South African George Knoke visited Sethare Lodge in Botswana and came across this astounding piece of art by Angus Van Zyl Taylor called Reflective Resonance. Georg commented on his Facebook page: “The logistics to get this sculpture here from South Africa- across the border into Botswana- must have been a massive challenge! The stone sculpture […]

People from around the world, including international celebrities Joanna Lumley, Evanna Lynch and Jan Leeming, pleaded with the Johannesburg Zoo to have a heart on Valentine’s Day and agree to free Lammie, a 39-year old female elephant who lives a lonely existence since her mate Kinkel died in September. Animal protection groups Humane Society International/Africa, […]

Would you wait if it was your child or someone you loved? Robbie Eddles – an incredibly special and courageous 17 year old from Durban, South Africa – has just relapsed for the third time. He was first diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when he was 5 years old and fought so bravely for so […]

On this day in 1990, Nelson Mandela left Victor Verster Prison in Cape Town a free man, after spending 27 years in prison. Accompanied by his then-wife Winnie, Mandela was enthusiastically received by the throngs of people who gathered to see him outside Cape Town’s City Hall. Mandela spent 18 years on Robben Island and […]

For the best part of a decade, South African artist Nelson Makamo has had a deal with his 11 year-old cousin, Mapule Maoto. He pays for her studies, and she agrees to model for his colorful paintings. Today, with fans all over the world praising his work, including the likes of Oprah Winfrey, it’s turned out […]

Merlin Mosoko has trained dozens of children to play basketball. “Here we don’t only play basketball. We are also taught about the dangers of substance abuse and other life skills,” says Allen Chisvo, a grade 12 learner at Leiden High School in Delft, Cape Town. “My dream is to become a software developer and play […]

Ivonne Gentle has been looking after dying dear ones since she was six years old, when the first of her three sisters passed away from cancer… writes Julienne du Toit. By the time her third sister succumbed in 2000, Ivonne and her husband Tommie had moved from Gauteng to the little Northern Cape settlement of […]

On the way to school on Tuesday, 29 January, Dylan Harris saved a fellow pupil from harm while walking to school. The attacker tried to steal Christine’s mobile. On Tuesday, January 29, Dylan Harris was riding his bicycle to school when he saw fellow student of Secunda High School, Christine Gazi being attacked while walking […]

South Africa’s Lindiwe Matlali has been recognised by the Queen of England for the awesome work she does as founder and CEO of Africa Teen Geeks, a non-profit organisation that teaches school children and unemployed youth how to code. Lindiwe is the latest recipient of a Points of Light Award for 2019. Inspired by her […]

South African expat Nitanja Steyn has lived in the Netherlands, the US and Germany since leaving SA in 2014. But no matter where she lives… her heart belongs back home in South Africa. Yesterday she penned a poignant poem ‘Die Verlanging van ‘n Suid-Afrikaner’, in Afrikaans (see below). Here she has kindly translated it into […]

It’s all systems go for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), to be delivered at 7pm on 07 February 2019. President Ramaphosa will be delivering his second SONA after taking over the reins in February 2018. The SONA will be the last of the fifth administration, due to the elections later this […]

It’s dawn. I’m in a reflective mood. So many thoughts & emotions to consider. I’m not a night owl, although the moon has held me captive on many occasions. It’s still up there. Far away. But this is the sun’s turn to rise. The light is still soft. It’s bathing our garden in gentle pastel […]

I was in Johannesburg, South Africa, for one night a few weeks ago (before going to visit the Botshabelo orphanage) and I awoke to this beautiful summer day… writes South African expat, best-selling author and motivational speaker Trevor Romain. From the window of an Air B & B on Linksfield Ridge, where I stayed, I looked […]

In 2016 when my mother fell ill I had to travel to Johannesburg quite regularly. It was a crazy few months from August to November. My mother was ill, my father fell ill too and my son Liam was involved in an awful car accident… writes South African music and entertainment entrepreneur, and former frontman […]

There are not many South Africans who have been honoured by having a statue of themselves erected in London… writes Peter Ball from The Heritage Portal. Only two come readily to mind and they are Jan Smuts and Nelson Mandela, whose statues stand proudly in Parliament Square, Westminster. However, there is a lesser known South African […]

The transcript of an address – titled ‘My South Africa’ – by Prof Jonathan Jansen is going viral yet again. The man many South Africans wish was in politics first delivered the speech to a meeting of Rachel’s Angels in September 2013. Eighteen months later it went viral again to unite the nation after xenophobic […]

As the year 2018 draws to a close, I would like to reflect on it by revisiting some of the the major rejections I have had to deal with over the years, starting with the many I received as a village boy, when applying for bursaries in 1991, so I could be the first one […]

I saw a picture of a Tickey Box recently. One of the red ones that used to sit on the counter of shops in South Africa. It took me back instantly to my grandfather’s general store in Vredefort in the Orange Free State… writes Trevor Romain. One thing I remember clearly as a kid, was […]

As countries around the world marked 100 years today since the end of the First World War, a South African granddaughter – Seonaid Davidson Beningfield, from KwaZulu-Natal – recalls stories of her grandfather’s bravery (of which he, like so many soldiers of that time, never spoke)… My grandfather, William Henry Boyne Davidson, was 17 years old when he […]

For my Sister, on the day she immigrates… writes Jessica Galloway. I want you to know that it’s hard and heavy some days. All the skype sessions in the world cannot come close to mom’s chocolate brownies… I want you to know that the hard days wont last forever. But they need to be lived. Leaving […]

The brilliantly talented, insightful and always frank Viv Vermaak has perfectly summed up the feelings of so many people in South Africa (and the world) who suffer from anxiety and depression. Responding to Viv’s words, posted Tuesday morning, one parent said “you wrote this today for my daughter, who is very dear to my heart. Thank […]

I am writing this story for me. I have always written, and it has always helped to offer insight and gain perspective. It is cathartic and, right now, I know that I need it to heal. I am writing this story for Mick, Alessia and Claudia. I had never, ever wanted to live as much […]

When we were young and the days were long, the corner cafe was the place to meet and greet and make up and break up… writes South African expat, author and motivational speaker Trevor Romain. It was the place where you stole at least one piece of liquorice or one of those yellow plastic sherberts […]

Canada, as everyone knows, is awesome… writes Phil Maloney from Maple and Marula. We invented all the best stuff in the world, like the internet, steak, clothes, and Beyonce. OK, like, maybe we didn’t INVENT all that stuff, but we HAVE it in Canada. And, to America’s constant surprise, we also have running water, electricity, and […]

So the story I’m about to tell you is so New York and one of the reasons people love this place… writes author and former South African expat Ted Botha, who now lives in Joburg, but was back in New York for a couple of months. It all centres around a stray one dollar bill. I […]