Gogo Elizabeth Banda’s life took an unexpected turn when she lost her job. Instead of dwelling on her misfortune, she was moved to make a difference in the lives of the children in her community who were left to fend for themselves on most days.

Randburg, South Africa (18 October 2024) – After losing her job, gogo Elizabeth Banda was moved to make a difference in the lives of the children in her community, many of whom lacked caregivers or relatives to look after them during the day while their parents were at work.

Refusing to let the plight of these children continue, Elizabeth established the Ebenezer Preschool which currently cares for 25 children in Thabo Mbeki Village.

The village is an informal settlement in Randburg predominantly composed of shacks, with high levels of unemployment, poverty and food insecurity.

As a heartbreaking result, many of the children who attend her school often arrive on an empty stomach.

Through Unity Meals, Hope Worldwide South Africa and its partners, they are assisting Elizabeth in providing the children with a nourishing breakfast each day.

Their collaboration has significantly impacted Elizabeth, the children in her care, and many other communities across the country.

“The children often arrive here without a proper breakfast. The fortified Unity Meal breakfasts have been invaluable because children start the day with nutritious food.

“We were informed that this porridge is rich in protein and other essential nutrients, and you can see the difference in the children—they become more energetic and vibrant – they become children again,” shared a grateful Elizabeth.

Sources: Hope Worldwide South Africa

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More than just a fun potjiekos competition, Doorway to Dignity’s Pots of Hope event is a beacon of hope for those facing homelessness and food insecurity.

Randburg, South Africa (11 September 2024) – With just a few weeks to go, plans are underway for Doorway to Dignity’s annual Pots of Hope event on Saturday, 12 October.

Now in its eighth year, the Pots of Hope event, hosted by Doorway to Dignity, is a heartwarming initiative that aims to combat homelessness and food insecurity.

This annual event provides those in need with an unforgettable dining experience while also raising awareness about the challenges they face.

The wholesome event will distribute meals to those in need and feature a potjiekos competition where contestants will cook a variety of delectable potjies, which are then judged by a panel of professional chefs.

“The folk who regularly attend Ferndale Bible Chapel’s Saturday Church will be invited to partake in a meal at the Pots of Hope pop-up restaurant.

“They will order from a menu offering a variety of potjie dishes from the competition and be served by waiters, just like in a regular restaurant. The meal will also include refreshing cold drinks and a delicious dessert,” Doorway to Dignity shared.

The remaining potjiekos meals will be served in eco-friendly containers and distributed to pre-selected beneficiaries.

The charity will need a lot of hands on deck to make the event a success and ensure many people in need receive a little extra love and a warm meal.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to give back, Pots of Hope is a great place to start.

To find out more about how you can help email Trevor at trevor@doorwaytodignity.org

Sources: Doorway to Dignity

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People have united to help one special boy, Mr Gooby, find a home! The longest-standing resident at the SPCA Randburg, Mr Gooby, is ready to suit up for his next adventure – a task social media users are lending him a helping paw with.

Randburg, South Africa (27 August 2024) — An adorable black and white boxy face (the kind you can’t help but fall in love with at first sight) has been doing the rounds on social media—to the point where the Mr Gooby is slowly but surely becoming a household name in Joburg!

The gorgeous Mr Gooby’s face has been shared thousands of times with an important mission—to find him a home at last.

Initially shared by the SPCA Randburg, Mr Gooby was introduced as their longest-standing resident.

“Mr Gooby has been with us and we would just love for him to find his forever home. He is stocky and cute, full of personality, and is just a gem to be around,” shared the SPCA Randburg, adding that Mr Gooby gets on with other dogs and even grumpy cats.

Not to mention, he’s put forward as being great with kids and might just become the reason someone gets out of bed in the morning (to take him on walks, of course—his great love).

Since the team put Mr Gooby on South African animal lover’s radars, people have wasted no time in sharing the sweet lad’s search for a home.

The effort from so many strangers uniting to help one dog find his next family has been nothing short of a heart-warmer (his post has been shared over 3,000 times!). Especially in a world where—sadly and often—many posts just like Mr Gooby’s get lost in a sea of news, memes and videos, this flavour of community action reminds us that even if we can’t champion a cause ourselves, we can certainly spread the word (or in this case, the woof).

Anyone interested in adopting Mr Gooby can contact the SPCA Randburg via admin@spca-rbg.org.za or call 011 462 1610. To visit you can find them at 229 Northumberland Avenue.

Sources: SPCA Randburg 

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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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The deaf rugby series continues this week at St Stithians College in Randburg, Joburg.

Randburg, South Africa (06 August 2024) — The South African Deaf Rugby Association (SADRA) made history this past weekend by hosting its first-ever international deaf rugby series.

The sevens rugby tournament, hosted at St Stithians College in Randburg, Johannesburg is seen as a groundbreaking initiative for both the deaf sports community and the country. Last year the World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship was hosted in Argentina.

The tournament featured rugby teams representing Australia, England and Japan. The South African team consisted of players from all over the country who were chosen after SADRA conducted trials which enabled the best players to showcase their skills. The competition had a hearing classification of a 40dB loss in order for players to be eligible.

World Deaf Rugby chairman Michael Oosthuyzen told GroundUp that hosting this tournament brings a new chapter in deaf rugby.

“The coming together of all these rugby nations and communities through deaf rugby is one of the unique developments and showcases the growth in our game,” said Oosthuyzen.

The matches were tough but played in a good spirit with players enjoying the interactions with their colleagues from different countries.

England went through the tournament undefeated and clinched the final with a 38-17 victory over Australia. South Africa secured third place with a 43-14 win against Japan.

The deaf rugby series continues this week with the Tens Series to be held on 7 and 8 August 2024, and the Women’s XVs Series also on 8 August.

Entrance to the tournament is free to the public and SADRA is encouraging the public to attend and use the opportunity to see the skill and passion of deaf rugby players.

“Spectators will have the unique opportunity to watch, learn, and engage with the game, witnessing that Deaf rugby is officiated and played no differently from normal rugby,” read a statement from SADRA.

Sources: GroundUp 

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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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Volunteers recently gave Golden Harvest Park an eco-friendly makeover, removing invasive plants and litter to support the underserved City Parks team!

Randburg, South Africa (17 July 2024) — Last Sunday was no ordinary day at Golden Harvest Park in Randburg! Thanks to 75 volunteers, the park was treated to an energetic day of eco-goodness and a much-needed boost for the under-resourced City Parks team.

Volunteers from ASEZ WAO (We Are One)—a group of young working people on a mission to ‘save the earth from A to Z’)—paid the park a special visit, marking their 8,142nd Worldwide Clean-Up campaign in the process.

Teaming up with Joburg’s official waste management provider, the volunteers got down to business to beautify Golden Harvest Park, tackling a myriad of tasks from removing invasive and alien plants to trimming overgrown vegetation and, of course, making sure the trash in the park was collected.

For the City Parks team, the visit was nothing short of a welcomed dose of support.

“We have 45 parks to maintain and we have only five grass cutters. It’s so hard to go everywhere to fix what needs to be fixed. As for us, we can’t manage everything by ourselves. So you coming here to assist is a huge lift for us. I’m so happy and excited to work with you guys,: City Parks’ Doreen shared. 

But, the eco-work was about more than beautifying Golden Harvest Park. Despite its position as a natural escape in the City of Gold, the park faces challenges when it comes to safety concerns from time to time due to ‘panga gangs’ who have put visitors at ease.

The volunteers and Councillor Bitkau hope that if the park is maintained and cleaned more regularly, its visibility will be enhanced, and crime will be reduced.

Earlier this month, WAO students also made a green difference in Carletonville where they planted fresh olive and fruit trees for the Kokose community!

Sources: Supplied 

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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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At an achievers assembly, a young student headed to the floor instead of the stage in an epic fall. However, the video of the moment went viral not because of the fall itself, but because of the incredible maturity of her peers!

Randburg, South Africa (08 December 2023) — If you’ve ever been through school, you know that something like falling in front of everyone during assembly (let alone an award ceremony) is the worry of sleepless nights. But, not unlike Jennifer Lawrence at the 2013 Oscars, a young school girl dealt with it like a champion, and more impressively, so did her peers in their maturity.

In a video posted by the student Kayleigh’s mother, the youngster gets up to receive her award. However, due to a dead leg, she headed to the floor instead of the stage.

What captured people on TikTok and sent the video into viral spheres of over a million views was not necessarily the fall, but the response of the students surrounding her.

@laurenivey87 Show her some love guys. Only my child will epically bail at achievers assembly today #fail #fall #epicfail #primaryschool #assembly #showsomelove #achievers #embarressing #fyp @Tyla #fypシ @Beyoncé @947joburg @Kfm 94.5 ♬ original sound – LaurenIvey87

Not so much as a chuckle was evident, as all the students maturely carried on and didn’t make the youngster feel embarrassed at all.

As many of the commenters noted, this never would’ve been the case during their schooling days; which garnered great respect for both the students and Cliffview Primary School as a whole.

“The maturity of these kids need to be studied, my mind would fail me,” commented one user while another added “I watched this like 10 times and I’m still tryna understand how she fell and NO ONE laughed.”

“Only my child will epically bail at [an] achievers assembly,” shared her mom who added that the one who laughed the most was Kayleigh herself, upon coming home and her mom thereafter who commended her child as a rockstar.

TikTok has deemed that there is hope for the future generation, whose emotional maturity is commendable!

Sources: TikTok

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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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Hoërskool Randburg’s Teacher Heroes have passed the ‘Dedication to Students’ test with flying colours. Together, a few teachers teamed up to run from Durban to Randburg, all to raise funds for classroom upgrades!

South Africa (26 September 2023) — Teacher heroes from Hoërskool Randburg have passed the ‘dedication to students’ test with flying colours. Although the test might be symbolic, their actions were as literal as could be and have seen them traverse hundreds of kilometres for a well-worthy classroom cause.

After months of blood, sweat, and training, the teacher heroes departed from Durban on foot a few days ago with a long road (fledged by all kinds of weather waves) ahead of them to Randburg.

 

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A post shared by Hoërskool Randburg (@hsrandburgofficial)

However, despite the hundreds of kilometres they’ve tackled daily (and 201 on Day 2) their dream to raise funds for renovated classrooms that’ll enrich their students’ learning experiences has kept them hitting the tar, day after day. Come stormy skies or sweltering heat, the teachers in their blue, yellow-splashed or red-rocking kits could be found, blistering on.

Now on Day 5, the teachers have successfully begun their stretch home and back to school. While they might be exhausted when they do meet home soil, they will certainly have taught South Africa a lesson in walking (or jogging) the walk to dreams.

Anyone motivated to help can make a donation to the school:

Randburg High School
ABSA
Branch Code: 632005
Cheque Account: 170 680 065
Ref: Drafprojek

Sources: Hoërskool Randburg 

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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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