Raising funds to assist diabetics in rural Mpumalanga
35-year-old diabetic, Eksoda Mazibuko, received some help from Jacaranda FM's Good Morning Angels during his pursuit to buy and supply glucometers and strips for diabetic community members in need.
"A diabetic without a glucose meter is like a person walking on the highway blindfolded."
That's how 35-year-old diabetic, Eksoda Mazibuko, describes the dangerous reality for many diabetics in rural Mpumalanga.
Eksoda has been living with Type 1 diabetes for the past 17 years. He soon realised that many diabetics in his rural village of Hluvukani, in the Acornhoek area near Hoedspruit, have a limited understanding of and limited means to treat their condition.
Eksoda started a support group of about 50 people at the local Tintswalo Hospital.
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He is supported by the Tshemba Foundation, a volunteer medical organisation that runs a diabetes programme at the hospital. They have run out of glucometers and strips—the basic devices used by diabetics to test sugar levels before administering insulin.
Besides his advocacy and support group efforts, Eksoda is now raising funds to equip as many diabetics in his area as possible with their own glucometers and a monthly supply of strips. One glucometer costs R570.
To raise awareness around diabetes, he and a group of supporters walked 33 kilometres from their village to the hospital on Monday. He also hopes to raise enough funds to supply glucometers to diabetics in his community and beyond.
Eksoda has inspired the volunteer doctors from the Tshemba Foundation with his passion for his community and their health—and that’s why they reached out to Good Morning Angels.
REQUEST FOR: Eksoda Mazibuko and his fundraising efforts for diabetics
REQUEST FROM: Tshemba Foundation
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will support Eksoda's fundraising effort with R50,000, to buy and supply glucometers and strips for diabetic community members in need.
ORIGINAL REQUEST
Hello,
I’m emailing as a current volunteer doctor at the Tshemba Foundation in Moditlo Estate, working at Tintswalo Hospital in Acornhoek.
We are helping a local man, Eksoda Mazibuko, who has Type 1 diabetes, to fundraise and provide his community with simple equipment that is essential for managing diabetes.
We need your help and support.
More details:
In Mpumalanga, South Africa, people with diabetes are being left behind. Resources are nearly non-existent—out of a local rural support group of 50 people with diabetes, only one has a glucometer to check their blood sugar. For those using insulin, this can be life-threatening. The reason they don’t have glucometers is cost.
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At Tintswalo Hospital, the weekly diabetes clinic—run by Tshemba Foundation volunteers in collaboration with Tintswalo Hospital staff—has run out of glucometers and test strips. Without these basic tools, patients are injecting insulin blindly. Young people are already suffering serious complications such as blindness and kidney failure.
Eksoda Mazibuko, a 35-year-old with Type 1 diabetes, is leading a community movement to raise awareness and funds. On the 15th of November in Hluvukani, he’ll lead a Diabetes Awareness Run to shine a spotlight on the crisis together with his community.
Your donation will help us:
- Provide glucometers and test strips to those who cannot afford them.
- Support the awareness run to reach more communities and provide education.
To get someone started, R570 provides a glucometer and 200 test strips—enough to give someone the power to manage their condition safely. Another month of test strips costs about the same as a cup of coffee.
The public system is failing these patients. Help us bridge the gap. Every donation counts.
Thanks so much for your support,
Dr Madeline Carpenter
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