My name is Becky Stephens and I am raising money to help our son's college roommate after a life-altering accident.

Tonderai is a senior at Kansas University. He is an international student from Gaborone, Botswana and has attended KU since June 2019. He is an economics major with a minor in business and pursuing actuarial credentials. He has been active on campus in different student organizations and working as a desk assistant in McCarthy and Stouffer Halls. Tonderai is kind, soft-spoken, smart, respectful, and just a great person to be around.

This February Tonderai fell and he has a spinal injury. He is paralyzed from the waist down and is in St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute in Overland Park, KS. He has been continuing to take most classes online. However, he needs to finish one class in person and would like to be back on campus from March 28-graduation. He can’t return to his off-campus apartment because it’s on the 3rd floor. We are looking for housing for him that is wheelchair accessible. On days when he isn’t in class, he will need to attend Ability KC for rehabilitation. The physicians and therapists have stated that therapy for the next 6 months is crucial to see improvement.

We are asking for donations to support Tonderai during this crisis. His family in Botswana is in daily contact with Tonderai but cannot come to be with him during this time. After this happened, my initial reaction was to have him move back in with us in Wichita so we can care for him. But he wants to be on campus to finish school and we realized that the specialists in the KC area are his best chance for recovery. The urgency and needs got bigger and that’s when I reached out to KU parents for help. Many kind people offered donations so we set up this GoFundMe for Tonderai. All donations will be used for short-term housing, medical needs, and medical transportation for therapy. Thank you for helping us support this amazing young man. We will keep you updated!

More of our story:

We met Tonderai through our son, Alec. Alec brought Tonderai home for Thanksgiving during their freshman year of college and we would see him when we would visit KU. When covid hit and the students were moving out of the dorms, my husband asked if Tonderai needed a place to stay. So he moved in with us in Wichita in March 2020 with a ticket to return home in May. Well, that didn’t happen, as more flights were continuing to be canceled. Plus, there was a concern he wouldn’t be able to get back. So Tonderai stayed with us and he’s been a part of our family since. We’ve celebrated holidays, family weddings, and vacations together. We are in touch with his family in Botswana, exchanging Christmas gifts in the mail and celebrating their weddings and babies in their families.

Alec and Tonderai had been roommates since their sophomore year. This February Alec left on a Thursday at 6 am to study abroad in Seoul, through KU. Two days later on Saturday at 6 am Tonderai called me from the ICU. A dr got on the phone and explained the seriousness of the situation. My husband and I drove to see him and stayed with him. After his 6-hour surgery, the surgeon explained how it went and we were able to have Tonderai's sister and parents on the phone so they could hear everything. The staff at St. Luke’s is so kind and they have included Tonderai’s family in his progress. Our goal is to help him with therapy and graduation. Thank you for showing your support and hope to Tonderai.

Becky and Andy Stephens