Sometimes giving something ‘one last shot’ is the best shot you end up taking. For Bin to Beauty a wildcard of kindness, deciding it ain’t over ‘till it’s over’ and determination have all turned things around for the small upcycling business, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

Johannesburg, South Africa (11 October 2024) — Ever felt down on your luck? Like you’ve got this great idea but just seem to be in the wrong place for it to really take off? Considered that your business might end up less of a dream and more of a memory? Kudakwashe Chigariro knows the feeling. In fact, just a few short months ago, she and her small upcycling business, Bin to Beauty, faced all of the above.

Things weren’t looking good for Kuda’s dream. In fact, at the end of July, she had to tell her team that it was time to close shop for good after 5 years of hard work.

It was a heartbreaking moment. Bin to Beauty was the bread and butter for the women part of the team. Together, they were all dedicated to upcycling recyclable materials into fabulous new products like purses, backpacks and accessories. It helped them help the environment and put food on the table. But at the time, it seemed like a breakthrough for the business was becoming impossible, and the business could no longer afford to keep going.

‘But upcycling is all the rage!’ You might protest. While it might be true that sustainable fashion (of which upcycling is a big part) has taken the world by storm, it’s also important to consider that when your resources are limited, so too can be your reach.

Despite coming to terms with the end of Bin to Beauty, life had other plans for Kuda and her team.

Dana Druion from the Rosebank Sunday Market learned of Kuda’s story and immediately knew she needed to get involved.

Dana gave Kuda her ‘last shot’ by offering her a free stall at one of Joburg’s top markets. Beyond this, Dana went above and beyond in trying to connect businesses that produce wrapper waste to Kuda.

When Good Things Guy shared the news of the relaunch, we were all at the edge of our seats.

As Kuda told us at the time, “We are just praying that we have been in the wrong place and praying that we are going to the right place.”

A few months later and the verdict was in: the tables had turned!

“We have been in the wrong place,” Kuda informed us. Those words alone were enough to make our team’s hearts sing.

Kuda added that her client base has expanded to other parts of South Africa thanks to people who learnt about her business through Good Things Guy, and further, that getting to operate at the market is “like a dream”.

While the journey continues for the little business that could, several lessons shine through for all of us: don’t count yourself out until the curtains have truly closed. Be ready to take help when it is given, and if you’re given a ‘last shot’, make it the best damn shot of them all.

Life can certainly feel like being inside a bin at time, but it can also very quickly turn to a thing of beauty.

You can support Bin to Beauty here, or at the Rosebank Market.

Sources: Email Submission

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Bin to Beauty: From Down and Out to Blossoming Business appeared first on Good Things Guy.

Letchen du Plessis hasn’t just earned gold at the Adaptive CrossFit Games. She’s overcome incredible adversity that included the loss of functioning in her leg, multiple surgeries, rehabilitation and most importantly, resilience:

San Antonio, Texas (25 September 2024) — Over the weekend, Letchen du Plessis made South Africa enormously proud when she won gold in the ‘Moderate Neurological Impairment’ category at the Adaptive CrossFit Games—a challenge that tests both physical power and discipline but also gives the spotlight to champions who have shown how much resilience can achieve.

Here, Letchen shone for South Africa with the culmination of years of effort and a story that’ll remind you why never giving up matters.

What began as an injury on the netball court years ago would eventually reveal itself as the catalyst that changed Letchen’s life forever.

An avid netball and water polo player, Letchen decided to take netball on more professionally and was offered a scholarship to play the sport at North-West University. The young athlete was training hard and often. However, an injury that put her hip out at the end of practice became a much bigger problem a few weeks down the line, and it was eventually discovered during a procedure to heal what had been damaged that her bone was not receiving blood.

Letchen was told that she needed to make a big choice to either receive a hip replacement or undergo experimental surgery. Choosing the latter, one surgery became many after she found herself struggling to handle basic actions like putting on her socks. Under the surface, this was not just a byproduct of post-op recovery. In actuality, she was dealing with something much more serious—her left leg was no longer responding due to nerve trauma, and she was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome and dystonia.

In spite of her surgical successes, doctors were led to understand that the trauma of her hip dislocation and the surgeries could’ve provoked her leg to essentially be perceived as an enemy to her brain—meaning she had adverse reactions to basic sensations like water on her leg, plus a lack of responsiveness.

For someone who considered themselves an athlete for so much of their life, the shock of her new reality was heart-wrenching. But, the resilience her life in sport had taught her was still very much alive.

By 2019, she had received a spinal cord stimulator and understood herself as ‘semi-bionic’. CrossFit became an important part of her rehabilitation and, soon, her passion.

It wasn’t long until the long and gruelling road to learning how to live with her ‘new’ leg inspired her to compete in the 2021 CrossFit Games, where she absolutely killed it despite some hiccups.

“Letchen faced daunting challenges that many might have found insurmountable,” says Motley Crew CrossFit coach Jason Solomon, who has trained her. “However, with her characteristic grit, she refused to let her condition define her future.”

Of the 2021 NOBULL Cross Fit Games, Jason shares that it was monumental for the athlete.

“That first day [of the Games] tested her in ways she hadn’t expected—told to run three miles, something her body wasn’t physically prepared for, she made the decision to hop and skip her way through the entire course,” he explains. It was there that footage captured her struggle; footage that inspired Fraser Allen and Sean Adams to help develop a unique brace just for her.

This custom brace enabled her to engage muscles she had not been able to use in years.

“For the first time in a long while, she could run without crutches—an emotional milestone that set her on the path to success in her sport,” Jason shares.

By 2022, Letchen was competing powerfully at the 2022 CrossFit Games. And to see this followed with the 2024 success was not just a win for her and all who have supported her, but the entire country and all the people who have been told before that they’d reached the end of the road.

 

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For Letchen, it’s all about focusing on what you can control instead of obsessing over what you can’t. She’s gone on not only to solidify her place as a CrossFit champion but has tackled other athletic endeavours like the formidable Robben Island Crossing.

 

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Adds an immensely proud Jason:

“Letchen has shown the world that, despite challenges, anything is possible with the right mindset. As she says ‘it’s not your disability stopping you but your mind most of the time.’

“Today, Letchen du Plessis is more than just an athlete—she’s a symbol of hope, determination, and the power of the human spirit. Whether she’s lifting in the gym, running through a CrossFit course, or inspiring the next generation of athletes, one this is certain: her story is far from over.”

Sources: Email Submission; CrossFit Games 

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Letchen du Plessis Makes SA So Proud at the Adaptive CrossFit Games appeared first on Good Things Guy.

Pretoria’s most inspiring former car guard, Dr Kapya, recently celebrated his PhD graduation ceremony, where he stood proudly as a Doctor of Industrial Engineering and proof that the odds can and should be defied:

Pretoria, South Africa (18 September 2024) — Dr Tshinangi Fabrice Kapya has come a very long way from his days working as a car guard. How much his life has changed, beamed in full clarity at the University of Pretoria’s recent graduation ceremony. Here, Dr Kapya, a PhD graduate and Doctor of Industrial Engineering, positively shone not just as an outstanding student but as someone who defied the odds and won.

For Dr Kapya, none of it would’ve been possible if it wasn’t for the encouragement he received from friends.

“I was working as a car park attendant at Wonderpark Mall in Pretoria,” Dr Kapya recalls.

“Despite the repetitive nature of my work, I discovered an unexpected source of comfort: books. Whenever I had a free moment, I devoted it to reading… my former colleagues would often catch me reading. They’d say with a mix of playfulness and sincerely: ‘Fabrice, you don’t belong here, you should go back to school.”

This was the spark that would change everything. Dr Kapya first received a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Likasi. But, with a friend’s encouragement on his side, he decided to apply to the University of Pretoria where he’d go on to be accepted for an honours degree programme—all while working as a car guard in 2019.

By 2021, he was accepted into the masters programme, and was even offered a position as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering!

Ambitious as ever, Dr Kapya already enrolled for his PhD before even touching the master’s graduation stage.

But, being a car guard didn’t just help him earn an income at the time. In fact, his time guarding cars actually helped map out the foundations for his research.

“While I was working at Wonderpark, I frequently observed trucks from various logistics companies delivering a ride range of products. These trucks usually followed strict schedules, ensuring that goods reached their destinations on time.

“However, when COVID-19 struck, I noticed a significant shift in consumer behaviour and the way certain products were being consumed. This shift got me thinking about the processes involved in the production of certain goods.”

Dr Kapya’s research ended up becoming focused on developing mathematic models for managing production systems for perishable goods; addressing challenges like changing production rates and demand influenced by stock.

The road to this recent graduation was long and winding. But, Dr Kapya hopes his story will inspire others to follower their dreams feverishly.

“Every morning before leaving the house, I had to remind myself that it would get better with time, that each day was an opportunity to conquer, to fight for a better future. I learnt to keep a strong face, to go to war with my depression, and to cling to my faith even when it felt like a thin thread.”—Dr Kapya. 

He further thanked the University for making him feel a part of something bigger and his classmates for being champions behind his dreams—from including him in study groups to covering his transport and paying his rent when he needed help.

Sources: University of Pretoria—Supplied 

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Former Car Guard Dr Kapya Celebrates His PhD Graduation! appeared first on Good Things Guy.

For a family in Pietermaritzburg, one night and a matter of moments saw everything change when flames engulfed a lifetime of memories and their livelihood. As the co-founder of a charity, Theresa Pienaar knows what it is to give hope to the hopeless, and now the Maritzburg community are paying it forward to her and her family; helping them rebuild their lives after the unimaginable!

Chasedene, South Africa (13 September 2024) — On the evening of 6 September, the unthinkable came knocking for one family in Pietermaritzburg. In one moment, it was just another Friday in early spring. Minds could drift freely, home was still home. In the next, everything would change for the harder. Home was no longer home, and all thoughts pointed to one place—how do we rebuild our lives after this?

Theresa Pienaar, the co-founder of the charity Porky’s People, had been preparing snacks for upcoming memorials when her 10-year-old foster son with special needs told her that smoke was coming down the passage. Two cupboards in the main bedroom were on fire.

Springing into action, Theresa gathered her two foster children, got them outside and shouted for someone to urgently call the fire department. The flames moved frighteningly fast from the bedroom, ploughing through the home in their wake.

Theresa made a brave attempt to smother them with a blanket, but the damage ensued relentlessly.

“My siblings and I received a call from our mother on Friday night, telling us that our family home was in flames,” explains Theresa’s son Zane Groenewald—who many might know as a BackaBuddy team member who has helped run numerous crowdfunding campaigns across causes.

“The relentless blaze had already claimed most of the house, reducing our belongings and cherished memories to ash and rubble,” he says.

“I’ll never forget the pain in my mother’s voice when she realised that everything she and my stepfather had built over a lifetime was gone,” adds Theresa’s daughter, Kirsty.

Theresa and Deon Pienaar now stood at the kind of intersection most can’t even stand to think about. The power surge in their area had reduced 80% of their home to rubble. But, what goes around certainly comes around; and for a family rooted in kindness, kindness is slowly but surely growing in their favour.

With Theresa’s children based across the country and determined to help their parents, word of the Pienaar’s plight has spread far and wide. Additionally, Theresa’s charity work and Zane’s contribution to helping stories of hardship receive awareness have undoubtedly touched South Africa and now South Africans are helping pay it forward.

“Throughout our lives, our mom has always been there for others, helping in both big and small ways without ever expecting anything in return,” shares sibling Natasha. “It’s truly heartwarming to see the community stepping in to help her and my stepdad in their time of need.”

People from all over have united to help the family rebuild their lives after the flame-filled fate; contributing over R70,000 to their cause.

“We’ve received donations ranging from R50 to R20,000, from friends, family, the generous Pietermaritzburg community, and even strangers. Every contribution and message of support has meant the world to our family,” Kirsty beams.

Beyond monetary donations, the family has also received generous donations of clothes, household items, and other essentials that have made a massive difference in rebuilding lives after the worst has happened.

At present, the family is clearing out their home, assessing the damage and seeing what can be salvaged. Anyone from Pietermaritzburg and beyond can help turn their story into a triumph over tragedy by supporting their crowdfunding campaign here.

As Zane concludes:

“In the hours of unimaginable loss and anguish, the love and kindness from our family, friends, neighbours and even perfect strangers have chipped away at our hurt, reminding us that we are not alone. We can dust ourselves off, let go, rebuild, and start again.”

Sources: Zane Groenewald

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Maritzburg Unites to Rebuild Family’s Lives After Flames appeared first on Good Things Guy.

Darwin, the stray, used to roam the streets without a place to call his own. But, this all changed when, one lucky day, the TEARS Mobile Clinic encountered him. Not only did they help heal his wounds, they helped him turn a chapter into a whole new life! Watch his tail-wagging transformation:

Cape Town, South Africa (28 August 2024) — Once a stray who roamed the streets in an impoverished community with no place to call his own and no one to care for him, Darwin the dog’s story took a life-changing turn when one lucky day saw him cross paths with the TEARS Mobile Clinic.

The Mobile Clinic is an extension of TEARS Animal Rescue that brings help to the hopeless in underserved communities like Vrygrond, Ocean View and Masiphumelele. Through their on-the-go services, they provide important medication and vaccinations to animals who have no other way of receiving them.

On one of their excursions, the TEARS team came across Darwin, who looked as down-beat as a dog could be.

“Darwin was in a heart-wrenching condition, suffering from sever mange that had left his skin scarred, scabbed and infected. His fur was almost entirely gone, and he was infested with fleas, making every moment of his existence unbearably itchy and painful,” the team recall.

Darwin needed serious attention and soon was taken to the TEARS Veterinary Clinic based in Sunnydale, Cape Town, which cares for around 17,000 animals a year.

Struggling Darwin didn’t know what hit him. Suddenly, his body was receiving essential treatment for all his struggles. His fleas and mange were being taken care of by kind humans. Antibiotics were fighting his skin infection! And he got to soak in calming baths filled with medication to soothe his discomfort.

This was the kind of care Darwin had likely never known. And the kind that reignited the pep in his step.

“It’s been a few weeks since Darwin started his healing journey, and his transformation has been remarkable. His fur has grown back, his skin is healed and his spirit has lifted,” the TEARS team share as part of a tail-wagging update.

WATCH: Darwin’s Transformation!

In fact, Darwin’s life has changed so much so, he’s already been earmarked as ready to move on to his next chapter: a forever home!

Without initiatives like the TEARS Mobile Clinic, Darwin might still be on the street today, or even worse.

You can support the Mobile Clinic here. You can also support their charity shop, which helps channel funds to their heroic work!

Meanwhile, in another hopeful animal tale that warmed our hearts, Cindy the tiny dog has been taken in by donkey heroes, where she will know love and care like never before.

Sources: TEARS Animal Rescue Newsletter

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post From Rags to Wags! Darwin the Stray’s Tale of Triumph  appeared first on Good Things Guy.

A tragic accident. Emergency surgery. Less than-ideal chances of survival and a coma couldn’t stop Skye Da Silva. This year, she completed the Comrades and won a medal of heart only few can say they’ve earned—triumph over adversity. This is Skye’s story:

Johannesburg, South Africa (29 July 2024) — A fateful December day in 2022 saw Skye Da Silva face the biggest challenge of her life. What began as a long weekend of mountain biking in Bela Bela with friends turned into a small fall with great consequences and a massive shift in the trajectory of Skye’s story forever. A trajectory that would lead her to understand just how powerful her mind is, how strong her heart is, and how invincible anyone is when they accept that they are not a product of their environment.

Skye had fallen on a gravel road after 2 hours of riding. However, there were two support vehicles trailing behind and one which did not see Skye’s fall; consequentially riding over her.

Even when retelling that moment, Skye does so with a glance at the silver lining.

“Luckily my bike took most of the blow,” she recalls. But the blow she did take crushed her face, upper trachea, shoulders and ribs.

Flown by helicopter to Milpark Hospital, Skye’s prognosis of survival wasn’t looking good. After emergency surgery, where 40 plates and 60 bolts were placed to reconstruct her face, her jaw was wired, and a first-of-its-kind surgery was done on the 5cm tear in her throat; she would lie in a coma for three weeks.

“23 kgs lighter, I woke up to a loving family and group of friends,” she tells Good Things Guy.

Once again, spotlighting the silver lining of what most would deem the darkest cloud of an experience; sharing how much her loved ones supported her by making her smoothies, visiting on rotation and even helping her get her hair and nails done.

Weaker than ever and just a coin’s throw from death’s door, Skye did something incredible—she chose not to let any of what had happened define her. With the knowledge that she’d still be able to walk (despite needing to relearn everything from taking steps to blinking), it would only be a mere 17 months until she proved her mental tenacity and unwavering spirit and competed in the Comrades she’d signed up for that year!

“I still remember the moment I decided not to identify as injured or sick, and decided to fight to get out of the hospital.

“I had been awake for 3 days and needed to see one of the surgeons. I was wheel chaired to his offices just outside the hospital and it was the first time I felt the sun on my skin. It was the most incredible feeling (as in the coma I was sooooo cold). I burst out crying thinking how brilliant it was to be awake, to be alive. And from that moment, you couldn’t stop me.”

Skye adds that it was also her father, Joe, who inspired her to rally for the race (and for life) once more with his words, “You cannot let the bad things that happen to you define the way you live the rest of your life.”

For his influence in her mental and physical recovery, Skye couldn’t be more grateful.

“It was him who got me moving—and didn’t let me stop moving—when I got back home. He would walk with me slowly, patiently up and down the road when I couldn’t even do 1km at a time. He kept pushing me to do more and more each day.

“And when I saw my Coach again a few weeks later, I said, ‘Will you train me for Comrades 2024?’ To his credit, he didn’t skip a beat saying, ‘He wouldn’t have it any other way’!”

But there would be an immense amount of mental and physical work to do beyond the can-do spirit.

Considering that in January 2023, Skye was so weak drinking water was a challenge, the physical effort she underwent was beyond what most of us can comprehend. Then there’s the mentality aspect to Skye’s story—the most important.

“With me it’s all mental. I have no running talent and my job keeps me busy…but for me, it’s always that small little sentence that when it gets dark, I know where to find some light: ‘don’t let the bad, but [rather] the good things define you!”

Armed with a mind focused on what was possible, Skye’s slow walking up the driveway eventually became walking further. Then, running only a few months later, albeit slowly. By October, Skye’s recovery had gone so well that she re-entered the Cape Town marathon to qualify for the Comrades.

However, life dealt her another blow—the heart-wrenching news that her hero, her dad, had passed away.

“If you know me—this moment was my biggest fear. My father and I were inseparable, called each other 4 times a day, drank beers together, spoke about everything important and unimportant—I could not imagine a world without him! It was then that I thought yet another Comrades entry was going to go unused—I had no will to train. I was busy making sure my mom and sister were okay!”

But, her coach, squad and friends encouraged her to keep striving for the Comrades, largely in honour of Skye’s dad. And so she trained—on the days she didn’t even want to get out of bed, on the days she felt unmotivated and the days where even moving seemed like an impossible task.

“People drive to another town to run with me to do my qualifying marathon! Team mates would come second me on my long 60km runs! And it was on the Two Oceans Ultramarathon where I was struggling at the halfway mark, and I whispered, Dad stay close—and all of a sudden his favourite song boomed out of the loud speaker—A Bad Moon Rising!”

After all that and the completion of the Two Oceans, she knew the Ultimate Human Race had to be next—an Ultimate Human Race like no other in the truest sense of the phrase.

When it was time to face the Comrades, Skye remembers the day being “intensely beautiful”.

With no time goal and two close friends at her side, the Comrades unfolded gorgeously like the end of a chapter.

“It was the journey to the Comrades that was the toughest—not the day itself,” Skye reflects.

“We had the most magical time winding the streets together and my best friend Storme saw that if we pushed it at the end, we could get a sub-11 hour race! A BRONZE MEDAL! So we sprinted the last 5kms.”

Skye finished the race in under 11 hours!

From her dad to her friends, running squad, mom and sister (her biggest cheerleaders), Skye marvels at how her accomplishment on her own feet was actually the product of so many others. So many hearts. So many rooted in her support.

“Crossing that finish line, is an amazing feeling. It had taken everything I had, everything a team of people had around me and a dad looking down on me to cross it! To sum up, while running is an individual sport, I would say crossing the finish line at Comrades is such a team effort and team win.”

Skye’s race to the Comrades and through it, is a real life telling of the capacity the human spirit has to push forward. To overcome. To stand in the face of adversity and put it in its place.

Her story reminds us the sheer power that comes from planting the right mental seeds, watering them with enough support from others and above all else, deciding that we will bloom even when everything is telling us we shouldn’t.

As the hero of this story says so beautifully in addressing anyone facing the unimaginable:

“You are stronger than you think. The world is brighter than you think. And always look at the good things in life to keep you going… Don’t be a product of your environment. Make your environment a product of you.”—Skye Da Silva.

Sources: GTG Interview 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post From a Coma to the Comrades: Skye’s Story Can’t Help but Inspire appeared first on Good Things Guy.

The Durbanville Junior Majorettes (Durbanville Drummies) may not have had an easy march to Nationals, but together they defied the odds and even went on to win the championship!

South Africa (18 July 2024) — The Durbanville Junior Majorettes (AKA the Durbanville Drummies) defied the odds in more ways than one to claim their crowns as the National Champions of 2024 for Small and Large Drill.

This marked the first time that the Durbanville Junior Majorettes have won the National Championships of the Federation of Dance Drill, Cheerleading and Majorette Sport South Africa as Tygerburger reports—a title they fought long and hard to claim.

For proud mom and Club Secretary Janien Ryk, the win was about far more than just beating out the competition; shining as a victory for the value of sisterhood, friendship and supporting each other even when the chips seemed down.

“Drummies is an extremely underfunded sport,” Janien tells Good Things Guy, adding that the majority of the funding comes from the girls’ parents—many of whom face the tough task of making a plan beyond their financial means.

“These young ladies come from all walks of life and most parents do not have the means to financially support their daughters, but also do not want their daughters to give up this sport.” 

For many young girls, it’s a space where they can grow, learn to persevere beyond their circumstances and access a special sense of belonging.

“Through drummies these girls learn respect, integrity, love for each other and themselves and how to share and be supportive of each other,” Janien says.

But despite all the sports’ merit, the journey leading to the 2024 Nationals (which took place over the June/July holidays) was far from a smooth march for the Durbanville Drummies.

Sponsorship support was limited, and only spare change had been raised on the squad’s BackaBuddy campaign as Janien shares. However, the saying “where there’s a will there’s a way” is cliché for a reason as it is so often true.

“[The limited support] was quite disheartening, but nevertheless, the girls made it to Nationals and the FREKKING WON,” Janien beams. 

Now that the girls have proven their talents and tenacity, Janien and the other proud are hoping to drum up more support so that the girls won’t have to march in the same uniform for the next five years and won’t have to stress about not being able to make a competition due to the many costs that come with the territory.

The team have a crowdfunding campaign running and hope that their community beyond the Northern Suburbs will lend their support to this beloved sport.

Sources: Website Submission 

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Zen’s story might have begun in the toughest way as a child in extreme poverty, but today she stands towering over her circumstances as someone who has been accepted to study and pursue her dreams all the way in New York City!

Cape Town, South Africa (11 July 2024) — As is true for so many of the inspiring South Africans whose stories we get to tell, how you start pales in comparison to how you walk through the fire. This rings true for many of the triumph over adversity tales we’ve shared, and for one we’re about to—Zen’s.

Candice May’s daughter, Zanele might be dreaming about big city lights now thanks to the incredible news that she has been given an opportunity to further her education in New York City. But the beginning of her life before being adopted didn’t make much room for anything beyond staying strong and surviving.

As Candice tells Good Things Guy, Zen was born just outside of Umtata in the Eastern Cape into extreme poverty with “very little protection, safe keeping, food and the things most of us had in abundance growing up.”

Due to the circumstances of her biological family including her father passing away and her mother struggling with substance abuse, Zen’s aunt took action and decided to take her niece to Cape Town.

There, she lived in a children’s home run by her aunt. But due to the lack of resources the home had, the chips were still down for little Zen until a fateful day turned everything on its head forever as Zen and Candice crossed paths.

“I was introduced to the children’s home through my friend Tom while I was volunteering at a Non Profit Organisation and met Zen when she was 5 years old. We formed an instant bond and I adopted her a few years later when she was seven. She’s the absolute love of my life,” shares Candice. 

The two became a fast family and for the first time in her life, Zen could put down her boxing gloves and become whoever she wanted to be without the weight of her previous circumstances. And that’s exactly what she’s done. 

Today, she’s an ambitious young woman with her sights set on big things for her life. But, her fighting spirit still burns bright—a great weapon she has to go after her dreams. Dreams that just so happen to lie in the Dramatic Arts.

When she was still a child, Candice decided to enrol Zen in the Helen O’ Grady Drama Academy to help her with being introverted. It was there that her daughter fell in love with the stage, so much so that two of her strongest subjects taken to Matric (as Candice proudly shares) have been Dance and Drama.

But Zen took things to a bolder notch when she applied to study drama in New York City’s Manhattan at the New School. She got accepted and has been on a quest to raise the funds for her studies ever since. In fact, she even paid R10,000 herself, out of her own savings.

Candice and Zen are now hoping that there are others who will believe in Zen’s dream, and more who will believe in the power of never letting where you come from confine you.

You can find her crowdfunding campaign, here.

Sources: Website Submission

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post From a Rocky Start to the Opportunity to Study in NYC: Zen’s Story appeared first on Good Things Guy.

South Africa’s Kaylee Budhram from Phoenix earned silver at the African Youth Chess Championship despite the heartsore news she received; making her victory a triumph despite tragedy and a shining testament to her skills in the same breath:

Gauteng, South Africa (27 June 2024) — Along with numerous budding chess superstars from across the continent, Kaylee Budhram from Phoenix found herself facing a fierce challenge as she competed in the African Youth Chess Championship.

Taking place in South Africa’s own Gauteng province, the championship gathered not only some of Africa’s most skilled young chess players but also the most competitive. There, from 15 to 23 June, players representing their countries went up against each other, proving their place in the tournament and, in many cases, outdoing even their own expectations.

Chess, as many of us know, is a game of calculation. It requires extreme mental discipline. So when that inner world is shaken, it’s only natural to conclude that the game would, too, especially for young players. It was here, in this space of pushing through despite her outer and inner worlds shaking, that Kaylee rose above and beyond and managed to remain undefeated, drawing for three games.

Kaylee had received the news that a close family member had passed away, as Shannon Budgram tells Good Things Guy.

“This was the hardest tournament of her life as mentally and physically she was pushed to her limits when she received the sad news of the passing away of her close cousin brother Tyler Theo David.” 

Still, Kaylee played and played extraordinarily well. She went on to win silver for our country and honoured Tyler Theo’s memory, dedicating her victory to him.

“Kaylee is currently South Africa’s National Chess Champion and this win now places her [at] number 2 in the continent of Africa which is a huge achievement for someone her age,” Shannon adds. 

Joining her on the podium was South Africa’s Aaradhya Suresh who earned bronze, while gold went to Mohamed Ahmed from Egypt.

Sources: Website Submission 

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Phoenix’s Kaylee Takes the Silver Crown at Chess Championship appeared first on Good Things Guy.

A pooch found in the worst state, old Shaggy Boy soon found his retirement home. Many months later, this dog is barely recognisable in the most heartwarming way!

Cape Town, South Africa (14 June 2024) — Earlier this year, an elderly pooch who you’d only need to take one look at (at the time) to understand that he’d been through some serious neglect, made his way to the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa.

Old Shaggy Boy was in a bad way and in some dire need of love, care, medical evaluations and, of course, a haircut.

He and several other animals were rescued from Rocklands in Mitchells Plain. The AWS shared that they were certain that the animals would have perished if their team hadn’t intervened. In fact, only four of the dogs made it. But thanks to people like Animal Care Centre Supervisor Lawrence Nkotha and Adoptions Co-ordinator Shannon-Lee Beukes, the rescued dogs were in caring arms from day one.

The AWS heroes quickly turned things around for Shaggy, giving him a good shave and making sure his teeth got some attention as he suffered from a terrible gum infection. Needless to say, Shags looked like a completely different dog after his first makeover.

In January, the AWS posted a plea on their Facebook page for anyone willing and able to take the older dog into their home. This would essentially be his retirement home, and the AWS was hopeful that it would be filled with all the attention and love he had foregone in the past.

In a very short turnaround time, Shaggy was scooped up by his new mom, Heather. Many months later, Shaggy came back to visit the people who changed his life (the first time) as an almost completely different version of the pooch they once knew!

Fluffy, clean and gorgeous, friends of the AWS could hardly believe that this was the same dog who had stolen their hearts many months before.

Needless to say, Shaggy’s golden years are playing out wonderfully—all thanks to love for an old dog and the willingness to teach him some new loving tricks.

Sources: Animal Welfare Society of SA 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African

The post In Pics: Shaggy The Rescue Dog Makes Heartwarming Transformation  appeared first on Good Things Guy.