Cape Town artists got together on Friday night at Bellville Civic Theatre to raise funds for a little three-year-old boy who needs a life-changing operation.
Abdul Hakim Madumo survived a near drowning last year which left him with partial brain damage.
His mom Tasneem Swartz, 31, who also has a one-year old son, says finding her son’s “lifeless” body in the pool of their Parow home was the most horrible day of her life.
She says her sister jumped in to get him while her mother administered CPR.
“However, he was unresponsive, so we rushed him to N1 city where they managed to get a heartbeat and pulse,” she explains.
But the damage was done and now little Hakim is wheelchair-bound.
SUPPORTING ACT: Hakim with mom Tasneem and Shadley. Picture: Jack Lestrade
But Tasneem says there is hope for a better life if Hakim can get a stem cell operation in June. But it will cost them R200 000 and that’s why she’s doing all she can to raise money.
Singer Shadley Schroeder put a benefit concert together for the little boy, featuring comedians Phil de Lange, Yaaseen Barnes, and a funny uncle with a Pakistani accent called Aaj, as well as singers Ekraam Cupido, Neesha Abrahams, Nuraan Boltman, Protégé, Family Affair and the 7 Steps Minstrel band.
Shadley even dedicated a song to Hakim, which he wrote himself.
He said the mission to raise funds was 90% complete: “Around 750 people came out to support the show and our target was nearly reached but it’s satisfactory for the mission.”
Hakim also attended and enjoyed the show from the front row.