Cheque handover for Cedric Mkhize

Learners at Hilton College hosted a successful fundraiser and were able to give wheel-chair bound rugby legend Cedric Mkhize a cheque for R29 400 on 28 May to help modify his car.

500 Hilton learners gathered together in the main school theatre to be acknowledged for their contribution, selflessness and generosity. None of them had met the person they were helping - although some of them knew him by reputation. It was through the vision of head boy, Andrew Dourdillon, that they had pledged to assist Mkhize.

They were there to hand a cheque over to former Sharks rugby player, Cedric Mkhize. Mkhize was injured last year in a car accident when returning from training in Bloemfontein. He suffered an injury to his spinal cord and vertebrae which has left him in a wheel chair. A promising rugby player he was known for his elusive side step on the field

Mkhize was the beneficiary of a fund raising dinner at his old school, Maritzburg College, in March where over R200,000 was raised by the South African Rugby Legends Association and their events company Sportsfan who organised the dinner, for him to enable him to buy a car.

Dourdillon had retired from rugby at the age of 17 due to a recurring injury that he first experienced in a game in New Zealand last year. During his rehabilitation he was confined to crutches and found himself deliberating how many others, with far worse injuries and disabilities than he, were managing to survive.

It was with this concerning thought that he decided to help someone. He wanted to help a fellow rugby player who also no longer was able to play the game. When ordering T-shirts for the Hilton / Michaelhouse game he discovered that if he marked the clothes up, he would make a profit that could be put into a fund for his cause.

When discussing his plan with a teacher, Mr Lovatt, the timing couldn't seem more perfect when Mr Lovatt presented an invitation to the Cedric Mkhize Fund Raising Dinner that he had received that day.

The school boys embraced the project, and far outdid themselves by raising R29,400 for Mkhize. "But I wanted to do something tangible for him," Dourdillon announced to the boys, explaining how the money they had raised would be able to help modify the car that Mkhize would buy from himself, enabling him to drive again.

"Because of generous fundraising and wonderful people like yourselves. I am very close to buying my very own car. It is more complicated nowadays, I can't just go to a showroom and choose a car. I need to get it modified so that I will be able to drive it using only my hands. The money that you are donating will go towards the modification for my new wheels," enthused Mkhize to the 500 boys hanging on his every word.

Mkhize was very emotional while giving his speech thanking them for their generosity and advising them to grab every opportunity with both hands. Ending by saying, "Go out there and show the world what you are made of."

Applause resonated around the theatre, both applauding Mkhize and their own efforts for the lasting impact they had on this individual's life.