Your weekend deserves a little good news! We’ve rounded up some beautiful South African stories that celebrate the helpers, the healers, the heroes and the people making our country better.
South Africa (10 October 2026) – Welcome to your Saturday Good News South Africa Wrap Up, where we take a little time to look back at the stories that made us smile, gave us hope, introduced us to heroes and reminded us why we love this country so much.
But first, a little something from me.
A Letter From the Editor: South Africa, You Deserve a Break!
Every January, we publish one of our most popular annual guides, showing South Africans how to make the most of their annual leave by planning around public holidays. It’s a clever little way to turn a few days off into a much longer holiday, and judging by how many of you read it every year, we know you love it.
But this year, a few readers emailed us with a suggestion: Why wait until January to publish the guide when most people plan their leave for the following year in October? And you were right. So we listened, did the research, worked out the dates and have just published our 2027 annual leave guide. And we’re not angry about it! In fact, we started planning our own leave for next year!
Taking time off matters. Properly switching off, spending time with the people you love, travelling somewhere new, visiting family or just having a few days at home without an alarm clock can make such a difference to our lives. We work hard. We juggle deadlines, school runs, meetings, bills, family commitments and all the other things that fill our calendars. And somewhere in the middle of it all, we need to remember that life is also meant to be enjoyed. Balance is important and rest shouldn’t be something we only think about when we’re completely exhausted.
The awesome thing about planning your leave around public holidays is that you don’t necessarily need more annual leave to get more time off. You just need to be a little clever about when you take it.
And the possibilities for 2027 are looking rather lekker!
I mean, you could get a whole 11 days off over Easter if you plan properly. ELEVEN DAYS! My favourite number! Imagine what you could do with that time. So whether you’re dreaming about a beach holiday, a road trip, a family reunion or 11 glorious days of doing absolutely nothing… now is the time to start planning. You can read our guide to maximising your annual leave in 2027 here. You’re welcome South Africa. And we apologise in advance to all the bosses out there.
A Little Love for Our Newsletter
Every Friday, we send a little collection of happiness straight into the inboxes of 100,000 subscribers. It’s something we’re incredibly proud of, because it means that every week, thousands of South Africans are actively choosing to make good news part of their lives. And there is so much of it to share. Our team publishes around 110 stories every single week, covering everything from extraordinary South Africans and community heroes to conservation wins, kindness, innovation and people doing incredible things to make our country better.
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South Africa's Navi Pillay Wins Nobel Peace Prize!Of those stories, we select 15 to feature in our Friday newsletter. Think of it as a little highlight reel of the good things that happened during the week, all wrapped up in one happy email. And this Saturday article is a sneak peek into that newsletter!
So if you enjoy what you read here, please consider subscribing. It’s free, it is sent every Friday and it’s a wonderful way to start your weekend with a little more hope.
A Royal Send-Off for Mrs Sigijimi After Months of Recovery!
Some goodbyes bring tears, others deserve a standing ovation. For 73-year-old Mrs Sigijimi, leaving Tygerberg Hospice Transitional Care after months of treatment was a moment worth celebrating, and the staff made sure she received a farewell fit for royalty.
Mrs Sigijimi was admitted in April after suffering severe hot-water burns to her abdomen, arm and breast. What followed was months of specialised wound care, rehabilitation and support from a dedicated team who worked tirelessly to help her recover. And this week, all that care and determination led to the moment everyone had been hoping for. She was finally well enough to return home to her daughter!
But there was no ordinary goodbye. The hospice team lined up to give her a guard of honour, cheering and applauding as she made her way out, complete with a royal wave.
Watch Mrs Sigijimi’s beautiful send-off and read her full story here.
The Incredible Kindness of South Africans on the Road From Kimberley
Febe Potgieter was travelling home from Kimberley when her tyre burst on the N12. Being stranded on the side of a busy national road is stressful enough, but what happened next turned a horrible situation into a beautiful reminder of the people we share this country with.
First, a woman travelling in the opposite direction stopped to check on her. Then six SAPS officers made a U-turn, pulled over and spent around 40 minutes helping Febe find the right wheel spanner and change her tyre. But the kindness didn’t end there. The first woman returned with her husband and a farmworker, a farmer arranged for a tyre dealership to stay open after closing time, and even a taxi driver helped Febe find the equipment she needed.
Febe later shared her gratitude online, writing: “From the bottom of my heart, to those who helped or just stopped to enquire: Thank you, Ke a leboga, Baie dankie.”
Her story has since touched thousands of South Africans, with many sharing their own experiences of unexpected kindness on our roads.
And you can read it here.
One Social Media Post, Hundreds of Voices and a Community That Made a Difference
We’ve all seen how social media can bring out the worst in people, but this week, Fourways showed us what happens when people use their online voices to actually make a difference.
It started when Sam Wright, better known as Tech Girl, shared her experiences of intimidation and aggressive behaviour by a man operating at the intersection of Witkoppen and Main Road. She wasn’t alone. Within 24 hours, more than 100 women had contacted her directly to share similar experiences, and a community that had been feeling frightened and frustrated suddenly found itself working together.
The following morning, a Good Things Guy reader spotted eight police officers at the intersection. Shortly afterwards, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that it was responding to the concerns and increasing its presence in the area.
What makes this story so important is that Sam didn’t set out to go viral. She simply wanted something to change.
As she told us, “I can’t live a life where I don’t believe that one voice can make a difference. I can’t live this life where we’re told that there’s nothing we can do.”
Read how the Fourways community used social media for good here.
Our SPAR Hero of the Week: Dr Mphumzi Dlamini
Our SPAR Hero of the Week is a man whose work could change how rural communities across South Africa care for people living with dementia.
Dr Mphumzi Dlamini, a lecturer at Walter Sisulu University, grew up in Mthwane, Umzimkhulu, where he witnessed how a lack of understanding about dementia could lead to fear, stigma and even accusations of witchcraft. Instead of accepting that reality, he decided to do something about it. His doctoral research focuses on improving dementia care in rural communities, where specialist doctors, diagnostic tools and healthcare resources are often difficult to access. But his approach goes beyond medical treatment. He wants families, caregivers and communities to understand the condition better and ensure that people living with dementia are treated with dignity and compassion.
“Caregivers often provide the daily support, while communities can reduce stigma, social isolation and discrimination and encourage a supportive community culture, which is Ubuntu,” he explains.
Meet Dr Mphumzi Dlamini and discover the important work he is doing here.
Our Children’s Storybook Feature: The Shoes That Opened the School Gate
This week’s children’s storybook feature might just be the sweetest thing you’ll read all weekend.
Two Grade 2 brothers were excited to start their new school year. Their uniforms were ready, their bags were packed and their mom walked them to school, proud of her boys and everything the year ahead might bring. But when they reached the school gate, they were turned away because they didn’t have school shoes. Their mother had done everything she could, but money was tight, and there simply wasn’t enough to buy everything the family needed. The three began walking home, heartbroken.
That’s when Sergeant Gonaseelan and Constable Maharaj noticed them.
The two police officers stopped to find out what was wrong, listened to the family’s story and decided that these little boys were not going to miss their first day of school. They went to a nearby shop, bought two brand-new pairs of black school shoes and accompanied the family back to school.
Read The Shoes That Opened the School Gate here.
Our Partner Story of the Week: The Four-Legged Heroes Protecting South Africa’s Wildlife
Our final feature takes us into the bush, where some of South Africa’s bravest conservation heroes have four legs, extraordinary noses and an unbreakable bond with the people who work alongside them.
As part of our Heart of the Beast series celebrating working dogs, we met Captain Carl Thornton, founder of the non-profit Pit Track, who has spent 26 years training and deploying specialist K9 units to protect wildlife from poaching syndicates. These dogs work in some of the most dangerous environments imaginable, tracking poachers through Big Five territory, detecting illegally trafficked wildlife products and protecting the rangers who risk their lives for conservation.
And the stories Carl shared with us are absolutely incredible.
I often think about how easy it is to become overwhelmed by everything going wrong around us. The headlines can be heavy and there are days when it feels as though the challenges facing our country are simply too big. And I would never pretend those challenges don’t exist. I mean, I posted a video this week of an “almost” hijacking that happened right in front of me (on my socials). We have challenges, and we need to keep talking about them, raising awareness, holding people accountable and working towards a better South Africa.
But we also need to make space for the good.
While we worry about the future, people are actively making it better. There are strangers stopping on highways, doctors finding new ways to care for vulnerable communities, police officers buying school shoes, neighbours standing together and conservationists protecting animals that cannot protect themselves. There are people helping, healing and doing good things everywhere.
So, wherever this Saturday finds you, I hope you have a beautiful weekend. I hope you find a little time to rest, spend time with your favourite people and do something that makes you happy. And if you happen to see an opportunity to make somebody else’s day a little better, take it. You never know. Your small act of kindness might just be the next good news story we get to share with 100,000 South Africans.
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