Innehållsförteckning för Issue 300 2021 från The Big Issue

Who: Bongiwe Mqhakayi, vendor number: 2801. Location: Traffic lights at Buitengracht Streets and Van Riebeeck. Resides in: Phillipi. Dream job: Cleaner. Hopes and dreams: To have a bigger house for herself and her family. At the moment Bongiwe lives in a one-room RDP house which is extended by the addition of a small shack. She shares this abode with nine, including her four children, her mother, brother and two grandchildren. One of Bongiwe’s grandchildren lives with a disability and the living conditions are not the best for the family. She’s been selling The Big Issue for 12 years. Who: Siphokazi Magobiyane, vendor number: 2141. Location: Strand and Buitengracht Streets. Resides in: Crossroads. Dream job: Caregiver or security job. Siphokazi acquired qualifications for a security and caregiver roles. She is looking…

EDITOR FOR WWW.WEEKENDSPECIAL.CO.ZA WEEKEND SPECIAL BECAUSE ARTS MATTER Innovator Rich Mnisi knows just how to turn heads. The maverick fashion designer’s eye-catching creations keep pushing boundaries, making manifest exquisite collections that range from the quirky to the elegant and wildly imaginative. Rich’s striking use of line and colour exudes a positivity that resonates far and wide. “The biggest thing for me when creating a piece of art is for it to generate a conversation – be it a conversation you have with yourself, with the work itself, or with others around you. A piece may even trigger personal thoughts around the themes explored to create it, as well as ideas around the specific colours, shapes and patterns used. Ultimately, I want to uplift, delight and intrigue people with beautiful pieces…

The national regulations that are currently in place to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 prevent clients from sitting and eating together in the dining rooms. Instead, an organised queue is managed outside with a maximum of 50 people at a time, distancing themselves from each other by 1.5 meters. The daily meal is served in takeaway containers. Through donations, Service Dining Rooms has been able to provide everyone with face masks, and they also provide a sanitiser station outside their premises. Inside, all staff maintains the strictest levels of hygiene at all times, and this also applies to volunteers and visitors. Support The Service Dining Rooms via Yoco at www.sdr.org.za. The Big Issue and GroundUp bear no responsibility for how funds are spent.…

Dear Big Issue Having bought The Big Issue for many years, it is understandable that I would have found some editions more interesting and creative than others. I have also noted certain trends which the publication takes. It was with real appreciation that I found myself reading the latest edition. The reason for this is that I have come to expect the magazine to be focused around ‘issues’, not only because its title may serve to broadcast them, but because social justice is its chief concern. However, to be honest, I have become rather bored by a repetition of what most of those who support the magazine already are fairly well aware. The magazine, therefore, gets a quick skim and is then put into recycling. Issue 298 was such a…

ABOUT NICKY NEWMAN Nicky is a documentary film-maker, stills photographer, lecturer and mentor. She studied journalism at Rhodes University during the politically turbulent 1980s, where she was active in different anti-apartheid student organisations. She has worked internationally in print media in London and Hong Kong and has studied film-making in Amsterdam. She taught film production to women in developing countries particularly during her four years as Vice President of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television. She has also run documentary film-making courses at City Varsity and guest lectures at CPUT and Big Fish. Her work has been published across national and local media and featured in group exhibitions in Cape Town. Her series, Place Of Water, was shortlisted for the Zeiss Photography Award in 2017 and exhibited…

There is no doubt that many, if not most of us, are in need of self-care at the moment. Burnout is very real and is affecting adults and children alike. “The pandemic has disrupted and affected our lives beyond our imagination ever since we went into the first lockdown. Even though there may be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel we still need to get there,” says Helene Vermaak, Business Director at corporate culture experts, The Human Edge. Many of us view self-care as selfish and indulgent. However, Helene says that when it comes to the people we love, we would never think this way, so why is it so easy to do this to ourselves? Self-care is a necessity now more than ever if we…

According to a recent report by Fin24, consumers in America will be able to buy glyphosate-free herbicides in about a year, but this will not yet be available in South Africa. Consistent accusations about the chemical being cancer forming, subsequent denials and a string of successful litigations against manufacturers where the juries in the US found that Roundup has directly caused cancer, have seen glyphosate make headline news globally on this topic. These varied reports are ongoing. Furthermore, while these victories may be a small step forward for humankind, glyphosate is still widely used in South Africa in our farming and urban environments. That said, it’s important to be aware that glyphosate products are freely available online and in retail stores for use at home. And there’s no sign of…

As we battle yet another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and society struggles to come to terms with the loss of loved ones, compounded by the devastating economic impact reflected in our woeful unemployment figures; as we attempt to make sense of the lawless looting and dangerous vitriol being spread on social media; there is hope in South Africa, symbolised by the blossoms pushing through this spring. This is not a delusion; it is an unrelenting belief in the goodness among us – but it requires the methodical dismantling of manmade walls which are the legacy of a millennia-long strategy of ‘divide and rule.’ It’s a well-known fact that powerful nations have managed to conquer and colonise the globe by applying this very simple and brutally powerful strategy. It’s accurately…

How did both you and your son come to write this book? My husband, Noel, passed away in January due to Covid-19 related complications. In May, our son Matthew (7-years old) was drawing pictures of his dad and our family with his crayons. He said how much he missed his dad, and what a great dad he was. That conversation sparked the idea of a book. I was also searching for answers from God about a deeper meaning to my husband’s death. I found it difficult to accept. Seeing my kids grieve for their dad made me think of others who’ve lost a parent. I wondered whether they had someone to talk to like my children, and that inspired me to produce I Miss Daddy. Tell us more about Matthew…

1, 2, 3 READ! Enjoy your free sample of the little issue magazine Buy YOUR copy of little issue at select Spar and Pick n Pay stores NATIONWIDE excluding the greater metros of Cape Town Stories • Activities • Recipes • Jokes • Riddles • Competitions Elephant shrews Actual size of the elephant shrew – 15cm APPEARANCE Skinny black legs and a long nose that looks like an elephant’s trunk. Believe it or not … they really are related to elephants! SPECIAL SKILL They clear little pathways for themselves, which they use as escape routes and for hunting bugs more easily. SIZE? 15 centimetres! SUPERPOWER They can jump almost 1 metre high. That’s about the length of 3 school rulers lined up, plus a little bit extra. RUNNING SPEED One…

Navigating Stress (Welbeck Publishing via Jonathan Ball Publishers) by Joy Langley Both easy to read and carry, this slim-fit pocket-sized book is a go– to resource to help with stress. A nicer than normal self-help book in that the language is unpretentious with an easy flow. Create your own unique blueprint of coping mechanisms with practical tools and strategies for a personalised stress plan. It includes lifelong coping strategies and soothing skills that you can tailor to your own needs. Clear, well-structured references and tables with self-revealing exercises that’ll help you identify your unique stressors, enabling you to harness them and become more resilient. Rescue: from global crisis to a better world (Hodder and Stoughton) By Ian Goldin The dedication page is telling: to all those who have suffered from…