Good Things Guy teamed up with SPAR to reward a hero in South Africa every week. Since honouring our heroes their stories have continued to inspire the nation.
Good Things Guy and the SPAR group teamed up at the beginning of June to honour and celebrate the heroes featured on the website. Every week a hero is selected and thanked for their efforts in the Good Things Guy newsletter and on social media.
“SPAR want to actively recognize the “SPAR Hero Of The Week’ by delivering a surprise thank you gift to each of the winners to acknowledge what they have done, how amazing!” – Brent Lindeque
We decided to look back over the last few months and pick 10 of our top heroes and give an update, where possible, on what they are up to now. Here are our Top 10 heroes (in no particular order).
Dario Gouveia
Dario Gouveia was our very first SPAR Hero of the Week. We first heard about his amazing work in February 2017 and decided to pick him as our first hero. Dario saw a child on the street with no shoes and sore-looking feet. He wondered how many other children were suffering this way and decided to start collecting shoes to give to children in need. Since his initiative Sole2Sole was started he has collected over 6000 pairs of shoes.
Dario has inspired other children to take up similar causes with a young lady in Cape Town collecting books and another in Australia collecting shoes.
Sole2Sole is currently collecting matriculants shoes, uniforms, textbooks and stationery to pass along to children that are still in school and need supplies. You can contact Dario and his mother Zita on their Facebook page here.
Andile Zondi
Andile Zondi inspired South Africa for being a hardworking and dedicated father. He spent his day picking through trash to earn an income. His goal was to earn enough to get his daughters through school and university. The 38-year-old single father lives in Tamboville with his two daughters, aged 6 and 13. He collects copper, brass, aluminium and tins, he has been able to pay for his children’s school fees, clothe them and buy groceries.
Since the story was published, many people have wanted to reach out and offer Andile assistance in the form of groceries, school uniforms and well as contributing to a university fund for his daughters.
“My children have dreams and I want to see them prospering and reaching the tertiary level [of education]. I am already saving for my daughters’ higher education level.”
Sibusiso Manduzu “Matrick” Mbhele
Sibusiso Manduzu “Matrick” Mbhele inspired South Africans with his heroic actions. During the Durban Storm, he swam through floodwaters to rescue a woman trapped in a car. An onlooker took a photo of him and that set off the search for Matrick. He was found after just a few hours and honoured by multiple news outlets for his bravery.
Since posting the story about Matrick he has been honoured by various media outlets as well as the Hart family for his heroic deed. The family met up with him and during the emotional reunion, Mr Hart handed him an envelope with an undisclosed amount of money to say thank you for all that he had done.
Matrick inspired South Africa so deeply with his deed that the story trended on Good Things Guy for nearly 3 weeks.
Prosper Sebata
Prosper Sebata, a petrol attendant in Rivonia, helped calm a woman who was lost and confused. He bought her a coffee with his own money and attempted to get information from her that would help him contact her family. Annatjie Moolman was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and had ended up very far away from home.
Once Prosper had calmed Annatjie down he was able to get the information he needed from her and called her son. He then sat with her while they waited for the family to arrive.
Since the story was published Prosper has been blown away by the positive reaction people have had towards his deed. He felt he was just doing what was right but is grateful for everyone’s kind words.
“You made my day, thank you so much, love the comments though, that’s amazing!”
Warrant Officer Andries Douglas
Warrant Officer Andries Douglas was spotted feeding the homeless on chilly winter mornings. The reason the story was so beautiful was that Officer Andries used his own money to feed the homeless but he also made sure to connect with each person as he went along.
The Officer also made sure that the people he met were warm and had enough blankets to stay warm in the evenings. Since posting the story Officer Andries has continued the work he has done. Recently he embarked on a trip on a motorbike to empower farm workers. He set off on the 16 day trip on the 14th of November and completed it on the 28th of November. Officer Andries stopped in 15 different towns and travelled over 3000kms to build connections with people. You can see his journey here.
Mandi Barensché
Mandi Barensché’s story came along at a time when South Africa needed to see unity. Mandi is a selfless mother of 4 who took on the task of breastfeeding her helper’s son. Her helper, Samantha, was suffering from Postnatal Depression (PND) and her sweet new baby boy was suffering from Colic, making the new mother very tired. Mandi offered to feed Samantha’s son, while she went to get some sleep.
Mandi has seen how her actions have inspired South Africa and said that since the post went viral she has been overwhelmed by the positive reaction she has seen.
She has confirmed that Samantha is getting treatment for her PND and has been taking natural supplements to help with milk production. Samantha and baby Raphael are doing so much better and Mandi still helps out when she is needed so that Samantha can rest.
“I love that this story has given the people hope. I feel like South Africans all need to love each other. We have such a beautiful country with so many diverse cultures. If we are all kind to one another and help wherever we possibly can, the world would be a better place for us and for our children.”
Inge Coetsee
Inge was the generous heart behind the jacket donation that touched South Africa’s heart. She had sent a leather jacket as a donation during the Knysna Fires and left a note in the pocket for the person that received it. That person was Quentin, who was extremely moved by the note and shared it online. Inge confirmed that they are hoping to finally meet Quentin during the December/January holidays.
We caught up with Inge to see how the donation changed her and her husband Berto’s life. She said it taught her so much more than she ever thought it would.
“I learned that by giving away when you have in abundance you don’t lose anything, but you actually gain so much more. I was only the instrument used for an obviously higher purpose. I wanted to connect with whoever received the jacket on a more personal level and encourage and give hope to that person that someone else is actually praying for them and I guess that’s exactly what happened.”“The heroes in this story are Quentin and the other victims who’ve managed to rise from the ashes and rebuild their lives. ” – Inge Coetsee
Bryce Penny, Brayley Penny and Jesalyn Johnson
Three young friends started collecting bottle caps for a child in need. The bottle caps are taken in by the Sweetheart’s Foundation and in return, a wheelchair is given to a child in need. Bryce, Brayley and Jesalyn worked hard to collect 450kg of bottle caps and succeeded.
The children collected enough bottle caps to exchange for a wheelchair. They gave their donation to the Lusito School for Special Needs Children in Regents Park, South of Johannesburg. A girl at the school, named Bonile, was the recipient of their donation. She was in desperate need of a wheelchair upgrade. The kid’s donation really changed her life and they even donated their pocket money to the school.
Abegail Burnham-Price and the Rand Park Ridge Community
Abegail Burnham-Price, a moderator and group administrator for the Rand Park Ridge Community helped organised a birthday party for a little girl that would not have had one otherwise. It all started out because a mother was in dire financial circumstances. She was about to tell her daughter that they couldn’t have a birthday party. The mother then decided to send Abegail a message and her daughters whole birthday changed.
Abegail shared the story with the community, they all pulled together and organised a party the young girl would never forget. Since posting the story, the party took place and Abegail confirmed it was a massive hit!
“Wow, she had an amazing day. She apparently woke up to a cupcake and the day just got better.”
Nathi Nzima
Nathi Nzima was celebrated by his school, King Edwards VII School (KES) after the principle received an email from a local resident near the school. She detailed her experience of finding a man collapsed in her driveway and how countless cars and people just dismissed the situation.
It wasn’t until Nathi came along that anyone stopped to assist the man. He went over to the collapsed man and assisted him in getting back up.. Nathi stayed with the man for over an hour and made sure he was ok to travel home.
The school was extremely proud of Nathi’s conduct and shared their pride along with the story on their Facebook.
“Nathi we are so proud of you and applaud your actions. You have not only upheld the name of our School and your family but you have shown commendable character traits of empathy, integrity and compassion, that are a testament to what a fine young man you are. We salute you!”
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