Feather Force: Wings & Wishes' Monthly Giving.

There are children in South Africa who can't get life-saving treatment. Because they can't afford to get there.

Your monthly gift changes that.

Help Wings & Wishes cover the travel costs for critically ill children, so they can reach the life-saving medical care they need.

Takes 2 minutes Cancel anytime Section 18A tax deductible

$A young girl at the airport, ready to fly to her treatment$

27,000+

children's trips
since 2006

I didn't know how I was going to manage this — I've been so exhausted and burdened with loans. Good people, you have truly made my day.

Noncedo Fani · parent

The problem

The treatment exists. Getting there is the barrier.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, organ failure, or a life-threatening condition, a family's world collapses. But for many families across South Africa, the heartbreak isn't only the diagnosis.

The specialists are waiting. The hospitals are ready. But there's no money for the flight, the bus, or the R120 transfer from the station to the ward.

A flight to Cape Town. A coach ticket that costs more than a week's groceries. The taxi from the airport. These journeys happen four times a year, for years on end. Some children spend six months in hospital, far from home.

Without a way to get there, they don't get treated. Without treatment, they die.

What Wings & Wishes does

We make sure the journey is never the reason a child misses their treatment.

Wings & Wishes covers flights, coach tickets, and transfers door to door — for the child and a parent. Because no child should face this alone, and no parent should have to choose between being there and having enough money to get there.

These trips happen up to four times a year, for up to five years. We handle every booking, every logistic, every detail — so families can focus on what matters.

We save lives one trip at a time. If we are not involved — these children would die.

Inge Human, Manager, Wings & Wishes

How we work

From referral to hospital door — we handle everything.

From the moment a doctor refers a child, we manage every detail — flights, coach tickets, transfers, hospital coordination. Any child who needs to travel more than 150km to reach specialist care qualifies, including at Red Cross Children's, Groote Schuur and Tygerberg in Cape Town; and Charlotte Maxeke, Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital and Wits Donald Gordon in Johannesburg.

Flights

Domestic air travel to specialist hospitals

Coach tickets

Intercape & long-distance travel across SA

Transfers

Airport & station to hospital door

Buddy Bags

Essentials packed for every child

We don't just book the ticket. Every child travels with a Buddy Bag — pyjamas, a soft toy, toiletries — packed by people who know this journey is hard enough already.

Stories

These children made it. Because people like you said "yes, I care."

Denay is thriving.

Burns recovery · Arniston → Cape Town

At one year old, Denay suffered severe burns and needed weekly visits to Red Cross Children's Hospital — with no car, no public transport, and no way to get there. Six years on, she is strong, confident, and smiling.

Inganathi is 8 and full of life.

Rare condition · Eastern Cape → Cape Town

At two weeks old, Inganathi's parents rushed her to hospital. The diagnosis was extraordinary — and the surgery, high-risk. Wings & Wishes flew her father to Cape Town so she didn't face it alone.

Emetle got the call. She made it.

Liver transplant · Maclear → Johannesburg

From seven months old, Emetle's mother made the long journey from rural Maclear to Johannesburg, month after month. On 5 February 2025, a liver became available. They arrived in time. The transplant was successful.

In their own words

Wings and Wishes, thank you so much for your massive part of our journey. For our flight up, for funding our family to visit, for our flight back home. Your work is exceptional.

Tyler Schwagele · Parent

Wings and Wishes hold a very special place in my and my son's heart. Always prepared to assist when it matters the most. Bless you Inge.

Pammy Barnard · Parent

This is just a note to say thank you — a big thank you, yet too small — to yourself and everyone at Wings and Wishes. It was such a help in so many ways.

Louise Flanegan · Mother of Sarah

Wings and Wishes have done it for my son and I who also undergone a bone marrow transplant. God bless this foundation.

Nel Johnson · Parent

Thank you for being a blessing in so many children and parents lives. You really are an amazing organisation — may God continue to bless you.

Roslin Petersen · Parent

I didn't know how I was going to manage this — I've been so exhausted and burdened with loans. Good people, you have truly made my day.

Noncedo Fani · Parent

What the doctors say

The specialists who treat these children rely on us.

Dr. Marisa Beretta

Paediatric Hepatologist
Wits University Donald Gordon Medical Centre

In a country where geography, logistics, and finances stand between a patient and their second chance at life, Wings and Wishes steps in — with compassion, coordination, and unwavering commitment. Their support has made a tangible difference in the lives of our patients, and we cannot thank them enough.

Letitia Jordaan

Regional Coordinator
Smile Foundation, Free State

Without Wings & Wishes, a lot of children would still be waiting for the medical care they needed. We have proof of so many successful stories — because of them. You always walk that extra mile for us.

Five major children's charities — CHOC, the Smile Foundation, Paedspal, the Hero Burns Foundation and the Pelo Foundation — rely on Wings & Wishes to move their patients.

Paedspal Hero Burns Foundation Pelo Foundation

Helping save children's lives since 2006.

Every number is a real child who got to their treatment.

600

children currently in our care

27,000+

trips facilitated since 2006

1,586

trips facilitated in 2025

4×

average trips per child, per year

provinces served

365

days a year, every year since 2006

Feather Force — monthly giving

Cover the cost of a child's journey to treatment.

The Feather Force is our community of monthly donors — people who show up every month for children who have no other way to get there.

Why monthly? Cassidy flew with us 33 times before she even made the liver transplant list. Her 42nd trip was the one that saved her life. These children don't need one trip — they need every trip. That's what your monthly gift guarantees.

The Spark

R99

per month

The transfer from the coach station to the hospital door.

A single transfer costs R120. You're most of the way there.

Everything you might want to know.

Is Wings & Wishes a registered NPO?

Yes. Registered in South Africa since 2006. Your donation qualifies for a Section 18A tax deduction. Registration number: IT60/2007.

Does 100% of my donation go to transport?

Every rand goes directly to travel costs. Our website is run by a volunteer, and our operations are lean by design — so when you give, it moves. Straight to a flight, a coach ticket, or a transfer to the hospital door.

Won't the government cover this?

Families must first apply for state hospital transport and prove it isn't available before we step in. We are the safety net for when the system can't help — and for these 600 children, it can't.

How do I know my money is well managed?

Wings & Wishes is audited annually by an independent external firm, with monthly trustee oversight. Every trip is documented with full evidence and progress reports. We know and document the personal story of every one of our 600 children — no child is a number to us.

What if I need to cancel?

Cancel anytime, no questions asked. Manage it directly through PayFast or email Inge at inge.h@wingsandwishes.org.

Awonke — before and after his heart transplant

One more story

Awonke made it because someone covered the cost of his flight.

On 23 August 2022, a donor heart became available. He had eight hours to reach Cape Town. He had already missed two donor hearts — because his family couldn't afford the journey.

Wings & Wishes was ready. He boarded the last flight from Bloemfontein. He landed at 19:30. The transplant was done at 23:00. He was home by December. He is now a teenager living a normal life.

Be that person for the next child.

Takes 2 minutes · Cancel anytime · Section 18A tax deductible