I'm a complete bitcoin Noob trying to raise some funds for putting my wife through medical school! I live in South Africa and it's an incredible challenge to stay ahead of the game with the political turmoil around here at the moment!
I am looking for any donations or any help for platforms to lodge a bitcoin-based crowd-funding effort!
I don't think Bitcoin will prove the silver bullet you're looking for. Bitcoin works much like fiat currency in that people usually don't want to give it away for free, particularly when they have no way of verifying your story. In addition, in case you were planning to receive a lot of small donations, Bitcoin is poorly suited for that kind of usage due to its high transaction fees (around USD 50 last I checked).
Maybe there are some kind of scholarships or grants your wife can apply for locally?