.

Royal Netherlands Embassy donates new vehicle to Marang House

The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria donated R150.000 towards Marang House through their Small Projects Fund to assist us with the purchase of a new vehicle. The new 11-seater Kia Pregio Bus that was purchased can safely and comfortably transport the children to and from hospitals and school everyday. The children were obviously very excited when the new car arrived and so is everybody who sees the stylish designed vehicle standing in the carport of Marang House.

Unfortunately the new car was stolen from the Marang House premises not even three weeks after it had arrived, but not to worry, the car was replaced by the insurance and is even today still transporting the children every day.

ICC Golf Day raises R1,5 million

During the Independent Cash & Carry Golf Day in February this year an enormous amount was raised to support The Star Smile Fund and Marang House. 1,5 million rand to be precise, of which Marang House received R500.000. This was the third time that Marang House was one of the beneficiaries of the ICC Golf Day. In July the cheque was handed over at the Nelson Mandela Foundation offices by Peter Dodson, CEO of the ICC Group. As you can imagine, the support of the ICC Group members and suppliers has made a very big difference at Marang House.

Salome nominated for Westgate Woman of the Year

Salome Parkies is one of the nurses at Marang House and does an amazing job every single day caring for the eleven children staying at the house. She was nominated for Westgate Woman of the Year in the category Health. She made it to the finals, but unfortunately did not take the award home. For us at Marang House Salome is most definitively the Woman of the Year and we are very proud of her!

Khulile returns home with a new kidney

13-year-old Khulile received a kidney from her mother last February in a transplant operation which took place at Johannesburg General Hospital. The doctors have pronounced the transplant a success and Khulile has now returned to her family in Pietersburg. Khulile stayed at Marang House from June 2005 to March 2006. Marang House provided the necessary stable home environment to prepare her for the transplant and also provided post-operative care.

I want to wish all of you (the readers of this blog), as well as all the people that have supported Marang House in any way this year, a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a very successful and healthy New Year.

Most of the children have left Marang House to go home for a few days and I am in the Netherlands at the moment celebrating Christmas and preparing myself for another hectic, but hopefully very exciting year. I have a lot of interesting things lined up and I promise you that they will be very entertaining. So keep on visiting this blog in the next year to stay informed with all the latest developments at Marang House and my crazy attempts to build more houses throughout the country. Until then, have fun and I am looking forward to seeing you soon again!

Today I gave a radio interview for Channel Africa about Marang House that will be broadcasted throughout the world early next year. This was my last commitment for this year and tomorrow I’m off to the Netherlands for three weeks of ‘holiday’. It is about thirty degrees Celsius here in Johannesburg and I am really wondering why it was again that I wanted to go to Holland so badly, since it will be freezing over there.

It is now summer holiday here in SA, everything is closed and most Joburgers have left the city, so there is not much to do anyway. I’ve got several meetings scheduled in the Netherlands to get some fundraising activities going over there and of course my family is eagerly awaiting my arrival. It has been a hectic year and I'll soon post a blog with some of this year's highlights.

“While two would-be robbers lay dying in the street outside of a Johannesburg restaurant this week, their potential victims looked on and laughed.” reports The Star this morning. The robbers were shot by a police reservist who was coincidentally in the restaurant. “They died slowly, we all stood and laughed at the fuckers” as quoted in the Beeld newspaper.


Today the biggest newspaper in Johannesburg opened with an article titled ‘Justice!’ It is a summary of cases where civilians fought back against the shameless criminals that make South Africa unsafe. To give you a clear idea of the crime situation in South Africa, let me summarize how Marang House – a well-known charity for sick children! – has been targeted by criminals during the past year.

• A new car that was donated to Marang House by the Dutch Embassy to transport the children to and from the hospital was stolen from the premises not even three weeks after it had arrived.
• About three months ago there was a burglary at the Marang House itself where burglars entered the house and went off with one of the children's cellphones, a computer and a mini-scooter. They also tried to steal a giant teddy bear and the children's karaoke machine, leaving the children in shock.
• There was an armed robbery two weeks ago at the doctor’s rooms that adjoin Marang House where a guy sat in the waiting room claiming that he wanted to see the doctor to then pull a gun and demand money from the secretary. There was a runaway car waiting for him outside. Luckily nobody got hurt.
• The doctor's rooms have been burgled into twice this year and the storage facility of Marang House, where jumble is stored, was also broken into twice.

That adds up to seven times this year just at Marang House! Maybe it is time for justice.

Burglars hit children's home
Thieves steal minibus from diabetic kids' home in South Africa
Sick kids rob ill kids
Thieves hit children's home again

Labels: south africa

Last week Tuesday the phone rang at Marang House with the news that there was a new kidney available for Lorraine (12). A volunteer got in the car and rushed her to hospital where the doctors immediately started with the transplant. The operation went well and Lorraine is very happy. She has told everybody that she is now able to pee again, which to her is a miracle. In a few weeks Lorraine will return to Marang House where she will recover further from operation to then return home as soon as possible.

Lorraine is a delightful little girl who has been at Marang House since 2003. It was first hoped that Lorraine would receive a kidney from her mother, but it was established that she is not a close enough match. This has been a great disappointment, but Lorraine kept smiling. She is a tiny bundle of energy and has a beautiful singing voice and with her new kidney she will be able to live a normal life again and fullfill her wildest dreams.

Labels: children

I returned back from Cape Town last night after a very busy, but exciting week. Marang House was showcased at the 19th World Diabetes Congress. We joined forces with another charity - Kids & Care SA - that publishes educational material for children suffering from diabetes.



It was a week full of running around and meeting lots of people. The congress attracted 12.000 people from all over the world and we were the only charities attending. As you can see on the picture above, we had a beautifully designed stand that was busy all the time. I did a lot of networking and I am sure that early next year all the contacts that I've made will start to pay off.

Coca-Cola South Africa has generously covered all the expenses related to my attendance. A big thank you to them for their support!

Storytelling time for kids with diabetes
África do Sul alberga 19º Congresso Mundial sobre diabete (we even made it into an Angolan newspaper)

Labels: events

Ellis is the newest child at Marang House. She is nine years old and suffers from chronic renal failure, which means that she needs a kidney transplant. Ellis has only recently started with her dialysis treatments at the Johannesburg General Hospital. She needs these treatments three times a week to stay alive. Ellis her father disappeared years ago and her mother was recently murdered by her new boyfriend, which makes Ellis an orphan.

Labels: children