R355 Collision: Support for Victims

On the afternoon of Monday May 1st, a fatal car accident on the R355 claimed the life of Tinarwo Chakurira while he and his passenger, Ainord Mwanakwayae, were heading back to the Tankwa Karoo farm they work on. They were not associated with our event, but their lives have been irrevocably changed by it, and we need to do our best to repair the damages they have undergone.

We wish to assist with Tinarwo’s repatriation, and ongoing assistance for his family, as well as cover all medical and rehabilitation costs for Ainord. As a community, we need to show our support and spirit, and assist with both the financial and logistical aspects of the traumatic event that has impacted these men and their families.

Please visit the link below, and donate what you can – further support and assistance can be offered through [email protected]

To make a donation to the support fund, please click here.

We as AfrikaBurn send our most sincere condolences to the families of all affected, and are in contact with those affected to ensure that their needs are being attended to. 

We ask that this serves as a reminder to all who participate in our event that driving badly on the R355 has serious consequences. Please don’t take this as an opportunity to point fingers, but rather remind each other that life is precious and that no matter how keen you are to get home, it’s better to get home late than not at all.

UPDATES:

May 18th 2017:

Our team met with Ainord, whose friend Tinarwo lost his life in the fatal head-on collision on the R355. He is holding up, and we are grateful to the AfrikaBurn community to be able to assure him that the costs associated with his recovery will be covered.

We have had a referral to a knee specialist in Durbanville, who will assess Ainord next month and determine the next steps as far as physical therapy is concerned. He is also in need of trauma counselling to help him through this, which is also being provided.

Funds raised by the ongoing donation drive will be placed in trust and independently managed by three external trustees, to ensure they are fairly disbursed towards Ainord’s recovery and the costs associated with supporting Tinarwo’s little girl, Ruvarushe.

AfrikaBurn will also make a separate contribution to the trust and, together with members of the Cult of the Golden Calf and the Tankwa Town Library theme camps, will provide legal assistance for a Road Accident Fund claim.

July 20th 2017:

To date, R183 130 has been raised via the donation drive, and an aditional donation will added to this by AfrikaBurn when the drive wraps up. Our organisation has been supporting Ainord by providing access to physiotherapy for his knee, and also trauma counselling. Tinarwo’s family has been in a period of family healing and mourning, and assistance is available as and when required for his wife Clara, and daughter Ruvarashe.

26th November 2019:

In response to a request from one of the occupants of the oncoming vehicle that collided with Tinarwo and Ainord’s vehicle in 2017, we have re-opened the fundraiser drive. This is to ensure that Clara (Tinarwo’s wife) and Ruvarashe (Tinarwo’s daughter) are able to support themselves whilst the Road Accident Fund, which is presently disputing the claim lodged, delays the distribution of funds to Tinarwo’s family.

As before, we as the AfrikaBurn organisation will be making another donation – but we appeal to all who are able to show Clara and Ruvarushe some support to make a donation.

To make a donation, please click here.

Many thanks to all that have been touched enough to provide assistance (including those members of our community that have stepped up to perform volunteer roles on the Trust that has administed the distribution of payments made to Tinarwo’s family to date).