From surviving a life-altering shooting to building a thriving beadwork business, Musa’s journey is lifted by community, and the quiet of “I Have A Name,” a project capturing the humanity of everyday South Africans.
Johannesburg, South Africa (04 December 2025) – With the ongoing rainy Johannesburg afternoons when most street corners are empty, a chance thought led someone back to a small stand outside Northgate Mall. They were looking for a few beaded birds to take overseas, and remembered a man who worked quietly from a table outside. That man was Musa.
It all started as a simple errand and turned into a story of friendship. And it was a story later captured through the lens of an anonymous South African photographer known only as J, the creator behind the “I Have A Name” project, a platform dedicated to restoring visibility and humanity to everyday people.
Before Musa ever became one of J’s subjects, he was first introduced through the warmth of another person: Mupho, a security guard at the mall.
“I met Musa at the traffic light. He was selling his beadwork there, but it wasn’t safe. I was worried. So I spoke to a few people, and we got him a stand here at Northgate. Now he’s dry, safe, known, but I’m still not happy about those wheelchair tyres.”
Musa trained as an electrician. Life was taking shape until, at 23 everything changed.
He was robbed of his cellphone and shot. The bullet paralysed him. He lost his job. Eventually, he found himself begging at the Malibongwe traffic light, not out of choice, but because he felt he had run out of options.
But something inside him refused to stay defeated.
He watched the bead sellers at various intersections, studying their craft. He bought two pieces from them, resold them at another intersection, and examined every detail until he understood how they were made. Someone eventually asked him for a keyring. Step by step Musa taught himself a completely new skill. Over time he learnt the names of flowers and birds from customers who placed orders.
When Mupho helped him move from the roadside to his stall at Northgate, things began to change. Customers came back. People recognised him. They trusted him.
And, through J’s lens, his story began to reach even further, emphasising the heartbeat behind the “I Have A Name” project, to remind South Africans that every person has a story worth listening to.
Ubuntu is not just something on paper. It is something practiced in the moments no one will ever post about. A security guard looking out for a friend, a stranger stopping at a rainy stall, an anonymous photographer choosing to document the dignity of ordinary people.
How to Support Musa
- Visit his stall – Find Musa just outside Value Mart at Northgate Mall. He also has beautiful Christmas-themed items available.
- Help with wheelchair tyres – If you know anyone who can assist with tubeless wheels or tyres for Musa’s wheelchair, please reach out.
Contact him via email: mdzukutu@gmail.com or find him on Facebook at Musa Unique Beadworkz.
“I Have A Name” is a space where an anonymous photographer (we call her J) takes photos of everyday humans in South Africa to showcase their incredible stories.
How do we bridge the great South African divides? Black vs white, young vs old, rich vs poor, men vs women? The divides that keep us from making eye contact with the beggar standing on the street corner or the stranger in the lift.
CS Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
We join “J” on this journey…the stories and names behind the faces of everyday humans living their lives in your neighbourhood, on your streets.
I think you will discover that we have a lot in common.
You can contact “J” via email here and follow her incredible work here.
Sources: I Have a Name
Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google.
Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:
Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.
by 