Where Has The Money Gone?

Donations to a child medical help fund have gone missing and the head of the fund has vanished

- Carla Coetzee & Jana Van Der Merwe

It was a place of hope – a place where desperate parents could share heartrending tales about their children’s debilitating medical conditions. And sometimes people were so moved by these stories they opened their hearts and wallets so the sick kids could get the treatment they so urgently needed.

Over four years the non-profit organisation Child Medi attracted at least 36 000 followers to its Facebook page, many of whom donated generously to help cover astronomical medical bills.

One of the kids who benefited was Nathan van Aswegen (now 3) from Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, who was born with an enlarged foot, the result of a benign tumour. The condition caused his left foot to grow twice as fast as his right, making it impossible for him to balance or wear shoes as he got older.

His story tugged at people’s heartstrings and the money poured in – one person even donated R200 000 – to ensure Nathan got the surgery he needed. Earlier this year his mother, Soné, told us how grateful she was to Child Medi, saying that without the organisation she’d never have been able to cope (YOU, 9 January). By this point the organisation had paid R103 000 to help cover her son’s medical costs.

But since then the money has allegedly stopped coming, and the organisation has stopped responding to her messages and phone calls.

And now many other parents with sick kids are coming forward with almost identical stories.

They know people gave generously to help their children – now, in their darkest hour, the organisation they were counting on appears to have left them stranded.