Yvonne Eskell Klagsbrun has raised almost R800000 in just seven months for an NGO in Limpopo that supports people affected by HIV/Aids.
Eskell Klagsbrun, 54, from Pretoria, is one of 10 Vodacom Change the World volunteers working for charities across South Africa until March.
She volunteered as a fundraiser for the Waterberg Welfare Society, which hosts prevention and awareness workshops, and provides home-based care and voluntary HIV/Aids counselling and testing.
The funds Eskell Klagsbrun has raised have been used to help run a creche and afterschool centre for orphans and other children from the area, and to support a mobile clinic.
The society serves about 35000 people in the Vaalwater area, where unemployment numbers are high and people have very little hope, she says.
Eskell Klagsbrun believes the NGO is "fantastic" because it helps reduce the stigma surrounding HIV/Aids. People are now walking off the street into the NGO's offices to be tested for HIV as they can see people who use ARVs can lead a healthy life, she says.
In the five months before the end of her time at the NGO, she wants to attract more funders.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
