Please Help Sgwentus in South Africa

Our friends, the Sgwentus , in South Africa are in financial trouble and I am asking for your help.

Nonswakazi and Boy have pulled themselves into the newly emerging black middle-class in South Africa through heart-wrenchingly difficult work and investment. 

Those blacks that have managed to make it to the middle-class are always on the brink of a disaster dragging them back into poverty.  Unfortunately, the Sgwentus have had a number of setbacks in the last two years (major healthcare expenses, a car accident, etc).

One of their more successful strategies they’ve used to get there is purchasing a home they can afford, living and working on it for a few years, then selling the home at a large gain.  From a shack, to a small township home, to a bit larger home, and so on.  In this way, they have steadily gained equity over the years, which has given them access to banks and other financial resources.

Their success in this strategy has led to a new problem – and the crisis is acute at the moment.  The last home they lived in was in a white resort community (still modest by US standards).  They are having trouble selling the home in that area because it was lived in by blacks.  So, they are currently responsible for two mortgages, both at high-risk interest rates.  Their current home and their hard-won financial status – and at times even the ability to buy food -are at risk.

We’ve been helping them a great deal in the last few years, and we will continue to do so.  However, our own resources are getting strained in the current crisis (although I feel guilty saying that given what they have gone through to get where they are).  The South African rand has gained quite a bit of ground in the last two years, from 13 rand per dollar to 7.5 today, and what we can afford today is worth much less than it once was in South Africa.

If you are interested in helping financially, please contact me.  In no way do I expect your help, but our gratitude and appreciation – and the Sgwentus’ – would be boundless. 

We periodically wire money directly to their bank account, and we place no strings or expectations on them as to how they use the money.  In the same way, there is no expectation or obligation on you.  If you send us money, we will wire it.  If you would prefer to send it directly to the family, I can help you arrange it and discuss our experiences with the different options.  If you desire another mechanism, again, please contact me.  You can also donate funds, anonymously or not, by using the ERROR (Tip Jar) on this site.  All of my proceeds, which up to today is nothing, will go to the family.  Even if you are reading this months or years from when it is posted, I will still make sure the money goes to them.

Given the way I was raised, asking for money is one of the most difficult things I can do.  But Boy, Nonswakazi, Evelyn, Thania, and Sipho are very important to me and to Teresa. 

Thank you.

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