My name is Di Irons.

Here is the background for my appeal which is very close to my heart.

• Jill's story

My cousin Jill and I grew up together in South Africa. Throughout our childhood, I watched her surmount obstacles that most ordinary people couldn’t even imagine. But Jill never gives up and I know this time won’t be any different with your help.

Her life changed forever when she fell from a swing at 10 years old and broke her neck. Miraculously she survived but was left paralysed from the neck down. One day to everyone’s disbelief, she moved her little finger. Over years of relentless effort, she re-learned to walk with a crutch, pushing through immense physical and emotional pain.

Again to everyone’s amazement, Jill got her driver’s licence in a specially adapted car, got married, and raised her three wonderful children.

• Another devastating blow

A later operation led to the amputation of her lower leg – a bit like being struck by lightning twice! Jill once again overcame this obstacle and re-learned to walk yet again using a prosthesis.

Today, she is confined to a wheelchair relying on a full-time live-in carer with very limited use of her left hand. Needless to say, what are simple everyday tasks for the rest of us pose a real challenge. She does, however, love to express herself through her art and poetry and sells her work to help supplement the family income and maintain as much self-reliance as possible.

With an inheritance from her parents, Jill purchased a piece of land nestled in the beautiful hills of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her aim was to create a self-sustaining community where she could live self-sufficiently while also empowering others to do the same through education, bringing lasting positive change to people’s lives for generations to come.

From this dream, "Zuvuya Mountain Sanctuary" was born—a self-sustaining education and retreat centre. Together with her son Dael and his family, Jill has been working tirelessly to develop Zuvuya into a place of community empowerment, where education becomes a catalyst for transformation. Their programs in nutrition, and regenerative, sustainable living equip communities with the tools to build self-reliance and resilience in the face of food insecurity and climate change.

Zuvuya stands as a living example of how Jill, Dael, and their family embody these very principles in their daily lives, but their vision remains a continuous and important evolving journey.

• Then Came the Storm

Right now she and her family need a great deal of extra support due to factors outside of their control.

In June this year, a brutal windstorm with gusts reaching 150km/h tore through Zuvuya. It ripped off roofs, destroyed critical infrastructure, and left parts of their home and land unusable, also destroying their solar power system which is their only energy source. Thankfully no-one was injured or lost their lives.

• Why This Appeal Matters

This isn’t about just restoring buildings. Obviously their ability to support themselves has been devastated and they simply can’t overcome this challenge without help. That’s where your generosity can make all the difference

The cost to repair the damage in order for them to get back on their feet is over SAR800,000 (approximately AUS $70,000). Their wider community is trying to support them in every way it can—donating materials, lending tools, offering labour—but they can only do so much without the funds needed to pay for the materials and labour costs to replace vital infrastructure.

• How You Can Help

We know how challenging these times of ever-rising living costs are for so many, and we completely understand if you’re not in a position to make a gift. But if you are able to, please know that any gift—no matter how big or small—will make a real and lasting difference in helping my extraordinary cousin to get back on her feet.

Thank you for taking the time to read Jill’s story, and for caring and being part of this journey with us.

Di

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If you are outside South Africa, please donate on this GoFundMe page.

If you are in South Africa, please use Jill and Dael's crowdfunding site https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/help-us-rebuild-zuvuya-mountain-sanctuary

if you are happy to do so, we would greatly appreciate if you could add $3 to your gift to cover the GoFundMe Backabuddy admin costs. Thanks in advance.