IMPORTANT: THIS SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICE IS FOR 12-18-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN ONLY.
THIS SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICE IS FOR 12-18-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN ONLY. UNIVERSITY STUDENTS REACH OUT TO YOUR CAMPUS COUNSELLORS, ADULTS PHONE 0800567567.
By reaching out to our counsellors, you agree to the following: your initial outreach may be via WhatsApp text. However, all further communications and counselling sessions will be conducted via WhatsApp VIDEO CALL. No support can be provided via messaging only or voice only. This is to ensure we give the correct support for the client whilst safeguarding our staff from bogus callers.
Adults may make use of our bereavement counselling services, but please refrain from reaching out at night and stick to normal business hours.
The Sonneblom Foundation
Light · Hope · Life
Where there is LIGHT, there is HOPE. Where there is HOPE, there is LIFE.
Donate Now
General donations are always welcome. We undertake to allocate those resources to our project with the highest need.
Your donation may be utilised to assist a child in need, cover our monthly operational costs, and build up much-needed reserves that will enable us to act immediately on requests for assistance.
Our directors will always take requests from our beneficiaries into consideration, while at the same time ensuring the stability and operational status of the Sonneblom Foundation to ensure it will continue to serve the teenagers it was brought to life for.
We do appreciate your support.
International Donors
We understand that banking fees are high for international transactions. We encourage you to use the Payfast options we offer below and on our Donations and Sponsors page. It will save you from paying high fees, and we will carry minimal fees on our side.
South African Donors
We recommend you donate in the way that is easiest for you. Some people prefer EFT, some are comfortable with Payfast. We prefer not to receive cash donations as they carry a large fee for us. However, if you had a lucky night at the casino or a day at the race course, you are welcome to share your cash winnings with us!
Bank: FNB | Account Name: SONNEBLOM FOUNDATION NPC | Account Number: 63157202995 | Branch Code: 250655 | SWIFT Code: FIRNZAJJ
Bank: Capitec BUSINESS| Account Name: SONNEBLOM FOUNDATION NPC | Account Number: 1053982330 | Branch Code: 450105
Reference: “SF-YourName” if you would like us to credit you or your business (please also email us POP and your details at donate@sonneblom.org.za), OR “SF” if you would prefer to stay anonymous.
If you would like to learn more about specific projects and goals you may donate to, please visit our DONATION PAGE.
Please select your donation option from below
You may make ad hoc donations, or assist us on a regular basis with monthly donations.
ONCE-OFF DONATIONS
To donate your own unique amount per month please complete the amount below and click on DONATE NOW.
You may also deposit donations directly into our bank accounts:
Bank: FNB | Account Name: SONNEBLOM FOUNDATION NPC | Account Number: 63157202995 | Branch Code: 250655 | SWIFT Code: FIRNZAJJ
Bank: Capitec BUSINESS| Account Name: SONNEBLOM FOUNDATION NPC | Account Number: 1053982330 | Branch Code: 450105
Reference: “SF-YourName” if you would like us to credit you or your business (please also email us POP and your details at donate@sonneblom.org.za), OR “SF” if you would prefer to stay anonymous.
MONTHLY DONATIONS
To donate your own specified amount each month, please email riaan@sonneblomfoundation.org with your name, the email address we should use, and the monthly donation amount you would like to contribute. We will then generate a unique Payfast Payment Request for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Beneficiaries and Collaborators
Angie Diedericks Suicide Prevention Program (ADSP)
Some of the directors and volunteers at the Sonneblom Foundation have been working with the ADSP since early 2023 in an unofficial capacity. Our collaboration became official in May 2025 when our NPC was registered.
The AD Suicide Prevention Program is an initiative set up to support 12-18-year-old adolescents in South Africa in crisis. This legacy work, in honour of Angie Diedericks, who sadly took her own life on 1st April 2023, provides 24/7 free online crisis intervention and counselling services for those in desperate need. Our team, headed up by Ingrid Temmerman, recently expanded to include bereavement counselling for families who have lost a child to suicide. In 2024, South Africa reported that its suicide rate was 23.5 per 100,000, which translates to about 14,000 deaths from suicide a year. It is the second leading cause of death amongst young people aged 15-29 (Medical Schemes, South Africa, 2024), so accessing adolescents early is vital. Access to mental health services in South Africa is challenging, and depending on where the youngster is located geographically, sometimes impossible.
Our service aims to plug the gap to support children who would not have access to vital suicide prevention crisis services. Since its inception, the service has supported 600+ children and their families, and we are proud of the work we do. Our plans for 2025/26 include further raising awareness by revisiting schools, hosting service talks, and even doing simple things like encouraging parents to save the service’s number on their children’s mobile phones. We hope to double up on our engagement this year and are on our way to achieving this. In a world where we can be anything, we believe in being kind, and when in crisis, please take a moment to refocus and say that ‘This Too Shall Pass’ 🌻
Visit angie.org.za for direct WhatsApp links to counsellors, or email help@angie.org.za
United for Change (UFC)
The Sonneblom Foundation also collaborates with United for Change, founded by Johannes C Wolfaardt. United for Change serves a broader cause than the AD Suicide Prevention Program, but there is an overlap between their work and the work done by Ingrid and her team. We have been working with Johannes since 2024 and with United for Change since 2025.
United for Change is a Bloemfontein-based non-profit that supports people in under-resourced communities through direct, practical help. It was founded in early 2023 by Johannes C Wolfaardt, who saw growing hunger, unemployment, and a rise in teen suicide, adult suicide, and gender-based violence in his own community—and decided to act.
Founder: United for Change
What started as small, informal efforts quickly grew into a focused organisation working on the ground with families, schools, churches, and local leaders. The team prioritises long-term trust and local relationships over big campaigns or one-off donations.
Main areas of work:
- Food relief: Regular meals for children, unemployed adults, and older people.
- Education support: Help with school applications, uniforms, transport, and tutoring.
- Work support: Skills training, job prep, and support for small businesses.
- Basic services: Help accessing IDs, grants, counselling, and home visits.
- Suicide and trauma support: Awareness campaigns, helplines, and direct outreach on teen suicide, adult mental health, and gender-based violence.
Most of the work happens in Bloemfontein and surrounding areas, where the team focuses on households facing the highest risk of being overlooked. United for Change stays close to what’s real—supporting what communities are already doing, and stepping in where gaps are too wide to ignore.
The plan going forward is simple: stay local, stay responsive, build deeper ties, and work with others who care about the same things. The goal isn’t to grow for the sake of growth—it’s to keep showing up in a way that makes a real difference.
More info at www.unitedforchange.org.za.
Addicts Voice
Addicts Voice works in Gauteng and Limpopo. They primarily work on removing drug addicts from the streets and getting them into rehabilitation centres. We have been working with Addicts Voice since October 2025.
Addicts Voice operates as a non-profit organisation committed to standing against the drug epidemic affecting communities. The organisation has taken a firm stand against drugs, bullying, suicide, violence, street prostitution, and the exploitation of young girls within the environments they work in.
Addicts Voice stands in the gap for parents who have lost their children to the streets. Where families have grown weary from fighting, Addicts Voice steps in. The organisation offers support, understanding, and hope to those who are desperately seeking help. It represents the raw truth and lived experiences of active addicts, recovering addicts, recovered addicts, and their families.
Their goal is to inspire, educate, and relate to all who have been affected by the pandemic of drug and alcohol abuse. Addicts Voice is committed to changing the narrative of addiction by helping to break chains through ministry, outreach, empowerment, and equipping individuals with tools to rebuild their lives.
The team is not blind to the challenges of street life, but they believe that if even one life is restored and one destiny changed, their mission is fulfilled.
Mission & Mandate
Grounded in Isaiah 61:1, Addicts Voice is committed to bringing good news to the humble and afflicted, healing the wounds of the broken-hearted, proclaiming release to those held captive physically and spiritually, and opening the doors of confinement for those trapped in addiction.
Touching the Untouchables
Their message is clear: Our souls are not for sale. Not to drugs, not to prostitution, and not to the streets.
Be The Reason; Be the Voice Campaign
This campaign speaks to the heart of our youth. Addressing real issues, with real answers. Equipping and inspiring our youth to take a stand, restoring their identity, self-image, and self-esteem.
Bullying has become another pandemic our youth struggles to deal with. We have recently established that most of our bullies don’t only sit at school, but also originate from home. Bullying creates a whole lot of fear and anxiety, leading to substance abuse, violence, and suicide. This campaign creates an opportunity for learners to speak up and share their experiences, share their hearts.
They are now being heard, they are now being seen.
“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
Our Ambassadors
Like any non-profit, we rely on others to assist with spreading the word. We are honoured to have ambassadors who assist us in creating awareness of our cause.
Ambassador Johannes C Wolfaardt
We have been working with Johannes C Wolfaardt remotely since 2024. When we met him for the first time in person in 2025 we asked him if he would become an Ambassador for Sonneblom Foundation. Johannes agreed without hesitation.
Johannes C Wolfaardt is the first official Ambassador of the Sonneblom Foundation. He is also the author of Struggling Stains, a book that tells the story of his difficult childhood and young adulthood. His life has been shaped by personal hardship—poverty, trauma, and the long process of recovery. His work today is grounded in those lived experiences.
Born and raised in the Free State, Johannes grew up facing many of the same struggles he now helps others navigate. In 2024, his story began reaching wider audiences through interviews, radio shows, television shows and community talks. He spoke openly about his past—about pain, mental health, survival, and ultimately, freedom. His honesty struck a chord. People listened.
That same year, he became the first ambassador for the Sonneblom Foundation. The role is not symbolic—it’s active. Johannes represents people who are often overlooked. He speaks from the ground, not on behalf of it. He brings insight from lived experience, not from theory or distance.
Today, Johannes leads United for Change, a small organisation that supports people in Bloemfontein with food, trauma support, help accessing services, suicide awareness, and more. He stays involved in the daily work, home visits, outreach, meals, and direct support for those in crisis.
His goals going forward are simple:
- Keep working at street level
- Help people speak openly about suicide, violence, and trauma
- Support youth who feel stuck or hopeless
- Build practical partnerships, not performative
Johannes doesn’t claim to have all the answers. But he does have one thing to offer without hesitation: presence. He shows up. He listens. He speaks when it helps and stays quiet when it doesn’t. As the Sonneblom Foundation’s first Ambassador, he is committed to making dignity, healing, and real support part of everyday life for those who need it most.
Johannes C Wolfaardt
Author | Motivational Speaker
📞 063 389 2152
✉️ info@unitedforchange.org.za | info@strugglingstains.co.za
Ambassador Natalie Gunther
We have been working remotely with Natalie Gunther since 2025. Natalie first approached us to become a volunteer, but in the end, we convinced her to take up a role as ambassador.
“I Broke My Neck — and I’m Grateful”
In the early hours of Woman’s Day on 9 December 2014, tragedy befell Natalie Gunther, then 29 years old. While travelling as a passenger, the vehicle she was in lost control and rolled off the highway. Natalie was discovered 13 metres from the wreckage, suffering from a broken neck, and was promptly transported by paramedics to a local hospital.
Admitted to ICU, her family received grave news from the specialist surgeon. He explained that surgery was necessary, but Natalie’s chances of survival were only 40%, and if she did survive, there was a 50% likelihood she would be paralyzed. The procedure was a novel technique, performed only once before in South Africa and just the third time ever.
Natalie does not recall the accident itself—her memories begin in the ICU. When the doctor delivered the prognosis, her thoughts focused more on the possibility of death than on paralysis. Before the operation, while waiting in the theatre, she closed her eyes and prayed, surrendering peacefully to whatever outcome awaited her. She awoke to discover that she had survived and, remarkably, was not paralyzed—a turning point in her life.
The surgeon attributed Natalie’s serene recovery to the success of the surgery. After her time in ICU, she was moved to the general ward to continue recovering. Previously, Natalie had worked in digital marketing sales and signage, but she had always dreamed of learning graphic and web design and starting her own business. Like many, she had put these ambitions off, citing a lack of time and resources. While confined to her hospital bed and facing the reality that her sales career would have to pause, she saw the perfect opportunity to pursue her passions.
With help, Natalie commissioned a logo design, and upon her discharge from hospital, her journey of learning and entrepreneurship began. It was a period marked by both pain and reward, as she celebrated each small milestone. During a bout of depression, she tuned into the Christian channel TBN, where pastors shared a message aimed at a woman—aged 29, recovering from a car accident, in pain and feeling low. Their words encouraged her to use her creativity for God, instantly lifting her spirits. She soon discovered a support group for broken neck survivors on Facebook, which led to her helping manage the group alongside a woman in the USA.
Around this time, a friend invited Natalie to join her at church. Although she had attended church throughout her life, she returned as soon as her health allowed. During a general prayer led by the pastor, Natalie prayed for relief from her back pain. She felt warmth in her back and the pain vanished.
Natalie’s business and her physical healing both flourished. Despite living with daily spasms, she remained grateful for her second chance at life, accomplishing more post-accident than she ever had before. On both personal and professional fronts, she won and was nominated for multiple awards. She hopes her story motivates others and offers guidance for overcoming adversity.
Over the decade following her accident, Natalie experienced marriage and subsequent divorce. She relocated to Mossel Bay, where she helped a German couple manage and expand their farm, all while running her business remotely in Johannesburg. Eventually, she opened a branch in Mossel Bay with partners but later realized she had taken on too much. In early 2025, she chose to close her business and resign from the farm.
Despite the ups and downs, Natalie discovered a true passion for teaching digital marketing. Not long after her accident, she felt inspired to start a charity, sharing miracle testimonies and using her creativity for a higher purpose. In July 2025, she moved to Somerset West, where she now pursues her calling. Natalie firmly believes that her challenges have shaped her into the person she is today, ready for the opportunities of this moment. She considers her survival a miracle and credits God for the extraordinary changes in her life. Her relationship with Jesus has grown stronger, and she values this fulfilment above all material success.
Natalie invites others to follow her journey and stay tuned for the launch of her YouTube channel and podcasts.
- Social Media – Natalie Gunther
- info@nataliegunther.co.za
- nataliegunther.co.za
- Social Media – TrainCo SA (training platform for anyone interested)
- info@trainco.co.za
- trainco.co.za
- Social Media – Soul Station (sharing testimonies, open for submissions)
- info@soul-station.co.za
- soul-station.co.za
Some of our highly valued donors and sponsors
You are welcome to make donations through your business and contribute to our cause regularly. The companies below regularly assist the Sonneblom Foundation. Thank you!
Sonneblom Foundation in the Media
Sometimes the media approaches us and provides us with some. Thank you!
