With an extension of the national lockdown, it’s doom and gloom for most families and households who are currently dealing with financial burdens that come with the restrictions. They are struggling to make it through this dark cloud that has fallen upon the country and the world as a whole. LottoStar and Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels (GMA) joined forces to assist as many families or households as they can during this national lockdown.

Recipient 1: Danie Horn from Arcadia in Pretoria, Gauteng

Danie is a founder of Homeless Solutions, a non-profit organisation created to provide shelter and meals for the homeless. Danie was once homeless and living on the streets of Pretoria and 15 years later decided to make a difference in the lives of those who were once homeless like him. He was nominated by his co-worker, Sechaba Potse. The organisation relies on sponsors and donations to survive, however, with the lockdown in place, they’re struggling to keep up as there’s barely any donations coming through. Danie received R10 000 Angel Rands to help feed the homeless during these trying times.

Recipient 2: Shirley Coetzee from Secunda, Mpumalanga

Shirley runs a hospice for the terminally ill in Secunda, Mpumalanga. She has 11 patients currently in her care with 5 staff members on two shifts (day and night shifts) to assist. With the national lockdown in place, patients cannot receive visitors nor go outside for their daily walks. The hospice depends on donations from the public and their local church to buy food and essentials for their patients, but this has run dry due to the current conditions. An angel and Shirley’s daughter, Elynn, contacted us requesting assistance for her mother and the hospice. LottoStar and Jacaranda FM’s GMA sent Shirley R10 000 Angel Rands to assist with the groceries and essentials required for the care and needs of patients at the hospice.

Recipient 3: Marinda Potgieter from Eloff, Gauteng

Marinda was nominated by her brother, André, to be one of the R10 000 Angel Rands recipients from LottoStar and Jacaranda FM’s GMA. Marinda lost her husband and sole breadwinner in December 2019. Marinda and her husband had taken in her brother, André after their parents passed on. They also took in Marinda and André’s deceased brother’s 10-year-old child. With Marinda’s husband deceased, she had to take over the responsibilities of taking care of the household financially. She finally landed a job in March this year, but all her hopes and dreams were shattered when her employer announced a no-work-no-pay leave during the lockdown period. She received a half portion of her salary, making it difficult to meet her household’s financial needs and expenses. We sent Marinda the R10 000 Angel Rands to assist with her household’s groceries and essentials.

Recipient 4: Precious Mogosetse from Mamelodi in Pretoria, Gauteng

Precious lost her 6-year-old son, Botshelo, who was suffering from cerebral palsy and epilepsy this past week. She’s unemployed and lives in a one-room house with her mother, aunt and cousin. She’s faced with the cost of her son’s funeral and won’t be able to receive support and donations from her extended family, relatives and community due to the current lockdown restrictions. Bontle Maloka, a friend of Precious, reached out to us requesting assistance for Precious during this dark period in her life. We send our condolences to Precious and R10 000 Angel Rands to assist with groceries and essentials in preparation for her son’s funeral.

Recipient 5: Yolandi Schönfeldt, admin clerk from Pretoria, Gauteng

Nominated by a colleague, Christine Gouws, Yolandi needs financial support as she is currently struggling to keep up with her household expenses. Her husband worked as a retail manager but got retrenched 18 months ago after purchasing their home and is struggling to find employment. For months now, they’ve been struggling to pay their bond for their new home and are pleading for a ‘payment holiday’ with the banks. They’ve sold all they could to pay their house bond but it’s still not enough. Her salary is not enough to cover all the household expenses too. Her colleague, Christine, also tries to assist with school expenses for Yolandi’s two grandchildren. We are sending R10 000 Angel Rands to Yolandi to assist with groceries and essentials during this lockdown period.