Supporting three selfless Angels volunteering over Christmas
For the final Good Morning Angels of 2025, we are supporting three selfless community Angels who will be volunteering over Christmas without any expectation of reward or payment.
While the rest of South Africa spends time with family and friends over Christmas, there are those selfless individuals who spend their time volunteering, putting the needs of others first over the festive period.
For the last Good Morning Angels of 2025, we are supporting three of these heroes to help them in their pursuit to make Christmas fun and safe for everyone.
Andru van Zyl
Andru van Zyl is back home in Polokwane after finishing his matric final exams at Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool Pretoria (Affies), where he also served as head boy for 2025.
While most matriculants plan their annual matric vacation with friends and family, Andru has decided to do something very different: he will be setting off on a mostly solo 2,500 kilometre trek from Polokwane to Cape Town, in aid of children fighting cancer over Christmas.
Andru will start his journey on 16 December, Reconciliation Day, and hopes to finish on 22 January 2026.
This means Andru will be on the road, pedalling on Christmas Day.
"According to my planning, I will be just outside Clarens for Christmas," says Andru.
The inspiration for this epic trek came in the form of a Grade 8 schoolmate: "Recently, a boy from my school was diagnosed with cancer. Hearing this news shook me deeply.
It reminded me how suddenly life can change, and how many children across South Africa face this terrifying journey every day. That’s why I’m doing this ride for CHOC, an organisation that walks alongside children with cancer and their families, providing care, comfort and support when they need it most."
A GivenGain fundraising platform was created for Andru’s effort, where he initially set a fundraising target of R100,000, but he has already reached it.
So it has been increased to R300,000.
For more info and to donate: https://www.givengain.com/project/andru-raising-funds-for-the-cows-114361
REQUEST FOR: Andru van Zyl, who has just finished his matric final exams as head boy of Affies Pretoria.
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: To thank and support Andru in his selfless journey to raise awareness and funds for CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa), the Good Morning Angels Fund will donate R50,000 towards his fundraising efforts.
For more info and to donate: https://www.givengain.com/project/andru-raising-funds-for-the-cows-114361
Ruan Heyns and CERT SA
Ruan Heyns and his CERT SA team will be spending Christmas working harder than ever to help those in emergency situations … without expectation of payment or reward.
Thousands of families will be travelling on the roads over the next few weeks to take a break and spend time with loved ones. While all of us focus on the joy of this well-deserved rest and celebration, the reality is that accidents happen.
This is when we need the assistance of emergency services and personnel that we often do not give a thought to.
One of these unsung community heroes is Ruan Heyns, who has been working as a paramedic for over 20 years.
Eleven years ago, Ruan and a few of his colleagues founded a non-profit company called Community Emergency Response Team SA, or CERT-SA, with the sole mission of providing emergency assistance for free.
These services include emergency medical assistance, firefighting and rescue operations for people and animals. They work alongside existing emergency services to enhance their efforts.
Ruan explains: "We firmly believe that everyone deserves help in emergencies, regardless of their financial situation, background or any other personal characteristic. We extend our assistance without discrimination, ensuring that every person and living being in need can count on us for support during critical times."
CERT is currently active in Centurion, the Vaal and Parys, and they need all the help they can get to continue their life-saving volunteer work, especially with fuel and operational costs.
For more info or to donate towards CERT SA, visit: https://certsa.org/
REQUEST FOR: Ruan Heyns, Founder of Community Emergency Response Team South Africa
REQUEST FROM: Tanya Nieuwenhuizen
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist Ruan and the CERT SA team in their work over the Festive Season with a donation of R50,000 towards fuel and other costs to enable them to assist those in need.
Sindiswa Mabindisa Mobile Hospice
An Angel of Hope and Care to the frail and elderly from Tembisa and beyond.
She will be spending her Christmas like every other day: bathing, feeding and caring for the elderly and disabled who have no one else … without expectation of payment or reward.
Sindiswa Mabindisa has been caring for elderly and disabled people since she was 18.
She and her siblings had a tough upbringing, being exposed to neglect, alcoholism, hunger and abandonment. After both her parents passed away, Sindiswa discovered that she had a particular gift for caring for the frail and elderly when she assisted an elderly woman who had no one to take care of her.
In 2019, Sindiswa established a non-profit organisation to formalise her service to those who are helpless, travelling to her patients’ homes to bathe, feed and help them get to clinic or hospital when needed.
Sindiswa explains her passion to help the most vulnerable: "As much as I am still broken about my upbringing and have issues that I do not want to talk about, I finally found the purpose in my pain.
All the years of hardship and suffering were what were needed to mould me into the person I am today. I can relate to the abandoned, to the neglected and to the rejected because I experienced abandonment, neglect and rejection.
Today, I willingly go to sleep hungry just to give someone else my plate of food because I remember the little girl who was hungry most days, and I would never want someone else to suffer the way I did."
Sindiswa is only funded through donations. The more she receives, the more she can give.
REQUEST FOR: Sindiswa Mabindisa Mobile Hospice
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist Sindiswa Mabindisa Mobile Hospice with R50,000 towards the angelic work she does for so many who rely on her care and kindness.
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