07 Apr 2015

Ministry of Lands and Housing has donated a P10 735 cheque to 14-year-old Abian 'Abbie' Ntshabele who is suffering from ovarian cancer called Immature Ovarian Teratoma.

Abbie was diagnosed with immature ovarian teratoma at the beginning of January 2014. The treatment for her illness required P500 000 operation to remove the cancerous tumor.

The donation came after an appeal by Abbie’s family in 2014 to help raise funds for her operation through a campaign dubbed: Help Save Abbie.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Mr Thato Raphaka said the donation was in line with the vision 2016 pillar  of a companionate, just and caring nation motivated by the culture of assisting those in need within the ministry and outside.

Mr Raphaka appreciated a sincere contribution by Ngwaketse Land Board employees in raising funds for Abbie. “Our Ministry in general and in particular Ngwaketse Land Board heeded the appeal for help and started collecting funds to assist,” he said.

Mr Raphaka indicated that before the Ntshabele donation the ministry had been involved in numerous community service activities which included the construction of houses and toilets, and connection of water system for the less privileged.

“It has become a culture in our ministry to give back to the community,” he said. The permanent secretary wished Abbie a speedy recovery on her operation. “We are happy to learn that Abbie’s surgery has been successful and we wish her speedy recovery and good health,” he said.

Abbie’s uncle, Mr Marshal Ntshabele received the donation on behalf of the Ntshabele family and also expressed gratitude for the donation.

Meanwhile, Mr Ntshabele revealed that Abbie is now recuperating after a successful surgery which was done in New Castle (UK). He said that Abbie has been in intensive care unit (ICU) and now she is able to breathe on her own without the help of breathing ventilator.

He further said Abbie could only respond by writing as a way to communicate with people after removing the breathing ventilator and now she can clearly speak.

“We are very happy that Abbie’s health is promising, and we thank everybody for the support they gave us,” he said. ENDS