The first language has always been thought to hold a privileged status in the mind, but the question of how well it really holds up under the pressure of an ever-increasing dominant second language is of great interest to linguists and bilinguals alike. The process whereby a bilingual forgets their first language is a normal […]

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 […]

Yesterday, South African musician Seb Goldswain shared the following inspiring encounter he had with road accident victim, Kobus, on Facebook. Here is Seb’s account, in his words: “Yesterday I received a phone call from Brett Nydahl, a psychologist friend, asking if I would consider playing a few songs for one of her hospital patients on his […]

The Quadriplegic Association of South Africa (QASA) has issued a challenge to all major retail stores in South Africa to “take a page out of Richdens Spar, Hillcrest, KZN on the exemplary customer service to wheelchair users!” Spar went to the trouble of creating wheelchair-friendly trolleys after a request from customers. QASA issued the challenge […]

One of the Saam Staan Administrators was fortunate enough to film the journey to Durban on Monday where Flamingo chicks were delivered to uShaka Marine World. https://www.facebook.com/SaamStaanKby/videos/2403613136376247/?__xts__[0]=68.ARCWvHIxFDQgMeE2Y4Liq8EcnkCJsrgeZljg84dmGBUrEeteOUnBOIj6p21_1MouOcfMTJF2AnIzxLAetJd_6V40cCTfYYjjrRD7xk8TAWxO9DWq2K7-Z98QLX6EC58XT6lHS0bpoavl1O6MjeqSHv2sEByvUM29sI8DSLIDkKlpMxZIr0RtuVDUiq3PcBcOi4pGm39djqwf11SPC4TpWcm8AU-hUvfuzAi1FcVriiGMKUG4NjYX-TYpUH4RRkmvKvM3S39aoNHPnfsjE2QLReEVUXE_agwyN7kLD1lAmGcM6UvXpiq8CaukU2gAOWQDX98o8H4oczuQNRCZnZUJ43KFGqfdSxZTX4raIg&__tn__=-R video credit: Ronsard Allen & Craig Van Rensburg Staan Saam Kimberley have shared the clip above to capture the journey thus far, saying: “From feeding to boxing to flying to the SEA!! It’s […]

While visiting the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Sunday I dropped my iphone in the parking lot without realizing it and thought never to see it again writes Sergio Coelho. Here is the story Sergio shared on his Facebook page yesterday: On Sunday evening around 10.30 pm, I received a call on Melissa’s cell […]

I have wanted to volunteer for the Winnie Mabaso Foundation – a charity supporting vulnerable and orphaned children in South Africa – for many years. When I recently took voluntary redundancy after 17 years of working for a Global Insurance company in London, I knew the time was right. I had said I wanted to […]

A massive but simple telescope is being made from wire mesh, PVC and telephone poles. A new telescope that is being constructed in the Karoo will have one aim: to look at the cosmic dawn and find the first ever signals of the birth of the first stars in the universe. Nobody has yet detected […]

Seven years ago at the age of 3, Ubuko Mpotulo from East London had both his legs and a finger amputated after being diagnosed with Meningococcal Septicaemia.  This condition caused damage to his blood vessels, narrowing of his arteries and ultimately the cutting off of the blood supply, resulting in the amputations. Despite coming from […]

The Mdzananda Animal Clinic is hosting its second Downward-Facing-Adopt-A-Dog yoga event this coming Saturday the 19th of January. Yoga lovers and dog lovers alike are invited to join this one of a kind yoga class with homeless dogs. The class will be held in the beautiful outdoor setting of De Waal Park under the shady trees. […]

Andrew Patterson (39) from Sea Point, Cape Town, climbed Table Mountain every day in 2018 to raise funds for three non-profit organisations; Habitat for Humanity, One Heart for Kids and The Sunflower Fund. Through the wind, rain, freezing temperatures, clouds and sun, Andrew was committed to his cause and hoped to inspire South Africans to […]

Zolani Mahola, the lead singer of Freshlyground, is lending her support to the South African Bone Marrow Registry for a cause close to her heart. The ‘Give a Little, Save a Life’ campaign, launched on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, aims to raise R300 000 to assist four local children who are in dire need of a life-saving […]

South African conservationist Gareth James Legg and his team have just returned from a very successful expedition to Everest base camp where they created some incredible awareness around the plight of the world’s big cats and the environment. During the trek the three passionate South African conservationists – who are all qualified safari guides – […]

Antonia Mtambo, (69) a pensioner and domestic worker from Willowfountain, Pietermaritzburg, was living in a home that became irreparable when a white-ant infestation destroyed her house and exposed her to the elements… Her plight broke the hearts of her employers of over 15 years – Michelle Hugo (68) and daughter Kerry (35)… and so they […]

Almost everyday, hundreds of homeless people gather at the Service Dining Rooms for a warm cooked meal and cooldrink. Situated in Cape Town’s city centre, this charity has been feeding people in need for over 80 years. On Thursday, the organisation held its annual Christmas Party. where meals were prepared for over 400 people. The […]

Environmentally conscious consumers often ask me whether a real Christmas tree or an artificial one is the more sustainable choice. As a horticulture and forestry researcher, I know this question is also a concern for the Christmas tree industry, which is wary of losing market share to artificial trees. From seedling to wood chipper And […]

Just over a month ago a tiny kitten was handed over to the Mdzananda Animal Clinic based in Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa. The poor little thing had suffered from a horrible blunt force head trauma, the cause unknown. The clinic’s head veterinarian, Dr Friedl le Roux, believes the kitten was either hit on […]

LUSAKA  – Britain’s Prince Harry on Monday offered Zambia support with boosting the country’s dwindling elephant population, as he began a two-day working visit without his pregnant wife Meghan. The Duke of Sussex, 34, was received at Lusaka airport by dignitaries and colourfully-dressed traditional dancers, later holding a closed-door meeting with Zambian President Edgar Lungu […]

A crowdfunding campaign has been created for Mar-Louise (29) and André Pretorius (31) from Howick, Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa, who were involved in serious accident at Karkloof Falls on Saturday 6 October 2018 whist enjoying a day out with their three-year-old son Liam. Whilst taking in the scenery, André wondered too close to the edge of […]

Michael Dickerson (42) from Hoedspruit Limpopo was participating in a trail running series when he met Daniël Otto, a 6-year-old boy suffering from Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD). CMD is a group of muscle diseases that occur at birth or during early infancy and is characterized by diminished muscle tone according to rarediseases.org. With progressive muscle […]

Durick van Blerk and his childhood sweetheart, Cleo Adonis, were expecting their first child next month. But on Sunday 12 August, he was allegedly shot while crayfishing off Hout Bay, trying to earn some extra money to build a family home. The 26-year-old’s body is still missing, and there has been no admission from the […]

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 […]

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 […]

As their contribution to the Mandela Day 67-minute campaign, a group of energetic youths from KwaNobuhle township in Uitenhage transformed a blind woman’s house on Wednesday morning. The youths had met on Facebook and established a group called Amatinarha Emayuyu. They heard about Thobeka Velele while attending a funeral in the area. Velele is blind […]