- On 30 November, you should pay to swear in the office, even if that office is remote, says a South African charity.
- Rare Diseases SA wants to use the money for a procurement fund for high-cost medicine, in areas not covered by the state or medical aid.
- If you are offended by its "Give a f*ck" campaign, you're focussing on the wrong outrage, it says.
- A range of non-profits will be hitting up donors on Giving Tuesday.
On Tuesday, 30 November, charity organisation Rare Diseases SA wants you to swear in the office, then pay for it.
In pre-pandemic 2019, the organisation urged supporters to "[a]nnoy your colleagues until they lose their shit and then make them pay". This year it is touting virtual swear jars, for those working remotely or in hybrid setups.
The combined proceeds from those swear jars will go towards "a procurement fund for high cost medicine for patients impacted by rare disease", the organisation says, with the hope to eventually hit R100 million. At that ambitious level, it intends to set up a risk equalisation fund, providing much better access to healthcare for people with rare conditions who are sometimes told potentially life-saving medicines are simply too expensive.
The fundraising is being handled via GivenGain, the Swiss-registered non-profit, linked to GivingTuesday, an initiative that largely targets Americans every year while they are in a generous mood around their Thanksgiving holiday.
The premise is simple: swear, pay up, and donate the combined cash, while optionally spreading the word under the banner #SwearToCare. If you happen to be offended by the swearing, Rare Diseases SA will use that as a lobbying opportunity.
"Are you offended? Well, so are we!" says the organisation, in anticipation of complaints about foul language. "We are offended that in South Africa, we have no formalised Rare Diseases policy. We are offended that our government and medical aids are turning a blind eye to the thousands of patients impacted by a rare disease."
Simply "giving a f**k can make the world of difference to rare disease patients in South Africa," it argues.
Rare Diseases SA estimates that millions of South Africans live with untreated or undiagnosed conditions, for which treatment costs are effectively impossible to pay.
(Compiled by Phillip de Wet)
