Supporting charities and causes is something that we take to heart at PayFast. Not only do we offer PayFast registered causes a free webpage to receive donations via the PayFast Cause Index, but every year we also like to give back financially.
In December 2021, we put together a list of PayFast registered charities that are doing amazing work in their focus areas and asked our merchants to vote for the one that most resonated with them. Each of the shortlisted candidates is actively using PayFast to receive online donations and hasn’t received a donation from PayFast in the past.
Although it was a close one, the following three charities got the most votes and were awarded a R40,000 donation each from PayFast:
- The Mdzananda Animal Clinic
- Home from Home
- Palliative Treatment for Children South Africa
These three organisations are truly making a difference by helping vulnerable animals and children in their communities and the country at large. You can find out more about the important work they are involved with below, and why our merchants thought they deserved a donation from PayFast on their behalf.
Mdzananda Animal Clinic
Based out of Khayelitsha, the Mdzananda Animal Clinic strives to see a community that cares for every animal be it a pet, neighbour’s pet, stray or farm animal. They believe that by looking after an animal, people learn responsibility, respect for life, compassion and non-violence. The Clinic provides consultations, hospitalisation, surgery, sterilisations, mobile clinics, an animal ambulance, homeless pet adoptions and humane education.
“Thank you PayFast for the donation! We will use it to purchase medication to help the sick and injured Khayelitsha pet patients in our hospital,” said Marcelle du Plessis, Information liaison at Mdzananda Animal Clinic.
You can find out more about Mdzananda Animal Clinic here: www.mdzananda.co.za
Home from Home
Since 2005, Home from Home has successfully provided supported and supervised foster care to orphaned, abused, neglected and vulnerable children in South Africa. Jane Payne and Pippa Shaper founded Home from Home with the vision of preventing the most vulnerable children of South Africa from growing up on the streets or in institutional organisations. Instead, they wanted to provide a second chance at loving family life.
“Thank you PayFast for the generous donation towards the ongoing support of the children in our care. This will certainly assist us with ensuring that our children are ready for the new school year,” said Lala Mehl, Fundraising & Communications at Home from Home.
“When one realises that in the last two years of the Covid pandemic and the related restrictions, that our children have lost at least one full year of education from the local community schools they mostly attend, it is easy to appreciate how important it is to be able to go back fully prepared and equipped for this new year. Many thanks for making this possible for our many children across the broader Western Cape region,” added Peter Marx, Executive Director of Home from Home.
You can find out more about Home from Home here: homefromhome.org.za
Palliative Treatment for Children South Africa
Palliative Treatment for Children South Africa (PatchSA) is a national network that focuses on supporting the provision of palliative care to an estimated 800,000 – 1,000,000 children living in South Africa with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition. The network aims to share specialised knowledge, tools, resources and opportunities to ensure the best possible care for the children and to provide support to healthcare professionals, families and lay caregivers.
“PatchSA is delighted and extremely grateful to receive this wonderful donation from our friends at PayFast. The money will be used to support our vital online and face-to-face education and training programme. Without access to palliative care services, many thousands of children in our country live with serious, life-threatening illnesses that cause them a great deal of physical, emotional and spiritual suffering alongside their often overwhelmed family members,” said Sue Boucher, Project and Communications Manager at PatchSA.
“Our education programme aims to equip all healthcare providers who interact with these children and families with the knowledge, skills, tools and resources needed to manage children’s pain and symptoms, reduce suffering and improve their quality of life and also to ensure that, when death is an inevitable outcome of the illness, the child and family are given the compassionate and skilled support they deserve,” continued Sue.
You can find out more about Palliative Treatment for Children South Africa here: https://patchsa.org/
We wish the Mdzananda Animal Clinic, Home from Home and Palliative Treatment for Children South Africa an amazing year ahead and hope that our donations will help them continue their vital work. We also want to thank every one of our merchants who took the time to vote for their favourite cause.
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