Category Archives: Difference Makers

Miss Earth South Africa 2021 and Skin Renewal bring some Spring Sunshine to Kliptown, Soweto  

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03rd September 2021 

PRESS RELEASE: Miss Earth South Africa 2021 and Skin Renewal bring some Spring Sunshine to Kliptown, Soweto  

Nompumelelo Maduna and the Skin Renewal team greening Kliptown

The newly announced Miss Earth South Africa was out in Kliptown this week exploring this forgotten area of Soweto. Kliptown is right across from the Walter Sisulu Square, where historically, on 26 June 1955, the Congress of the People, met to draw up the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter embodies the ethos of the country where human rights are upheld, where the people shall govern, they shall share in the wealth and in the land of the country along with its resources, they shall have equal rights before the law and dignity for all. It speaks of a non-racial society, liberty and individual rights. The Charter formed part of the development of our Constitution which was created in 1996.  

Across from the square that embodies our human rights, equality and justice we are faced with the stark reality of a society, a forgotten community. Over the railway tracks and into this informal settlement, that is the oldest residential district of Soweto, the area is a mixture of “built” houses that are dilapidated and falling apart to make-shift shacks and metal structures that these people call home. The railway station has been abandoned and the once thriving community shops are long gone.  

Amongst all this stands a beacon of hope and her name is Pricilla Nkqwili. She has created opportunities for a group of Gogos called The Kliptown Gogos, to stitch, croquet and quilt different items like aprons, picnic blankets, bags, shoes and other items to sell. Through the work Pricilla has done, and through the support of Skin Renewal, who have funded and supported this project. Ten sewing machines were bought and donated to this centre, along with a skill development programme which aims to upskill these women to learn how to use these machines to create items for selling.  

Miss Earth South Africa, along with Skin Renewal Fourways, did a handover of groceries for each of these Gogos who create beautiful products which are made with love and a smile. Through COVID and the travel restrictions it has been very difficult for these women to sell anything to the tourists who used to visit the Walter Sisulu Square and they are waiting for government to fully open its boarders so that their livelihoods can go back to normal, within safe measures but they long for normalcy.   

Nompumelelo also had the opportunity to visit and pledge her support to a local community vegetable garden. In the coming weeks, Miss Earth South Africa and Skin Renewal; will be adding to this beautiful space to increase their food yield by planting more vegetables, nut trees, companion plants and add to what Pricilla and her fellow farmer Tshepang have been working towards for the last year.  

Skin Renewal also played a part in the starting of this vegetable garden as they funded the tools and start up seedlings for this green venture. Janine Walker and Anika Bosch have been instrumental in facilitation and making this part of their company’s CSI initiative. Skin Renewal and Miss Earth South Africa have a partnership that embodies greening and the care of both people and planet. It is corporates like this that not only talk the talk but walk the walk, in greening and creating self-sufficient communities.  

Miss Earth SA is always looking for support and partnerships to continue working in communities like Kliptown, if you are able to support these initiatives; please contact them on 082 5050 664 or email  admin@MissEarthSA.co.za  

[END] 

Generation Earth and the VTAC Green Team Green Houghton Primary School

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Co-founder of Generation Earth, Catherine Constantinides, planting trees with Vision Tactical and VTAC Green

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all, our most pleasing responsibility.”― Wendell Berry

Recently Generation Earth together with VTAC Green Team and Vision Tactical planted trees at Houghton Primary School with the Grade 7 learners.

A huge thank you to the VTAC Green Team for partnering with Generation Earth to make this tree planting possible

The other co-founder of Generation Earth, Ella, Bella, also planting trees with the Miss Earth South Africa girls
VTAC Green Team

SayItForward.org -Empowering Women Through Storytelling #ThePowerOfStories

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“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here.”- Sue Monk Kidd

A few years ago I stumbled upon sayitforward.org – a platform empowering women through storytelling – and today I’m profiling the platform because the work they do truly makes a difference

SayItForward.org -Empowering Women Through Storytelling

Say It Forward envisions a world where every woman and every girl recognizes and claims the power of her voice, her story, her rights and her ability to achieve her biggest, boldest dreams despite the obstacles she may face.

Through the power of storytelling, Say It Forward celebrates the strength, determination and triumphs of girls and women on their path to empowerment.

They hope these stories will also inspire engagement with organizations that support the empowerment of women & girls in communities everywhere.

Celebrating Smile Train on World Smile Day #WorldSmileDay

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With Dr. Esther Nyambura and Sibusisiwe Yona from Smile Train

“A simple smile. That’s the start of opening your heart and being compassionate to others.”– Dalai Lama

Today, on World Smile Day I honour everyone at Smile Train working tirelessly to provide free cleft surgery to those in need. Susannah Schaefer and Esther Nyambura you are remarkable leaders. I’m proud to be an ambassador for your organization.

Every day, 540 babies are born with #cleft, a birth difference that causes difficulties in eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. To make sure that no child is left behind, Smile Train will focus on the needs of #540Today to ensure millions of smiles tomorrow!
Support http://smiletrain.org

#DifferenceMakers Yaseen Theba – A Helping Hand TO ALL

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Yaseen in conversation with ENCA’s Lindokuhle Xulu

Yaseen Theba is the Director of Vision Group – Vision Tactical and Vision Branding – Co-Founder of Operation SA and Chairman of the Muslim Association of South Africa.

The Muslim Association of South Africa, led by Yaseen Theba, is currently feeding people in need of food due to the COVID19 Lockdown.

Yaseen is the kind of human we all should be and the kind of person I aspire to be because he does the right thing simply because it’s right thing to do.  

https://twitter.com/MuslimAssocSA/status/1256152337523134467

Contact the Muslim Association of South Africa

Muslim Association of South Africa’s Website: http://muslim.org.za/

Muslim Association of South Africa’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MuslimAssocSA

Donate to help the Muslim Association of South Africa feed South Africa

Muslim Association of South Africa LILLAH ACCOUNT
First National Bank (FNB)
Account Number: 62779526725
Branch Code is: 253305
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJXXX
Ref: (Donor Name)

The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers  series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference 

#DifferenceMakers Susannah Schaefer – Chief SmileMaker at Smile Train

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Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer, Smile Train

Susannah Schaefer is Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer of Smile Train, an international organization focused on empowering local medical professionals to provide free cleft lip and/or palate surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally.

Susannah joined Smile Train in February 2013, after serving as a member of the organization’s Board for over ten years.  In her role as CEO, she leads Smile Train’s vision to expand access to healthcare and increase local capacity in countries in which Smile Train helps children. During her time as CEO, Susannah led an organizational rebrand, seeded funding for hundreds of thousands of new smiles, expanded cleft surgical training and education programs throughout the world and helped to establish organizational partnerships in Haiti and Rwanda. In addition, Susannah led the team in developing Smile Train’s ground-breaking Virtual Surgery Simulator, further accelerating cleft surgical training and enhancing the organization’s “teach a man to fish” model.

Susannah came to Smile Train after almost twenty years in operational roles, bringing a vast network and past experiences to the team. Previously, Susannah served as Vice President, Director of International Marketing at CA Technologies, where she led implementation of the company’s international marketing strategies. Earlier in her career, Susannah was the Director of Marketing, Asia for CA Technologies, where she built the organization’s presence throughout the region and hosted the first regional CA World conference in China.

Susannah is a Trustee of The Smile Train UK and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the State University of New York College at Oswego.  

Contact SmileTrain

Website: https://www.smiletrain.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Smiletrain

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmileTrain/

The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers  series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference 

#DifferenceMakers Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman – Serving Humanity Endlessly

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“My son, you will form an organisation. The name will be Waqful Waqifin, and that name is translated into ‘Gift of the Givers’. You will serve all people of all races, of all religions, of all colours, of all classes, of all political affiliations and of any geographical location. You will serve them unconditionally.”

– Sufi Sheikh Muhammed Saffer Effendi al Jerrahi

… After receiving this message from his spiritual leader in Istanbul, Turkey, at the age of just 30, Gift of the Givers founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, immediately heeded the calling… and continues to do so to this day.

Following that life-changing day in 1992, Dr Sooliman returned to South Africa, left a flourishing career as a medical doctor and established the Gift of the Givers Foundation.

In the intervening years, he has travelled to some of the most desolate, war-torn and disaster-struck areas of the world, heading relief missions. Through his work with Gift of the Givers, he and his teams have responded to the needs of countless people affected by a wide range of natural and man-made disasters, such as floods, famine, tsunamis, earthquakes and wars.

He has facilitated the establishment of hospitals, run clinics, created agricultural schemes, dug wells, built houses, developed and manufactured an energy food, renovated fishing boats, offered scholarships and provided food and shelter to millions.

The transition from doctor to humanitarian was both seamless and simple.

He is driven by the same basic principles that led to his becoming a medical doctor: respect, care, professionalism and dedication. But there is something else that fuels Dr Sooliman’s passion for humanitarianism – the solid belief in the common humanity that unites us. His fervour for, and belief in, mankind is what really motivates and energises him, and the reason is his faith.

His sense of community is felt throughout his endeavours with Gift of the Givers.

When disaster strikes or pleas for assistance are sounded – whether in South Africa or abroad – he and Gift of the Givers are ready with an immediate response, swiftly rallying the organisation’s network of doctors, nurses, relief workers and other professionals, and despatching humanitarian and medical supplies to disaster areas.

Gift of The Givers

Overview

The Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest disaster response, non-governmental organisation of African origin on the African continent.

It works to unite people, with a common vision, to make a real and telling difference by serving mankind for the ‘Greater Good’ .

Assistance is provided unconditionally; assisting the needy, irrespective of human or animal, race, religion, colour, class, political affiliation of geographic location.

Since its inception in 1992, the organisation has been responsible for the delivery of life-saving goods and on-the-ground support for innumerable people, collectively valued at some R2.8 billion, in more than 43 countries across the globe, including South Africa.

Gift of the Givers restores the hope and dignity of the most vulnerable in their time of need, rebuilding prosperous communities and empowering leaders of tomorrow.

[Note: All the above text is from The Gift of the Givers website]

Contact Gift of the Givers

Website: https://giftofthegivers.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiftoftheGivers/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GiftoftheGivers

The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers  series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference 

[Superheroes in the Times of COVID19] Vision Tactical Supporting NGO’s On The Ground Deliver Much Needed Essentials During 21 Day Lockdown

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Vision Tactical Supporting NGO’s On The Ground Deliver Essentials During 21 Day Lockdown

April 6, 2020
Vision Tactical –

Private Security company Vision Tactical has lended it’s helping hand by supporting local NGO’s deliver much needed essential items during the 21 day COVID-19 lockdown.

Intervention and Specialized Support Units are making sure that essential items which need to be distributed to hundreds of people on a daily basis reaches its point of destination safely.

Team members also mobilized to manage the coordination of the distribution while ensuring that all protocols and necessary safety procedures are followed.

Director of Vision Tactical, Yaseen Theba says that it’s positive to see how many NGO’s and volunteers have come forward and rose to the challenge of  assisting the needy during a very challenging time.

“The members from the Muslim Association of South Africa found out about the dire need for essential food items required at the Bakazela Settlement, they then immediately purchased the items, and came out to distribute.”

Theba says that every helping hand counts at this point in time.

“During this challenging period, being proactive and positive is the only way to move forward stronger and together.”

Those wanting to contribute:

Muslim Association of South Africa LILLAH ACCOUNT
First National Bank (FNB)
Account Number: 62779526725
Branch Code is: 253305
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJXXX
Ref: (Donor Name)

Aziz Haidar – A Ray of Light for Survivors of Landmines in the Saharawi Refugee Camps

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Aziz Haider with Humanitarian Catherine Constantinides (image captured by Heinrich Knoetze)

Today is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action and in honour of that I would like to introduce you to the EXTRAORDINARY Aziz Haidar.

Aziz Haidar was a young man when he became a victim of landmines, which are scattered across Western Sahara by illegal occupying power Morocco. He lost both his legs & right arm. He founded Association for Victims of Landmines in the Saharawi Refugee Camps to help other landmine survivors and their families. The importance of Aziz’s work is impossible to overstate as there are still 5-10 MILLION ACTIVE LANDMINES scattered across the Sahara. Today and every day I salute Aziz Haidar for all that he is and all that he does every day.

[Mensaje a Aziz: Aziz, eres un héroe, gracias].

Contact Aziz

Email: asoc.asavim@gmail.com

The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers  series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference 

Smile Train – Changing the World One Smile at a Time

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Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate.

Many children with untreated clefts around the world live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. Cleft treatment is safe, and the impact on the child is immediate.

Seeing the flaws in mission-based models, Smile Train was the first cleft-focused organization with a model of true sustainability – providing training, funding, and resources to empower local medical professionals in 90+ countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their own communities.

And through our sustainable “teach a man to fish” model, Smile Train is not only raising the standard of cleft care and safety – we’re setting it. The support we provide has elevated the standards of care for cleft patients at our partner hospitals around the world, ultimately elevating the standards of care for all patients.

As a result of our efficiency, and with the help of our donors and partners, Smile Train has supported safe and quality cleft care for 1.5+ million children and will continue to do so until every child in need with a cleft has access to the care they deserve.

Contact Smile Train

Website: https://www.smiletrain.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Smiletrain

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmileTrain/

The above post was shared as part of my new weekly Difference Makers  series featuring individuals, businesses or NPOs making a difference