You can’t expect a child to focus on learning in an environment that works against them.

Yet for many learners, this is the reality of their school day. Classrooms can be overcrowded, sanitation facilities are inadequate, access to clean water is inconsistent, and basic hygiene is difficult to maintain.

Because long before a child steps into a lesson, their environment shapes how they experience school.

For many learners across South Africa, these challenges are part of everyday life. Schools often serve communities where access to basic services is limited, and the pressures children face at home do not disappear when they arrive at school. Many learners enter the classroom already carrying the effects of hunger, discomfort or instability.

This means that school is not just a place of learning, but a space that can either support a child or make it harder for them to keep up and stay engaged.

When a child’s environment does not support their wellbeing, the impact is immediate. Hunger remains a significant barrier for many learners, affecting concentration, energy levels and overall development. A child who is unwell, hungry or uncomfortable is far less likely to focus or participate fully.

Addressing these challenges requires practical support that meets learners’ everyday needs. Access to nutrition and safe, supportive school environments can make a meaningful difference.

Creating healthy environments for children is essential to their wellbeing and their ability to succeed. When the right conditions are in place, children are better able to learn, participate and build a foundation for their future.

Safe Learning Spaces

For many learners in KwaZulu-Natal, using a school toilet has never been a simple or safe part of the day.

Pit toilets have remained a daily reality, bringing with them serious risks to health, safety and dignity. For years, this has been the environment learners and educators have had to navigate.

Through East Coast Radio’s Big Favour, support raised through the Santa’s Stash campaign with LottoStar enabled the replacement of unsafe pit toilets at three schools. Maliphume Primary School, Linwood Combined Primary School and Songozini Primary School, reaching 313 learners and 15 teachers, in partnership with Breadline Africa.

What was once a daily risk is being replaced with facilities that are safe, clean and dignified. For learners, this means being able to move through their school day without fear, and with a greater sense of confidence.

East Coast Radio’s Big Favour continues to respond to real needs across KwaZulu-Natal, stepping in where support is needed most and helping to bring practical change to communities.

There are still many learners facing the same conditions, but for these schools, this marks a real change                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Support Breadline Africa's pit toilet campaign: 

Safer Schools in KwaZulu-Natal

Health is shaped long before someone walks into a clinic.

Health and wellbeing is not only about healthcare. It is influenced by everyday living conditions.

Access to food, clean sanitation and safe environments all play a role in how people live, work and participate in their communities.

When these basic conditions are not in place, the effects are immediate. Health risks increase, daily life becomes more difficult, and opportunities are limited.

Improving these conditions has a direct impact. It supports better health, creates safer environments and makes everyday life more manageable.

This is especially important for children. The environments they grow and learn in directly affect their health, confidence and ability to participate each day. Access to proper facilities and basic resources helps create a more supportive environment where children feel safe and respected.

At The Star Foundation, this is why health and wellbeing is one of our core pillars. It focuses on the practical realities that affect people every day, and the role these play in building stronger, more resilient communities.

Health & Wellbeing

Following the initial rollout of additional emergency theatre lists at Groote Schuur Hospital, support from LottoStar continued through October to December 2025, ensuring urgent orthopaedic trauma cases could proceed without delay.

 patients required multi-stage or combined operations

Most procedures involved complex lower-limb and upper-limb fractures — a continued reflection of the high trauma burden within the public healthcare system.

While this phase built on the progress of earlier months, the demand for emergency surgical access remained constant. The additional theatre time provided essential capacity within an already stretched environment, helping protect both patient outcomes and surgical teams under pressure.

“This support has helped time-critical surgeries proceed without delay, resulting in safer care and better outcomes for vulnerable patients.”
— 

Sabeeha Moosa – Medical Manager Theatre & Anaesthesia

As the project progresses, sustained access to emergency theatre time continues to play a critical role in strengthening trauma services.

Emergency Surgery Impact

Over the past two years, we’ve seen how the right prosthetic support can change everything for children living with limb disabilities. From March 2024 to February 2026, The Star Foundation worked alongside Jumping Kids to fund specialised prosthetic equipment — helping children move more freely, build confidence, and participate fully in school and play.

In year one, 12 children were supported with tailored prosthetic equipment designed around their individual needs. For many of these families, it wasn’t just about mobility — it was about possibility, independence and hope.

In year two, the focus shifted to sustainability, prioritising ongoing maintenance, refitments and replacements for the 12 children supported in year one, while extending support to five additional children.

We are deeply grateful to the Jumping Kids team for their expertise and dedication, and to the brave children and families who allowed us to walk this journey with them.

page on our website and learn all about our inspiring beneficiaries 

Mobility in Motion

One split second on the rugby field changed everything for Jamie Felix.

Instead of focusing on lectures and his degree, Jamie found himself fighting something far bigger than injury – a serious injury infection that threatened his mobility and independence.

Thanks to the funds raised in LottoStar’s Santa’s Stash competition on Jacaranda FM in support of Good Morning Angels, R63 230,70 is going to help 20-year-old Jamie Felix. Jamie will receive help for a serious rugby injury that left the Sports Management student with a broken leg that required surgery at a public hospital.

While public hospitals work tirelessly to care for thousands of patients every day, overcrowding, limited resources and long waiting lists often make recovery journeys tougher and more complicated, especially for complex orthopaedic injuries.

For many young athletes, injuries like this don’t just pause the game. They can change the trajectory of your entire life.

A plate was inserted in his right tibia, but shortly after, complications followed. An infection developed, which led to osteomyelitis and 6 weeks of hospital stays, antibiotics, and constant pain.

Jamie had difficulty walking, which meant that playing rugby had to come to a complete standstill. Every day, movement suddenly felt like a challenge. But Jamie hasn’t given up on himself. Now he has finally found hope.

Jamie has been approved for a specialised debridement surgery on his right tibia at Mediclinic Midstream to remove the infection and help restore proper healing. The procedure requires five hours in theatre and four nights in hospital.

Thanks to LottoStar and Good Morning Angels, Jamie’s comeback story is officially loading! And this time, he’s not stuck on the sidelines watching life pass him by.
He’s stepping back into it stronger, steadier and pain-free, while trading his crutches for confidence and slowly but surely reclaiming the independence that every 20-year-old deserves.

LottoStar goes beyond big wins. Our competitions aren’t just a win for players, but for the community at large – charity is our privilege, not an obligation.

A Second Chance to Walk

Life hasn’t always been easy for Chantal Groenewald. At just three years old, she was removed from her home and placed in Paul Kruger Children’s Home – a place of safety where she spent most of her childhood.

Instead of letting her circumstances define her, Chantal grew into a bright, bubbly and determined young woman who focused on building a better future for herself.

She worked hard at school, matriculated in 2025 with good results and has already started chasing opportunities to further her studies.

Just as her next chapter was starting, a persistent pain in her right foot slowed her down - turning everyday movement into a struggle. After medical consultations and scans, doctors confirmed that she needed a complex knee surgery, which includes a meniscus repair and ligament reconstruction in her right knee to prevent long-term damage and restore her mobility.

Without surgery, the pain wouldn’t just linger – it would follow her into every part of her life, making studying, working and simply moving through the world harder than it should ever be for a 19-year-old.

Through funds raised during LottoStar’s Santa’s Stash competition on Jacaranda FM, in support of Good Morning Angels, R80,375 will be going towards covering Chantal’s medical expenses and specialised aftercare that she needs to recover fully.

The procedure requires 2 hours in theatre and 3-4 nights in a normal ward, with specialised rehabilitation to get her back on her feet, and now, she doesn’t have to face it all alone.

Thanks to LottoStar and Good Morning Angels, Chantal’s new chapter is no longer on hold.

LottoStar – charity is our privilege, not an obligation.

LottoStar Supports a Pain-Free Future

LottoStar is proud to fund critical shoulder surgeries for two patients through Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels (GMA), helping to restore mobility, relieve pain and improve quality of life.

Both 27-year-old Elshe Landman and 56-year-old Matthys Myburgh require a right shoulder arthroscopy and rotator cuff repair, a specialised surgical procedure used to treat painful shoulder conditions that significantly limit daily movement and function. These include rotator cuff tears, shoulder impingement and acromioclavicular joint degenerative disease – conditions that can make even simple tasks like lifting, driving or sleeping uncomfortable.

Shoulder arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical method that allows surgeons to diagnose and treat damage within the shoulder joint using specialised instruments. While highly effective, the procedure requires expert care and dedicated theatre time. Both Elshe and Matthys will need approximately two hours of theatre time, with the total cost of both procedures estimated at R66,482.

For patients like Elshe and Matthys, access to this surgery means more than medical treatment – it represents the opportunity to return to work, regain independence, and live without constant pain.

funds raised through Good Morning Angels, we will be contributing a total of R66,482 toward these life-changing procedures. This contribution ensures that both patients can receive the care they need without further financial strain.

Good Morning Angels continues to be a powerful platform for mobilising support where it matters most, and LottoStar is honoured to play a role in turning compassion into action.

We wish Elshe and Matthys a smooth procedure and a speedy recovery as they take this important step toward healing.

LottoStar Funds Life-Saving Surgeries

Following the success of the Woza Win campaign with 

 Safe Water Initiative is now in its most important phase.

families supported so far (filters distributed + WASH education)

Implementation is now underway in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

In December, iThemba Kuluntu travelled to Pietermaritzburg to train Gift of the Givers teams on the PureFlow Amanzi bucket water filtration system, alongside a Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) education programme designed for rural communities.

During the week-long rollout, water filter systems were distributed and WASH education delivered to more than 300 families across multiple rural communities — helping households use the system correctly and reduce the risk of waterborne illness.

What began as a radio competition is now delivering real impact — with safe water flowing where it’s needed most.

From Competition to Clean Water

Why nutrition and food security remain critical to the health, wellbeing, and development of children and communities in South Africa.

Nutrition and Food Security