Dear Friends,

I’m reaching out to ask if you can help me support a most remarkable person. Jenny looks after my home and dog whenever I am away for work. She is always extraordinarily kind, steady, thoughtful, and deeply trustworthy. Her integrity, quiet strength, and her capacity to create a sense of calm and safety for both people and animals is utterly remarkable considering she has known unimaginable loss. I created this fundraiser, with the support of my producer friend in New York (I cannot host a fundraiser as a South African so Margaret is ensuring all funds go directly to Jenny) with the hopes that we might lift some of the financial burdens Jenny is up against.

Jenny’s life was turned upside down on the 29th of November, 2012. That evening, her husband left home at 7:30 pm to go to the gym — just a short distance away. He accidentally left his cellphone behind, a small detail that would become heartbreakingly significant. On his way there, he was hijacked at gunpoint by four men at a traffic light. What followed was a night of unimaginable horror. For hours — from 7:30 pm until 4:30 am — he was brutally assaulted, tortured, and taken from place to place by his attackers, who were under the influence of drugs. They robbed him of everything and tried to force him to reveal the family’s home address. Eventually, they took him to a cliff by the ocean, tied his hands and feet with cable ties, raped him, and threw him into the sea — leaving him to die. Miraculously, he managed to free himself and make it to shore. Exhausted and broken, he found his way to a police station, where Jenny met him — battered, bruised, and deeply traumatized. Despite medical care and counseling, the emotional and psychological scars were unbearable. Just five weeks later, unable to cope with the trauma, he took his own life. Jenny was left shattered — a widow and single mother of two sons. Her eldest was 21, but her youngest was only 14. The tragedy left deep wounds in them all, especially her youngest son, who struggled to cope. Despite counseling and rehabilitation efforts, he turned to substance abuse as a way to escape the pain. Jenny’s world continued to crumble. Within 14 months of losing her husband, she also lost her mother, father, and brother in the year that followed — her entire support system gone. Now, years later, Jenny continues to fight every single day. Financially, emotionally, and physically, life has been a constant struggle. After being forced to retire last year, her only income is a tiny pension of $175 / £135 per month — far from enough to cover even basic living expenses like electricity, rates, medication, food, and petrol. She is currently £495 / $655 in arrears on her municipal rates and struggles every day just to keep food and electricity in her home. Despite everything, Jenny has always remained optimistic and strong — but she is now at a breaking point.

Her greatest wish is to help her youngest son get the proper care he needs. He is trying to overcome his addiction, and Jenny has found a highly recommended rehabilitation centre that focuses on sustainability, nature, and healing through work and structure — a place that offers real hope. The cost of the program is £465 / $610 dollars per month for six months, excluding food and essentials. Jenny dreams of seeing her son healthy, stable, and with a future. But she can’t do it alone. This is a plea for help — to give Jenny and her son a chance at recovery and stability after years of unimaginable suffering and loss. Every contribution, no matter how small, will make a real and immediate difference: helping with food, electricity, medical needs, paying down her municipal rates, and most importantly, giving her son the chance to heal. If you’re able to offer any support — you’d be helping someone who gives so much, while asking so little for herself. She deserves stability, compassion, and a community that recognizes her worth.

Please, if you can, help Jenny rebuild what life has taken from her. Every act of kindness counts.

Thank you so much for considering helping.

Yael x