Good Morning Angels: "The President's Interpreter" needs angel help

BACKGROUND: Nicoline du Toit from Pretoria is a well-known face on South African televisions. She is not an actress or an entertainer, nor is she a politician. She is an ordinary single mother of two with an unusual job. If you have watched any of the presidential “family meetings” or ministerial briefings during the pandemic, you would have seen her. Du Toit is a sign language interpreter, who makes sure that the deaf community receives all the important information they need from the governmental TV briefings.

She and her twin-sister, Nicolette, were born to deaf parents. They can both hear, but because of their parents’ condition, they learned to sign before they could speak. She made support to the deaf community her life’s mission and that’s why she is one of the top sign language interpreters in the country. She works as a freelancer, which means that “no work, no pay” applies. As a single mom to two children, she has worked very hard to give them all they need. Her son is in grade 10 and her daughter, Danielle, got married in 2020 and works as a pre-school teacher. 

Danielle is one of several people who reached out to Good Morning Angels, as her mom is in desperate need of angel assistance. Nicoline, a Type 1 diabetic who administers insulin, has been diagnosed with a form of bone cancer. She also has severe cataracts. She has a medical aid which covers some of her expenses - but not everything. As a freelancer, she does not always have an income - which has made navigating the medical bills particularly tricky. Danielle says she needs to pay a co-payment of R15,000 for her eye operations - without which she will not be able to drive herself to work. That’s why she wrote to Good Morning Angels: "No matter what personal struggles she might be going through she will always make time to assist the Deaf community and friends and family without thinking twice."

REQUEST FOR: Nicolene du Toit

REQUEST FROM: Danielle van Staden

ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC

SPONSORING: The GMA Fund will assist Nicolene with R30,000 - to cover the co-payment of her cataract operation, before she starts her cancer treatment in March, as well as other costs related to her diabetes.

ORIGINAL REQUEST: 

Dear Good Morning Angels Team

My name is Danielle van Staden. I am writing to ask for assistance for my mother, Nicoline du Toit.

Nicoline du Toit is a woman with the greatest heart for the deaf community of South Africa. No matter what personal struggles she might be going through she will always make time to assist the deaf community and friends and family without thinking twice.  South Africa got to know her as the "President's Interpreter" during COVID-19, "the lockdown lady", "Mamma Zoll", etc. She is providing community service to the Deaf Community more so than any other SA Sign language interpreter I know. She is a role model to so many inspiring sign language interpreters and you will always find her with a joke and a smile no matter what she is going through.

During November 2021 she went for a routine six-month consultation at her GP as she is a type 1 diabetic that administers insulin.  It was decided to do a full blood workup just to make sure all is in order, all was not in order, and she had to go for a bone marrow biopsy on 1 December 2021 where it showed that she has myeloproliferative neoplasm. She is a freelance SA sign language interpreter and only gets paid if she works. Her medical bills are piling up and paying for everyday things is a huge struggle, but she never complains and even though she does not even have enough for herself she is always there to help wherever she can.

She needs to go for cataract removal in both her eyes and the co-payment is around R15,000 which she does not have. She does have medical aid, but she is still in the waiting period of a year due to her diabetes and all related cost surrounding her diabetes is also for her own pocket. 

Please consider assisting this phenomenal woman and mother.

Kind regards,

Danielle van Staden

Need help or assistance? Send us an e-mail at angels@jacarandafm.com