Six years ago, Stan Engelbrecht (43) from Cape Town met Poppie van As (63), an elderly underprivileged lady who has a small roadside ‘roosterbrood’ stand on the N1 in Laingsburg.
“I happened to be cycling in Laingsburg around New Years about 6 years ago, and to be honest, the first thing that drew me to Poppie’s roadside stand was the wonderful aroma of her ‘roosterbrood’! I bought one – with jam and cheese if I remember correctly – and we had a chat. If you’ve ever met Poppie you’ll know that she is instantly likeable. Just full of great energy. Before I left town I returned to her stand and bought a few more plain ‘roosterbrood’, simply because they’re that delicious.” – says Stan.
A few months later Stan had the idea to ask Poppie to prepare some ‘roosterbrood’ for a bicycle race he was organising.
“She was a huge hit, preparing her ‘roosterbrood’ on a hill just outside of town near the end of that day’s racing stage! Everyone loved it, and so she was asked to return every year.” says Stan.
Touched by Poppie’s incredible life story and her bubbly personality, the Italian representatives at the Eroica South Africa event have invited her to Gaiole, Italy to attend the main Eroica event as a special guest, covering the cost of her plane ticket for the 3 day event.
“When I told her about the invitation to visit Italy in September, she ran around screaming at the top of her lungs as she has never left the Western Cape in her life. I know that this is a dream-come-true for her, and this experience will change her life forever.” says Stan
To make this trip as special as possible, Stan and his girlfriend Donnet Dumas (32), decided to accompany Poppie on the trip to show her everything that Italy has to offer, and take her on a once in a lifetime road trip.
With a campaign launched on donations-based crowdfunding platform BackaBuddy, Stan is appealed to the South African people to make small contributions to Poppie’s trip to make it unforgettable.
The campaign received overwhelming support in a few short weeks, raising a total of R100 077.04 towards the fundraising target of R100 000 with contributions from 172 donors.
Donations to the crowdfunding campaign will go towards Poppie’s visa appointment, travel to-and-from Cape Town, getting her a few things that will make her comfortable on her first airplane trip, and her first visit overseas. Additional funds will be used to document Poppie’s adventure and life story in a documentary that is currently being filmed.
“We hope the public will continue supporting our BackaBuddy campaign so that Poppie can be as comfortable and as confident as possible on this life changing trip that will enrich her life and sense of self. I also hope it will translate into a better life for her and her family .” says Stan.
Make a donation to Poppie’s BackaBuddy campaign by clicking here:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/poppie-van-as or visit the www.backabuddy.co.za homepage.
Watch the video below, as Poppie shares her excitement for her trip.
Donors who contribute R250 or more will receive a personal postcard from Poppie while she is in Italy!
Follow Poppie’s journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppievanas/?hl=en
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Wow! It just shows that nothing we ever do is in vain.