Yep. And it's a fascinating story. I’m told by the cricket lover in my house that Bavuma is a hero for other reasons, but it is his activism on stem cell donation that caught my eye:
White South Africans…[are] disproportionately represented among donors. As a result, it may be easier for white South Africans to find a match than for their black counterparts. Apart from disparities in access to information, Bavuma attributes the relative shortage of black stem cell donors to the importance of blood in some African cultures, & the fact that most stem cell donations are collected from the bloodstream.
“I think there's a lot of stigmas that exist among people of my [ethnicity] when it comes to blood and giving blood. I think that can only be challenged by educating people, and also people seeing someone similar to them going out and supporting these kinds of causes," said Bavuma.
In the Xhosa culture he grew up in, blood is viewed as the essence of life and a conduit for connection with the ancestors. "Black culture is a bit interesting if you haven't grown up with it," Bavuma said, "especially if you look at it from a Western type of lens.
Blood is quite sacred within our culture. The sacrifice of blood, the use of blood and the exchange of blood – those things have a certain significance.”
Read the full piece—it’s a great story.