Making a Difference with Social Entrepreneurship

 

 

Two awesome South African entrepreneurs have recently been included in the top five social entrepreneurs for 2012 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa.

Some of the main areas where social entrepreneurs are making a difference in Africa are enterprise development, education, environmental sustainability and health according to WEF.

Social entrepreneurs have such an important role to play in helping Africa solve such issues as those mentioned above.

It is really encouraging to know that Sub-Saharan Africa has seven of the fastest growing economies in the world. The creative solutions that are being provided by social entrepreneurs are stimulating this growth.

The two South Africans who received awards were Andrew Muir (executive director of the Wilderness Foundation) and Paul Matthew (director at North Star Alliance).

The Wilderness Foundation is set apart by its focus on motivating people to take care of the environment as a means to bring about social change. You can find out more on their website - www.wildernessfoundation.co.za.

The North Star Alliance is a cross-border HIV prevention initiative that has set up a network of roadside wellness clinics along key transport routes in Africa. The programme is ensuring that much needed quality health care is available to truckers who use these routes, and also to the communities surrounding them. You can find out more on their website - www.northstar-alliance.org.

Andrew and Paul are really making a difference and you can as well! Don't know where to start? Have a look at our Making a Difference page.

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." Edward Everett Hale

Source: www.awesomesa.co.za

Positive SA News

We are constantly bombarded with negative press in South Africa, because as we all know, scandal is far more interesting...and easier to skinder about around the braai...but I find it to be really depressing and stressful.

Chevrolet are actually really good at championing this inittiative with their UTE Force campaign - awesome way to tie in vehicle branding, while doing good in this country - hats off to them!
So I thought I would find some positive SA news stories and share them with you - the plan is to do this everyday, but realisitically this is probably unlikely, so will try do it at least once a week :)

Also a great site, where you can find these kinds of stories is http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/.

So here's today's story:

702 birthday wish to restore the sight of young, Johannesburg man

A 21-year-old young man’s humble wish to lead a normal, fulfilled life came true in the studio of a Johannesburg radio station.

Thabang Nkambule, whose dreams were placed on hold while his eyesight dwindled to less than 10% of normal capacity, was overwhelmed when he heard that he would soon be undergoing a corneal transplant at Netcare Optiklin Eye Hospital in Benoni. Thabang’s greatest aspiration is to become a chartered accountant and to work in a bank. Though practically blind he persevered with his matric and financial management studies.

Thabang is the nephew of Emma Kubeka, housekeeper to the Kilbourn family in Gallo Manor. His life started changing for the better when Michelle Kilbourn Louw wrote to the Talk Radio 702 Birthday Wishlist, a three-week long drive that led up to the 32nd birthday celebration of the radio station. The aim of the public service initiative was to bring together individuals in dire need with organisations which have the ability to assist them.

In a stirring letter to the Talk Radio 702 Birthday Wishlist, Michele Kilbourn Louw tells how Emma took Thabang under her wing after his mother, Maria, was caught in crossfire, and disabled by a stray bullet that hit her. "Emma funds Thabang’s food, housing and education while also caring for her own son and a niece. It therefore came as a bitter blow when Thabang’s eyesight deteriorated and he was diagnosed with Keratoconus, a degenerative disorder of the eye which affects the cornea, resulting in a distended eyeball that drastically reduces vision. The only possible hope of restoring Thabang’s vision is an urgent corneal transplant."

According to Michele, hard contact lenses initially led to a 40% improvement in Thabang’s eyesight. But the reprieve was temporary, as further degeneration of his eyes has rendered the lenses to a curvature and texture that cause considerable discomfort and pain and easily fall out.

Ever receptive to the plight of individuals such as Thabang, the radio station knew that the organisation to approach for assistance was Netcare, a company that, according to morning talk show host John Robbie, "has never not answered Radio 702’s call to render assistance when it was needed."

The radio station was not disappointed as Mande Toubkin, General Manager Emergency, Trauma, Transplant and Corporate Social Investment for Netcare broke the news to an overjoyed Thabang that his corneal transplant would soon be taking place.

"Netcare is happy to partner with Talk Radio 702 in changing Thabang's life for the better," said an emotional Toubkin. "Our core value at Netcare is Care and our involvement with projects such as this demonstrates just how deeply we care about the needs of South Africans like Thabang. This is not the first time that Netcare and Talk Radio 702 have worked together to improve the lives of those who have been the victims of misfortune, and it will certainly not be the last!"

According to the General Manager of the Netcare Optiklin Eye Hospital in Benoni, Alan Abrahams, the team at the hospital will make every effort to fulfil Thabang’s dream of obtaining his financial management certificate by restoring his sight. Abrahams thanked the surgeons and anaesthetists at Netcare Optiklin Eye Hospital for volunteering their free services to assist Thabang.

"Thabang’s disability and the resulting difficulties he has faced over the years have not only impacted on the quality of his life, but also prevented him from being independent. For Thabang the cornea transplant holds the key to a normal, fulfilled life and we are pleased to play a part in making his dream come true," concluded Abrahams.
SA - the Good News