When Naledi Thahanyane (4) from Johannesburg was 6 months old she was put in the care of Juno Aurora Haven, a home for abused and neglected children in Sandton.
Fragile at first, the charismatic young lady would soon go on to reach her milestones in leaps and bounds.
“When we met little Naledi, she was tiny and underdeveloped. With healthy food, love and encouragement, we have seen her blossom intothe princess she is today. She is such a vibrant, inquisitive, busy and loving child. She steals the hearts of everyone who meets her” -says Melody Eggar, a volunteer at Juno Aurora Haven.
When Naledi was taken to a pediatrician for a regular checkup three years ago, it was discovered that she had a heart defect, a growth just below the left aorta. The news was devastating to her caregivers and so began the waiting game.

Waiting for the growth to increase in size, in order to be safely removed, her cardiology team at Johannesburg Hospital saw Naledi for regular visits, to determine when her surgery should take place.
In May this year, upon seeing a slight trickle of blood mixing, Naledi’s doctor gave the go ahead for her to have surgery within the next 6 months.
With her surgery now scheduled to take place within the next 2 months, Juno Aurora Haven launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, in hopes to raise the much-needed funds to correct the hole in Naledi’s heart and ultimately save her life.
“Over the past few weeks Naledi has been tiring more easily and sleeping more than usual. We are doing our best to keep her safe and keep her spirits up. We know that without this operation, she won’t be with us for her next birthday, and that’s too difficult to contemplate. We hope the public will support our BackaBuddy campaign so we can save our little earth angel” – says Melody
While the full cost of Naledi’s surgery and recovery is still to be confirmed, Naledi’s campaign has exceeded it’s fundraising target of R100 000, raising over R180 000 to cover the costs of her operation, medication, medical supplies, sterilization equipment as well as a home nurse.
View Naledi’s crowdfunding campaign here:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/heart-surgery-for-naledi
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On Monday, 9th of November, after Naledi met with her surgeons, Radio 702 interviewed Melody Eggar for their #letswalkthetalk segment. In less than 12 hours, listeners contributed over R110 000 to Naledi’s BackaBuddy campaign.

Quick Update:
On Thursday, 14 July 2022, Naledi had a check up with her paediatric cardiologist and he is very happy with her progress and she only needs to go back in July 2023!
Create a crowdfunding campaign
South Africa’s leading crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy has supported more than 10 000+ individuals and charities in setting up fundraising campaigns for medical fees, tuition and various causes in South Africa. The platform has thus far raised over R200 Million.
- Raise funds for an individual or cause.
- Register your non-profit organisation.
- Create a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a non-profit organisation.
https://porkyspeople.com/2019/08/11/how-to-create-a-crowdfunding-campaign-in-south-africa/
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