“Numinous” (adj.) – a strong spiritual quality, filled with a sense of the presence of divinity.
Numinous Expeditions is our way of paying it forward. Inspired by personal experience, change in perspective, and a huge sense of adventure. The journey will take us through 64 countries over the course of 10 years. Our aim is to spread awareness about stem cell donation and add ethnic diversity to the donor registry, find matches for those without and create awareness for Fanconi Anemia.
Back in 2017 we were leading a normal lifestyle, our goals and aspirations focused on growing our business, being financially successful, and settling down in our home town – Nelspruit.
Things started changing for us when I got sick, and eventually ended up in hospital without being the least bit prepared for what was about to follow for the next two years, and the remainder of our lives together.
Admitted for one month in a government hospital in Nelspruit, we tried to hold on to our livelihood. Jolandie ran the business, with me directing over the phone. We thought that we would be able to regain control of the situation. My blood levels were extremely low, my energy depleted, and after a series of bone marrow biopsies we soon found out that my bone marrow was failing.
The remainder of 2017 was filled with frequent blood transfusions and frustrating hospital experiences. Eventually we were referred to another medical institute in Pretoria, who treated me for a couple of months. We were sure that things would get better, but off course my condition worsened, and they had no choice but to refer us to the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town for a peripheral stem cell transplant (formerly known as a bone marrow transplant)…….
Our Goals & Mission
Create awareness and recruit as many diverse stem cell donors, in as many countries as possible.
OVERLAND 3 CONTINENTSOur expedition will take us to 64 countries across Africa, Europe and Asia.
WORKING TOGETHEREducating and learning from others. Sharing experiences and inspiring others.
FULL TIME ON THE ROADLiving on the road for at least 10 years and overcoming challenges along the way.
Matches On The Map
“Some patients will have a compatible donor in their family, but for most, they’ll need a stranger’s help—a stranger with their exact type of bone marrow tissue. But with thousands of tissue types, finding that match is just a 1 in 100 000 chance, for patients of European descent. The odds drop even further (1-400 000) for patients of other races due to the low donor numbers from these groups. Finding donor matches for patients of mixed ethnic race is even more challenging.”- SABMR
How do we support our mission?
At the moment, we fund the project through the sales of our handmade goods such as our “Boepens Bag”. At times, there are no trading markets in an area (such as Eswatini and Lesotho) and we are unable to make an income. This greatly affects our awareness and recruitment efforts as it also restricts our donor drives solely to markets at times and this is not necessarily where we could add diversity to the registry as we’d hope.
We currently have 7 Official PATREON Partners contributing R1000 (60$) on a monthly basis. Once we head into the rest of the African countries (Namibia, Angola and beyond), making and selling our handmade products will become increasingly difficult and we will not be able to sustain our mission. To keep the Matches on the Map project going, we need a total of 15 Official Partners to cover our monthly costs. If you feel inspired by our mission, and are able to, please consider getting on board Betsy to keep her wheels rolling and our feet on the ground in search of life saving stem cell donors!
We also have the option of a R90 (5$) or R180 ($10) monthly contribution for our loyal followers.
A little goes a long way! 🙂
Matches on the Map Official Partners
Building Betsy Contributors
It takes a village to raise a child and it took a community to build Betsy! Thank you to all our partners who have made it possible for us to complete Betsy. Thank you to all our wonderful friends, family and kind strangers who lend a helping hand and who have supported our mission every step of the way!
Our mission will take us to 64 countries throughout 3 continents. We hope to recruiting as many, diverse stem cell donors on the road as possible. In order to do this, we’ll need to live on the road fulltime in our home on wheels.
1) We have a range of handcrafted products that we sell at local artisanal markets. The handmade nature of our products allow us to work from the truck while living on the road full-time.
2) We have a PATREON account where our followers can support us with a small monthly contribution. They also have the option of becoming an Official Partner of Matches on the Map with a larger monthly contribution.
3) At times, and usually when we need it most, kind strangers, loyal YouTube followers, campsite owners or supply sponsors, bless us with what we need without us even asking! 🙂
Together with your help, it becomes possible to be the link between life-savers and those who are in need of a second chance. Making a financial contribution to the Matches on the Map expedition will not only assist with operational costs, but might mean giving back someone’s tomorrow! Please click on the Contribute button at the top of the page to see the different contribution options available.
You are more than welcome to contact Gaelan Naidoo, Head of Donor Recruitment at the SABMR should you like to become a volunteer – Gaelan.naidoo@sabmr.co.za, 021 447 8638.
