“The Power of Promise”: Lady Pledges to Run 295km to Keep Decade Long Vow to Pay Student’s School Fees
- Nickey Seger made a promise ten years ago to pay for Goodwill Khuzway's daughter's school fees until she matriculated
- Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, for the first time in years, Nickey could not afford to pay for Goodwill's daughter, Nellie's, school fees
- Nickey did not give up and has pledged to run 14 half marathons while she started a crowdfunding campaign to raise the R75 600
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Nickey Seger is a lady with a heart of gold who is doing all she can to help a family close to her. Nickey, 48, met Goodwill Khuzwayo in 2005 while working at Scuba City in Ferndale. Goodwill was involved in a severe taxi accident that left him physically disabled.
Inspired by Goodwill's strength, Nickey wrote to a local radio station that was hosting a Christmas Wish competition. After three years of trying to communicate with the station, they responded and granted Goodwill's wish of sending his daughter to MacLaren College.
Source: UGC
Nickey's persistence finally paid off
Goodwill's daughter Nellie was in Grade 2 at the time that her dad won the competition. Although she crushed every aspect in her new school, her father was, unfortunately, unable to afford the school fees for Nellie to continue there and she had to go back to a government school.
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Goodwill could not afford to pay for the fees but Nickey never gave up.
After learning that Nellie had been moved out of the upstanding private school, Nickey promised the young lady that she would pay for her fees until she matriculated. Over the past nine years, Nickey has not let go of her promise to Nellie.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the decade long promise
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Nickey's business and she could not afford the school fees on her own any more. Nellie is now in matric and Nickey is doing the most to raise the funds for her final year of schooling.
Nickey's never-say-die attitude results a new light at the end of the tunnel
Nickey started a crowdfunding campaign through BackaBuddy to raise the R75 600 needed for Nellie's final year. She has also pledged to run 14 consecutive half marathons, which amount to a total distance of 295.4km.
Speaking to Briefly News, Nickey explained that the reason she is running 14 marathons is to show Nellie a different kind of love. The marathon running starts on 1 February and ends on 14 February (Valentine's Day).
The kindness of strangers goes a long way
Since the start of the campaign, R24 000 has been raised from 25 donors that are scattered across the globe. Nickey says:
"The power of a promise matters, no matter your circumstances, one can always rise above it and make a plan and maintain one’s integrity."
The unbreakable bond
In her interview with Briefly News, Nickey described Nellie as a:
"Soft, kind-hearted, thoughtful person with a drive for success, just like her father."
Nickey describes herself as Nellie's mentor as she teaches the 18-year-old that one can achieve anything they put their mind to.
"May kindness prevail": Pretoria engineer designs home for gardener-turned-friend, raises over R100k to build
In other news about friends turned family, Briefly News previously reported that Abel Shabangu worked as Steve Lewis' gardener for more than 25 years. Semi-retired engineer, Lewis, revealed that he had set aside over R100 000 to build a small three-bedroom brick home for family friend Shabangu.
53-Year-old Shabangu is a hard worker but was only able to construct a tin shack for his family. Shabangu did ensure that the family home he built had access to electricity, water and sewage for his wife and three kids.
Lewis, 62, revealed that over a year ago, Shabangu asked him for assistance with designing and building a more comfortable place to live for the ones he loves most. Lewis shared that Shabangu has always had a dream to provide a home that his family can be safe in and proud of.
Source: Briefly News
