Six stories of hope, plus five highlights from ‘Vrye Weekblad’
Here’s what’s hot in the latest edition of the Afrikaans digital weekly
Image: FACEBOOK/IGNITE AND REVIVE KROONSTAD
All across SA, there are more and more communities who leave behind their political differences and take hands to stop the municipal rot in their towns.
And in the process, they learn from each other and about each other.
This breeze of change has the potential to become serious winds of change.
Every story and every community is different, but each has one thing in common: a decision not to wait for politicians to take the lead but to jump in and make the change.
Sometimes this coming together creates a momentum that drags the local politicians with it.
In Kroonstad mayor Mpho Chikane, SA's youngest mayor, was so inspired by what was happening in his town that residents now call him “Mr Energy”. Not only is he pushing wheelbarrows, but he is also driving the vision to make Kroonstad a town with possibilities to be proud of.
Every story starts with residents who stand up and say no more. Then they build bridges and make plans together.
Barend le Grange, the man behind South Africa Day, the organisation behind many of these initiatives, says: “Once people start talking to each other, they start seeing a shared future.”
Read more about this, and more news and analysis this week in Vrye Weekblad.