South Africans have been making their voices heard at the polls and giving us reasons to cheer far beyond them. From a world championship stage in Prague to a school feeding initiative started by a Grade 6 learner… this week has delivered some good things!
South Africa (07 November 2026) – South Africa has spent much of this week watching numbers change on screens and debating what comes next. Millions of people headed to the polls to make their mark and the counting has dominated our headlines ever since.
Studio 1 at eNCA transformed into an entire elections hub. I had to do my feature at a completely new desk. And although I didn’t report on the elections, the rest of the team were all over it, before and after me. Social media has also had plenty to say too. But while we’ve been watching our democracy at work, South Africans have been getting on with the business of making this country a place worth believing in. And there have been so many reasons to smile.
It was Rassie’s birthday and his old high school sang for him in a video that deserves a few minutes of your weekend. Two of the world’s best burgers were crowned in Cape Town, Max Smart took South African motorsport to new heights… and our athletes gave us more reasons to cheer on international stages. There were people helping strangers, children finding ways to feed other children and even a shelter dog stepping up to help save a life.
That’s what we love about putting our Friday newsletter together. We publish around 110 stories every week, and choosing just a few of them means spending time with all the good things our team has uncovered. We’ve been sending that little dose of perspective for 11 years now, with 100,000 subscribers receiving it every Friday. If you’d like to join them, you can subscribe by clicking here.
For now, consider this your Saturday taster of what many South Africans get in their inbox every single week!
Knocked Down, But Determined to Make Her Mark
Chantelle Gribble went to a voting station in Craigavon hoping to beat the queues. Instead, she ended up in hospital after a car struck her and drove over her while she was waiting to vote.
It was a frightening ordeal, leaving her with a fractured bone in her foot and injuries to her leg. Thankfully, the people around her immediately stepped in, shouting for the driver to stop, recording the registration number and helping arrange an ambulance.
After receiving medical attention, Chantelle returned to the voting station on crutches and cast her ballot.
“I was just adamant to vote. It’s time,” she said.
SPCA Cyclists Ride for Animals in Need at Wines2Whales
A Little Kindness, the Perfect Fit: School Shoes Donated in January Finally Find Their OwnerWe’re wishing her a full recovery and sending a very big thank you to every person who helped her that morning.
Benoni Siblings Tap Their Way onto the World Podium
Luke and Madeline Scrase have brought home news that makes you want to stand up and applaud. Competing at the IDO World Tap Dance Championships in Prague, Luke became the first South African to win the Adult Male Solo title, with a performance he choreographed alongside his sister and coach, Madeline. A world title made even more special by the family effort behind it!
The siblings also claimed bronze in the Adult Duo category, performing to music by South Africa’s own Will Linley, while Madeline reached the Adult Female Solo final for the fourth time.
Read about the Scrase siblings’ achievements here.
Siya, Nando’s and a New Advert that’s Going Viral
A Nando’s restaurant, Siya Kolisi and 7 very funny performers already sound like the ingredients for a good time. But the story behind the new Siya Sauce campaign adds a whole extra helping of entertainment.
Retroviral’s Mike Sharman gave us an exclusive look at a production that took just 13 days to prepare, with a director withdrawing a week before filming and only three and a half hours of actual filming time with our double Rugby World Cup-winning captain.
The team’s solution was to build the comedy around Siya and let him be himself.
“Instead of scripting the celebrity, we would script the world around him,” Mike explained.
Read Mike’s account and watch the advert here.
Our SPAR Hero: A 12-Year-Old with a Plan to Feed Children
Our SPAR Hero of the Week feature celebrates South Africans who turn care into action, and Lea Kervarrec has done exactly that.
The 12-year-old Grade 6 learner launched The Salty Five, a fundraising initiative built around a five-kilometre fun run, to support the SALT School Feeding Programme. Her starting point was a conversation about something many of us take for granted: having enough food to get through a school day.
SALT provides 350 meals every school day, and Lea set out to raise R15,000, with a dream of reaching R30,000.
Her mom, Jenny, captured the pride behind the project beautifully: “She’s always, since early on, been a very empathetic child. And I just love seeing her take that and put it into this initiative, something practical.”
Meet Lea and find out more about her initiative here.
Our BuddyMeal Pawsitive Story: Leroy Becomes a Hero
Leroy has spent years in the care of Paws R Us alongside his mom, Lucy, waiting for a family of his own. This week, the six-year-old shelter dog found himself needed for a very different reason. A dog at the nearby Society for Animals in Distress veterinary hospital urgently needed blood, and the hospital contacted Paws R Us to ask whether one of its dogs could help.
Leroy answered that call, with his carer, Thando, staying beside him throughout the donation.
“Our LEROY was an absolute LEGEND,” the team shared.
His donation gave another dog a better chance of pulling through, earning him a well-deserved place in our BuddyMeal Pawsitive Story of the Week. Now we’re hoping this lovely boy’s next chapter includes a home of his own, perhaps with room for Lucy too.
Something for Our Young Readers: Everybody Needs Someone in Their Corner
Our “4 Kids” section adapts good news stories for younger readers, giving families another way to share the kindness happening around us. This week’s story takes us to the side of a rugby field, where a young player was struggling after a difficult game.
His coach, Mr Bok, walked over and gave him something far more valuable than a lecture about the score.
“I still believe in you 110%,” he told him.
What followed was a conversation about disappointment, and knowing that one bad day does not change your worth. It’s a beautiful story to read with the children in your life, and one that might remind the grown-ups how much a few thoughtful words can matter too.
Our Partner Story: Helping People See Their Lives Again
Through its Into Focus series, part of the BeRemarkable campaign, Profmed is introducing us to people whose work reaches far beyond their job descriptions. One of them is optometrist Tharien Schoeman, whose determination to help patients access cataract surgery led her to establish Caring for Sight.
The surgical outreaches she has helped make possible have now supported more than 1,200 people in regaining their sight.
Among them was a young father who could finally see his child’s face after his eye patch came off, and a man who returned to Tharien’s practice with the happy news that he was starting a new job.
“My dream for the people we help is to give them their independence back,” she says.
Read Tharien’s remarkable story here.
Our Champion of the Week: Leah Gets Team SA onto the Medal Board
17-year-old Leah Markgraaff gave South Africans another reason to celebrate when she claimed silver in the women’s 400m freestyle at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. The Tuks swimmer became Team SA’s first medallist at the event, finishing in 4:26.13, just 0.02 seconds outside her personal best.
“I do not think it has quite sunk in yet, but I think it is quite a good achievement and I am very happy about it,” she said afterwards.
It’s an incredible milestone for a teenager who feels most at home in the water and a very happy moment for everyone cheering her on back home.
As we head into the weekend, I hope you make a little room for all the good things alongside the results, the debates and everything else asking for your attention. Share a story (with us at [email protected]) that made you smile. Tell someone you believe in them. Support a cause if you can. There are so many South Africans giving us reasons to feel hopeful, and every one of us has the chance to add another.
Happy “Good News Saturday ” wrap-up.
Wishing you only good things!
by 
