To celebrate Giving Tuesday, GlobalGiving is supporting its non-profit partners, including Infinite Family, with a special $1.2 million #MoveAMillion fund. Each NGO partner will receive a portion of GlobalGiving’s total funds based on the support they raise before midnight (Eastern US) tonight. Your gift right now makes sure that Infinite Family’s Net Buddies receive their fair share!

Your support also equips our teens with the life skills including the resilience, resourcefulness, and responsibility they need to succeed for the rest of their lives. I would like to share what this looks like based on the news I received just this morning about a young man named Monyane. You can watch his story up to November 2019 here. 

In brief, Monyane was mentored by a wonderful and dedicated woman named Barbara who is a successful businessperson and entrepreneur. Young Monyane was in a very bad place with they met in 2010. He never thought he would finish high school because of his responsibilities raising his many siblings. He was ready to give it all up, “I felt like the world was over, I’m done.”  Monyane credits Barbara with turning his thoughts around and then inspiring him to continue his studies all the way through college, "With her in my life, it changed all that!" When Monyane spoke to us in 2019, 10 years after meeting and working with Barbara, he was about to receive his diploma in Business Management. 

Unfortunately, shortly after completing his exams, he hit another barrier -- his qualifications would not be released until his student loans were paid. The funds had been guaranteed by the government as a result of his father’s military service but had never arrived. His diploma didn’t arrive either. For four long years, Monyane has continued working at odd jobs to help support his family and find a way to pay back his loans, which should have been paid by the government. It would have been much easier for him to give up in frustration and focus his energies on more lucrative, but illegal activities.

But he didn't give up and stayed in touch with our Infinite Family for assistance navigating bureaucracy along the way. This morning we learned that Monyane earned an award that will pay his student loans in full and allow him to finally advance in the career that he prepared for and loves.

For teens in South Africa, success is earned through years of trials and delays that are unimaginable to those of us lucky enough to live in other countries. Your gift today ensures that our teens stay on track and building better futures every single day. With each teen like Monyane that you launch into a good job, you make it possible for an average of 7 additional family members to live healthier, more stable lives.

Today only, GlobalGiving will match every donation received, up to $2,500. The more love and support you show for our Net Buddies, the bigger our piece of GlobalGiving’s $1.2 million matching pie will be. Thank you.