Durban — Vukile Khumalo’s life was plunged into disarray when he was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney failure this year.
After the diagnosis, Khumalo was told that he had one week to live if he did not have money to fund his hefty medical bills.
Khumalo, originally from eShowe in northern KwaZulu-Natal, said his health started deteriorating in 2022 and got worse earlier this year.
“This changed my life in a big way. I have had to adapt to a new way of life. What has made things worse is living on the edge and being told that you’ll die in a week if you fail to do dialysis,” he said.
Dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly.
“My life was turned upside down when I was told that I had stage 5 kidney failure. I had to leave my job, surrender my car and relocate to a new city (Cape Town),” said Khumalo, who used to work for a giant insurance company in Durban.
But now there is a glimmer of hope after well-known politician, Zwakele Mncwango, decided to raise funds for the ailing man.
Said Vukile: “I feel honoured that people have decided to jump and raise funds for my medical bills. I would like to thank every person who has donated towards my medical bills. I would like to thank Zwakele Mncwango for embarking on this journey.”
Mncwango, who leads the ActionSA party in KZN, said his campaign had raised R60 000 in just seven days, with the target set at R100 000.
The funds will be used to pay Vukile's medical bills until he is admitted to a public hospital - where he would potentially get a donor - a process that could take up to ten years.
Mncwango said, “When I saw Vukile posting on Facebook pleading for help, I could not help but decide to start this campaign. Many people have donated, and I would like to thank them for their support. I think we have around R60 000 now. Our target is to reach R100 000.”
He said he was “touched” by the overwhelming response from people.
Mncwango said he was not doing this to elevate his political career, “but it is just my little contribution to a good cause. This is to teach people that we can use social media for positive things.”
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