Every story featured this week has one thing in common… it started with someone choosing to make a difference. Here’s your invitation to discover the good news making South Africans smile.
South Africa (01 August 2026) – Every day… every week, we’re reminded that South Africa has an extraordinary way of surprising us.
Life is tough. And the news is always “newsing”. But that is not our only story. Every single day, people across this country choose kindness, community, just being lekker… and all the good things. They choose to help a stranger, to lift someone else up, to start something meaningful, to do something good or just make their corner of the world a little better. Those are the stories we get to tell.
When Good Things Guy first started 11 years ago, finding one good news story every day was a challenge. It was just me back then, and I searched everywhere, hoping to uncover things that reminded us why South Africa is worth believing in. Today, that “challenge” couldn’t be more different. Our inbox overflows with South Africans wanting to share their good news. The challenge we have now is choosing which ones we publish. And yes, businesses and organisations send us press releases about the work they’re doing and many of those stories deserve to be told. But the majority of all the stories in our inbox come from everyday South Africans. Teachers. Parents. Students. Neighbours. Volunteers. Police officers. Children.
People who just want to celebrate someone else doing something good.
Over the years, we’ve also watched many of our original stories appear elsewhere, often without any credit or even a mention of where they came from. That’s why, in 2025, we introduced our “Exclusive” tag. It marks the stories we’ve researched ourselves, the interviews we’ve conducted and the people who’ve trusted Good Things Guy to tell their stories first. They’re stories you won’t find anywhere else and we’re incredibly honoured that so many South Africans choose us to share them with the country.
Our weekly newsletter has been part of that journey from the very beginning. Every Friday, we send out our “newsie” to over 100,000 subscribers, bringing together 15 of our favourite stories from the week. Considering we publish around 110 stories (every week), the newsletter offers a carefully curated glimpse into the stories that made us smile, think, cheer and believe a little more. And this Saturday Wrap Up is exactly that… a little preview of what you’ll find waiting inside our newsie… and the whole of Good Things Guy.
One of this week’s most heartwarming stories is all about how a uniform doesn’t stop someone from showing compassion. After Jonathan Usher suffered a shredded tyre late at night, he found himself stranded on the side of the road with nobody stopping to help. Then Sergeant Jokwane and Officer Solo from Bain’s Vlei SAPS arrived.
Rather than simply checking that everything was safe and moving on, the officers helped change the tyre, managed passing traffic and got Jonathan safely back on his way.
“There are a lot of negative stories regarding our police but I can happily say that among the many stories, I met these two policemen that showed true commitment to protect and serve our country.”
Benoni Community Raised an Army of Sarmies For Children in Need!
How Do We Keep Matric Dances Special Without Making Them So Expensive?Kindness often arrives when we need it most… and if you want to read all about that kindness, click here.
One of this week’s Exclusive stories takes us to Muizenberg Beach, where the Roxy Davis Foundation is preparing to celebrate Women’s Day with far more than a day at the beach.
The Girls & Women of the Waves event is creating opportunities for women and girls from all walks of life to experience the ocean through learn-to-surf sessions, adaptive surfing, wellness activities and community support. The day has been thoughtfully designed to remove barriers by providing transport, equipment, nutrition and even feminine hygiene products, ensuring every participant feels welcomed and included.
As Dr Roxy Davis shared with us, “Our aim is not to prescribe how anyone should manage their body, but to promote dignity, wellbeing and choice by making sure that cost and access are not the reason a girl or woman feels she has to sit out of life.”
Another Exclusive was all about Kamuso Magidigidi, a Grade 11 learner whose passion for reading is inspiring an entire school community.
His book club at Isilimela Comprehensive School has become much more than a place to read books. It’s a space where learners debate ideas, challenge one another, build friendships and discover just how powerful stories can be. The biggest hurdle isn’t enthusiasm, it’s access to books, and Kamuso is hoping more South Africans will help keep the shelves full.
“There are many young people creating meaningful change in their communities whose stories deserve to be seen,” he told us, and after reading his story, we couldn’t agree more.
We also featured this story on our Friday eNCA slot, but if you want to read more about it and maybe start your own book club, click here.
Our SPAR Hero of the Week shines the spotlight on Ayanda Cimoni, whose journey proves that one opportunity can change everything when paired with determination.
When Ayanda first joined the V&A Waterfront, he couldn’t swim. Today, he’s a qualified commercial diver helping protect marine wildlife along Cape Town’s coastline. Supported by people who recognised his potential and encouraged him to keep learning, his story is a powerful reminder that where you begin doesn’t have to define where you end up.
Families can also look forward to our Kids’ Storybook feature, where we revisit one of our community’s favourite stories: The Petrol Attendant Who Gave a Family Hope.
It’s the touching story of Warren, the petrol attendant who used his own money to help a struggling father and his daughters get home safely. That single act of kindness sparked what became known across South Africa as the Warren Challenge, inspiring thousands of people to pay kindness forward in their own communities. It’s a story children love but one that reminds adults of something important too: small acts of goodness have an incredible way of multiplying.
Our OnePlan Pawsitive Story this week celebrates another kind of hero… when little Ollie Bruce arrived at the Cape of Good Hope SPCA after being injured protecting his young owner during an attack, his family feared they wouldn’t be able to afford the treatment he desperately needed.
After hearing the little girl proudly tell staff, “This is my brother,” the SPCA made a decision that changed everything.
The team waived every cost, treated Ollie immediately and, thankfully, discovered that while badly bruised, he would make a full recovery. If you want to read the full story, click here.
These are only a handful of the stories featured in this week’s newsletter. There are another 10 waiting to be discovered, each one celebrating the people who continue to make South Africa extraordinary in ways both big and small.
If you’re not already one of our 100,000 newsletter subscribers, we’d love you to join us every Friday. It’s our favourite way to end the week, and hopefully, it’ll become yours too.
That’s it. Happy Saturday. Wishing you only good things.
by 
Very Good News