Christmas usually arrives wrapped in ribbons and bows, but in Kliptown this year, it came with gloves, rubbish bags and something far more lasting: pride.
Soweto, South Africa (16 December 2025) – Christmas is often about giving. But sometimes, the most meaningful moments happen when giving is paired with dignity, purpose and participation. That is exactly what unfolded in Kliptown this festive season, thanks to tour operator Gilda Swanepoel, who chose to turn a traditional gift handout into something far more powerful for the kids and the community they call home.
Instead of simply arriving with gift bags, Gilda created a day that invited children to actively care for their environment first. Armed with gloves, rubbish bags and a sense of responsibility, the kids took part in a community clean-up and then received their Christmas gifts.
“I didn’t want to just do a handout, and decided to do a clean-up day, where the kids would get a gift bag in exchange for a bag of trash,” Gilda explained to Good Things Guy.
It is a simple idea, but one that carries enormous weight. It also echoes one of the very first stories ever published on Good Things Guy. The story of Andy Loughton in Somerset West, who created an empowering bartering system where people living on the streets could exchange collected rubbish for food. Gilda does not know Andy personally but their thinking is clearly aligned. Kindness that uplifts, rather than creates dependency.
Kliptown is a place deeply woven into Gilda’s life and work. Through years of running tours in Soweto, she has built relationships, earned trust and remained committed to giving back in ways that respect the community.
“I’ve been doing tours in Soweto for many years and it is my company ethos to give back to the communities that I operate in,” she said. “Kliptown, the first suburb of Soweto, is a community that is close to my heart, and I have been doing many projects there over the years.”
This particular initiative was sparked through collaboration. Karin de Beer, who had been quietly putting together gift bags for an entire year, finally had the opportunity to meet the children she hoped to help.
Donations from overseas tour guests added to the effort but Gilda was clear about one thing: this needed to be more than charity.
“I do believe that hand-outs do not work,” she explained. “Not to undermine the need of the children in the community, but I’ve learned that hand-outs do create a begging culture, as well as one of entitlement… At the same time no skills are being taught to the kids. A clean-up was an obvious idea for me.”
What followed surprised even her.
Once the gloves and bags were handed out, the clean-up quickly became something joyful. The children worked together, encouraged one another and took the task seriously.
“I was surprised to see how dedicated the kids were once they received their gloves and bag,” Gilda said. “It became big fun, and they were done a lot quicker than I thought… The pride when they handed over their bags! Suddenly, they were disciplined, they checked each other’s bags, and they lined up neatly for their gift bags.”
That pride is something Gilda understands deeply.
“I had a memory of how I felt as a kid when we did something similar. I remembered the feeling of pride.”
For children growing up in Kliptown, an area with no parks, no playgrounds, no sports fields and very limited infrastructure, moments like these matter. Many of the kids are aware of the labels placed on them and the challenges they will face as they grow older. Yet what Gilda consistently sees is not entitlement but a craving for connection.
“When I arrive with guests on tour, the kids always run to us, not to beg, but to get hugs, play, chat,” she said. “Often the kids are just craving attention.”
That is why participation was non-negotiable.
“Hand-outs have no long-term effect. Building self-esteem does,” Gilda said. “Learning to work for what you want is a vital skill… I do not want them to see tourists as walking ATMs.”
A major part of the day’s success came from collaboration with Gobla, a group of young men from Kliptown whom Gilda has supported in building their own clothing brand.
She placed them in charge of the clean-up, not only to help organise the day, but to allow them to lead by example.
“I’ve put them in charge of the clean-up project… but also because they became role models there. Wow, did they impress me!”
For Gilda, collaboration is essential when working in communities.
“There are gatekeepers in every community… it’s a fine and complicated space to navigate, one needs respect in the community,” she said. “It’s also about that.”
As someone who shows South Africa to the world every day, experiences like this continue to shape how she sees the country. And how she believes it should be spoken about.
“We are not defined by our circumstances,” she said. “It remains the friendliest place on earth… Our guests are always impressed by our resilience and making-a-plan skills.”
Her message is clear: South Africa’s story is far richer, warmer and more complex than the narrative so often shared.
“Please travel more, leave your comfort zone, open your eyes to the beauty, and most importantly, get involved and try to understand people living a different reality from your own,” she added. “And please have self-respect and stop littering.”
Gilda funds many of these initiatives herself, quietly and consistently, with dreams of doing even more, from installing netball and basketball hoops to building a proper soccer pitch for the kids of Kliptown. Perhaps this story will inspire someone else to step in, lend a hand and build alongside her.
When kindness is shared with intention, when communities are respected and when children are reminded of their own worth, the impact lasts far longer than Christmas Day.
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