Urgent heart surgery appeal
Naledi
Molewa
Heart Fund
Naledi Molewa is 8 years old. She should be worrying about school shoes, missing pencils, and whether she can still play outside before supper. Instead, she is living with a congenital heart defect that has followed her since infancy , and now her family is racing against time to get her the surgery that could save her life.
Doctors have advised that Naledi needs corrective heart surgery for a worsening Ventricular Septal Defect. Her family is raising funds for consultations, scans, surgery, hospital admission, recovery care, and the practical costs that come with getting a child through a major procedure.
"Naledi has spent most of her life adjusting herself to a body that gets tired too quickly. Now her condition has reached the point where adjustment is no longer enough"
This campaign is about turning diagnosis into treatment before the strain on her heart causes lasting damage.
Goal: R385,000
Covering cardiology review, echocardiogram and imaging, surgery, hospital stay, medication, transport, and follow-up recovery care.
Naledi’s Story
Naledi’s family first knew something was not right when she was still a baby. She struggled to feed for long, tired more easily than expected, and often breathed with a faint urgency that worried her mother, even when everyone else said she would "grow out of it." Like many families, they moved between clinics, follow-up appointments, and periods of hope. Some months felt normal enough to believe things were improving. Then the symptoms would return , the exhaustion, the shortness of breath, the way her tiny body seemed to work harder than it should.
She learned to make herself smaller
By the time Naledi started school, she already knew how to pace herself. She would walk a little slower than the other children.
She would stop during play before anyone noticed she was tired. She learned, in the quiet way children do, how to hide discomfort so adults would not worry too much.
Then it stopped being manageable
In a very real scenario for children living with undiagnosed or worsening heart conditions, the turning point is often not dramatic until suddenly it is. For Naledi, that moment came after increasing fatigue, chest discomfort, and an episode that forced urgent medical attention. Further review confirmed that waiting was becoming dangerous.
The Condition She Is Living With
Naledi has a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), a congenital heart defect sometimes described simply as “a hole in the heart.” In her case, there is an opening in the wall between the two lower chambers of her heart. That opening allows blood to move in the wrong direction, forcing her heart and lungs to work harder than they should. In some children small defects close on their own, but larger or persistent defects can become serious and require surgery.
What it feels like
Shortness of breath. Fatigue after small effort. Chest tightness. The kind of tiredness that does not match an 7-year-old’s day.
What doctors worry about
Ongoing strain on the heart, pressure changes in the lungs, poor growth, reduced stamina, and the risk of long-term damage if treatment is delayed too far.
Why this is urgent now
Naledi’s symptoms and clinical picture suggest that observation alone is no longer enough. The goal is to correct the defect before complications become harder, riskier, and more expensive to manage.
Why We Are Raising Funds
Families do not raise money like this because they want to. They do it because ordinary life has reached its limit. Naledi’s mother has done what parents do: clinic visits, referrals, transport money, careful decisions about school, food, medicine, and every small expense that becomes large when a child is unwell.
In South Africa, public healthcare can and does save lives, but access can be uneven, waiting periods can be long, and specialist cardiac care may move slower than a worsening condition allows. This fundraiser exists because time matters. Naledi cannot build her future on hopeful delay.
Impact in Numbers
These figures are not there to make the story look bigger. They are there to make it clearer.
7
Years old
Still young enough to believe adults can fix what hurts , if they can reach the help in time.
1
Congenital heart defect
A condition she has lived with since infancy, now requiring corrective intervention.
R385K
Target amount
A practical, hypothetical full-fund estimate for surgery and the care around it.
Now
The timeline
Not someday. Not when the family “has enough.” The need exists now.
"I waited 8 months
for help. WellWell was there in 48 hours."
Maya, 22
Every Young Person
Deserves To Feel
Supported
Questions?
Text us: (555) 123-4567
Email: hello@wellwell.org
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