FoundNation Podcast

14/11/2022

Another episode is out today. This one focuses on Beanies-4-Babies an incredible project based in Gqeberha/PE. This group of people knit and crochet baby items that they donate to babies in need. They've been delivering donations to Dora Nginza hospital for many years and have impacted thousands of lives in the process. To hear more listen here: https://iono.fm/e/1251051💙

Beanies-4-Babies' goal is to provide beanies to underprivileged premature babies in Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha’s state hospitals. If these little ones can stay warm, it increases their chances of survival. Hear more about how it all started and how you can get involved from Lynette Strydom, the found...

21/09/2021

It's been a while since our last episode was released but the latest one is finally finished! Episode three of Season 2 features Kleinskool Initiative, an organisation based in PE/Gqeberha. They do some incredible work into the Kleinskool community, in particular in the area of education.

Thanks to this this organisation many young people have been able to finish their school careers. Please listen to our latest episode if you'd like to hear more about their work and how you can get involved. Available on iono.fm: https://iono.fm/e/1103357

This episode features Kleinskool Initiative, an organisation based in Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth. They do important work to help uplift the Kleinskool community. One of their main goals is to help learners from the area complete their academic careers. Kleinskool Initiative achieves this by securing sp...

08/02/2021

Appealing to Durbanites. The Musawenkosi Day Care Centre (Emaphephetheni area near the Inanda Dam) was severely affected by the 14 January storm. They are unable to reopen their doors and care for their 70 beneficiaries because currently it is too dangerous on site. A part of their structure has completely fallen down! If anyone is able to help them please reach out. They will be happy to accept any form of donation whether it be building materials, labour or a financial contribution.

25/01/2021

The latest episode of FoundNation is available for you to listen to now. Episode 2 of the second season features The Re-Trade Project based in Walmer, Port Elizabeth.

They do absolutely wonderful work when it comes to waste management/recycling as well as community upliftment by helping create and nurture micro-entrepreneurs.

I just loved this interview, and the positive change their work creates.

Give it a listen here: http://foundnationpodcast.com/episodes/ or else find us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

What if you could tackle two huge issues in our country at one time? This is exactly what the ReTrade Project in Walmer, Port Elizabeth aims to do. They tackle the problem of poverty by creating informal employment through recycling. Not only does this give those in need the opportunity to earn groc...

20/01/2021

Why are ECDs (Early Childhood Development Centres) so important? This is why! If you haven't listened to the first episode of our second season yet, you can listen by clicking here: https://iono.fm/e/954909

18/11/2020

Season 2 is finally here! The first episode of FoundNation's second season takes us to Queenstown in the Eastern Cape where we meet Mary Venter from Khululeka. She's the Finance and Managing Director of this organisation that works in Early Childhood Development.

They do this by supporting and training ECDs in their area. And with the current drive to professionalise this sector many small ECDs need help from an organisation like this! To read the blog post or listen to the full episode click here: http://foundnationpodcast.com/khululeka-queenstown/

For Season 2 of FoundNation I decided to focus on the Eastern Cape. There are a few reasons for this. It's my home province and I obviously spend quite a bit of time there, even when I live elsewhere I always make time to head back to good ol' EC. This blog post comes way after the interview though....

18/08/2020

What a fantastic theme to centre a competition on?! It would be great to see more initiatives like this one during Women's Month!

SALGC is a national and non-racial NPO for all men and boys from the age of five years and older

09/08/2020

Today I'm taking a moment to think of powerful women that I've encountered in my life, and these five immediately came to mind. Each and every one of them are responsible for changing the world around them in a positive way. Having met Cookie (who actively assists women who are affected by gender-based violence), Nomusa (who provides a safe space to children and elders in her community), Lizzie (who runs an unfunded AIDS centre from her home), Maggie (who has built a centre that cares for children, the elderly and helps upskill businesspersons in her area) and Nomusa (who actively fights for the environment, in particularly river health).

These women deeply impacted me. They make me proud to call South Africa my home. Our conversations made me think, they inspired me and challenged me...and made me rethink my definition of what a powerful woman is! I am so blessed to have met each and every one of them and I celebrate their power and their beauty today!

If you want to hear their stories in their own words (and in mine) go have a listen...they are featured on Episodes 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8.

03/08/2020

Great to see a community come together in this way to help those around them who are in need! 💙💪

OLD Greys – including Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi – and current Grey boys, have banded together to help families hard hit by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

23/07/2020

If you're looking for something different, and you haven't listened to our second episode yet, why don't you listen today? It features an interesting concept - a holiday home for children in need.

Listen to this episode from FoundNation Podcast on Spotify. FoundNation Podcast — Simoné visits the small seaside town of Hibberdene where she meets Molehe from The Mercury Hibberdene Children's Holiday Home. He gives her a tour of the facilities and tells her more about why holidays for the unde...

13/07/2020

Check out this awesome organisation that helps people find more sustainable ways to keep food on their tables!

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Food & Trees for Africa launched a 'Grow Your Own campaign to boost food security for the vulnerable citizens of Sout

19/06/2020

Good morning everyone! Do you know of someone out there who is doing something great to support others? Please comment with any inspirational stories you might know of just so we can see how many people out there are doing good in their communities. It can be big or small, every act of kindness counts after all 😄💙

17/06/2020

Tekkie Tax are on a mission to reach 1 million virtual hugs. The goal is to raise funds for NPOs around the country that work into different areas of need including caring for children and, those living with disabilities and animals. "Hugs" go for R20 each. For more info: https://tekkietax.org/?ref=82&fbclid=IwAR05Xmv3G24yhC0kagr04gF2s0aTJ93P09TEaTeUEhuJw3EZvrZ_URfn4j4

09/06/2020

An awesome income-generation initiative in Mpumalanga! Great to see organisations getting creative and using their strengths to make a difference at this time. 💙

Children at the shelter have learned how to crochet and have been making the strings for the masks that the women sew. They are now selling these masks in order to aid the live-in residents.

05/06/2020

A new home for this family thanks to a community working together!

A resident of Miluwani village, Ms Fhumulani Mudzweda, has every reason to rejoice. Her days of staying in a one-room corrugated-iron house are over, thanks to a donation from the Magoma Foundation.

26/05/2020

Look at the amazing work being done to help feed the people of Hogsback sustainably! It's quite a challenge to grow fresh produce in this drought-stricken area but locals have started working together, even walking to and from the river to water their seedlings and plants. Thank you Ntska Mateta for sharing the great work you and the rest of your community, especially the Elundini Backpackers team, are doing. Ntska is busy raising funds to enable the team to do more to grow this project.

If you would like to make a contribution you can do so via their BackaBuddy page: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/ntsika-mateta

Or feel free to contact him if you have any more questions :)

When lockdown left Elundini Backpackers near Hogsback in the Eastern Cape empty, its owner and a permaculture activist started a project to feed a whole community – even though this meant they had to carry water from the river every day.

21/05/2020

So much good being done by LIV Durban right now! If you want to know more about this organisation and what they do to make a difference (also in non-lockdown situations) have a listen to our fifth episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1BdTv3dRIc3vfmP4WYVz1N

Help Tich Smith raise money to support LIV (UK)

12/05/2020

It's clear that many organisations are putting in A LOT of extra hours to help our communities at the moment. Wonderful to see people caring so much about those in need. 💪💙

06/05/2020

So great to see people supporting those who have supported them!

04/05/2020

Some great work being done creating face masks for struggling South Africans. 😃💙

30/04/2020

Some great food for thought! A great reminder from The Litterboom Project that we can make a difference by doing small things! Even during this time when it is tempting to use disposable items we need to be mindful of the environment and what we can do to help. For more from this organisation's founder Cameron Service, listen to our final episode available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts as well as here: http://foundnationpodcast.com/episodes/

On average we consume about 0.24kgs of plastic per person, per day...

That equates to about 13,2 million kgs of waste every day as a nation.

If just 1 person halved their daily plastic consumption, over the course of a year they alone would produce 43,8 kgs less plastic waste and collectively 2,4 billion kgs.

Now you start to get the picture of just how much impact we can all make collectively through small, conscious changes in our daily behaviour.

28/04/2020

Another wonderful story about a South African who felt moved to help others from his home!

A retired South Africa policeman has started a vegetable garden on his pavement to feed the hungry.   Heidelberg, South Africa - Johan Scott, a retired

20/04/2020

An interesting suggestion on how we can help by keeping our recyclable waste at home for the duration of the South African lockdown.

Keep the recyclable waste for the duration of the lockdown and make it ready to be collected after the lockdown.

17/04/2020

Why not see what a day in the life of a rhino actually looks like? The Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary in Mpumalanga recently launched their own YouTube channel. Here you can see what goes into caring for these amazing animals. Their goal is to grow their following so they can monetize it and raise funds that way. Let's see what we can do to help them?! 💪 Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=417&v=T3eqco-n070&feature=emb_logo

The sanctuary recently turned to YouTube during these tough financial times.

14/04/2020

Just reflecting on some good news stories from a few weeks ago. This man overcame so much in pursuit of his dream and he now holds a teaching diploma!

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/feel-good-it-was-tough-61-year-olds-journey-from-drugs-to-teaching-diploma-and-the-cyclists-who-got-him-over-the-first-hill-20200120

Abduragiem de Klerk thought he was going to die as he pedalled up a hill in his first cycle race on a bicycle he chose to buy one day instead of drugs to continue his habit.

09/04/2020

Episode 7 is out today. Give it a listen to hear more about how different volunteers have been working into the environmental space within KwaZulu-Natal. These are ordinary people who are making a difference on top of holding down a job and living very full lives. Search for FoundNation on Apple Podcasts, stream it on our website or listen on Spotify if you prefer https://open.spotify.com/show/5FHCxjOWw5cj4uXOE6Kcib. This pic is what started it all, it was published by the Sowetan after the Durban flood in Easter 2019. 💙

07/04/2020

Read more about the CEO of Rays of Hope and what he's been getting up to to help the Alexandra community.

HURLINGHAM – CEO Sihle Mooi is immensely proud of the community work achieved by the Rays of Hope Foundation.

06/04/2020

So encouraging to see that people still want to do good! Do you have an encouraging story from your area you could share? Please comment below 😃

“The Great Escape”, the plan is to give rescue dogs a safe home during lockdown.

02/04/2020

Check out this incredible endeavour by Wisani Climent Maluleke, Director of The BEE Youth Organisation NPC. This man did a 410 km charity walk from Hatfield in Pretoria all the way to Limpopo! Why did he do this?

Because he's raising funds to buy sanitary towels for underprivileged school girls. He walked for eight days from 24 February to 3 March. His goal is to make sure that schools in the Hlanganani South Circuit in Limpopo receive a year's supply of these essential items. Along the way he was backed by Happime Sanitary Pads who provided him with the right gear, security and accommodation.

He was inspired to raise funds for this cause when he ran a spelling bee in 2017 and noticed that one of the contestants was not at school. When he asked around a bit he was told that it was because her family was struggling financially and they were unable to afford sanitary towels. So he decided to do something about this problem, and help promising young students go to school.

What a great cause! 💙💪 Keep up the amazing work Wisani!

30/03/2020

This incredible person is doing her bit to help those who need it in Limpopo to stay clean and feel good about themselves! How lovely?!

A young woman from Makwarela outside Sibasa, Ms Tondani Sikhwari, has initiated a project of adding value to the lives of those less fortunate around her, and she is doing this out of the goodness of her heart.