Guests : Thabo Dube
It was five minutes to midnight. Thabo Dube remembers the exact moment his life
changed. He was on the back of a motorbike, when in an instant, he hit the ground. After
colliding with another bike, Dube’s right leg had to be amputated and he was confined
to a hospital bed for nine months. The accident wrecked his body. But it was nothing
compared to what it did to his mind. Dube started buying cheap T-shirts and printing on
them. ‘With a T-shirt like this, who needs a leg?’ they read. It was an unusual pursuit, but
it kept him motivated to take on each day. Soon, Dube’s sartorial interest expanded to
leather crafting by stitching
wallets from offcuts. Conceptualising new designs gave Dube a reason to get up each
morning. His venture has now grown into a bag business called LETZ.
Amina Abrahams
Amina Abrahams never thought making atchar would change her life. But the world is
full of surprises – not always the good kind. All at once, her marriage fell apart and she
was retrenched. Abrahams was hit with a conundrum.
Abrahams had no income and two young children to feed. She was desperate to stay
afloat. So with a recipe handed down from her favourite aunt, Abrahams began selling
pickles.
Though she had no background in business, Abrahams filled her first bottles with
handcut lemon preserves and hoped for the best. Blending aromatic spices, rich oils,
and finely-chopped fruit and vegetables turned into a daily ritual. Soon, her mixtures
were a favourite in her neighbourhood of Kensington, Cape Town. With the
encouragement of
her loved ones, Abrahams’ Exotic Taste began its journey to the shelves of local grocery
shops.
Today, the entrepreneur’s blends can be found in 51 stores across the Western Cape,
with companies such as Shoprite supporting her success.
Jay Caboz
Superheroes and fantastical creatures walk among us. They’re quirky. They’re confident.
They’re cosplayers. And award-winning photojournalist Jay Caboz is documenting their
journey.
A combination of the words costume and play, the performance art allows people to
embody a fictional character. Though the unique activity originated in Japan, it is
attracting an ever-growing global community. Caboz created the Cos We Play project,
an initiative that captures the stories of South African cosplayers and the characters
they adopt. Many go to extreme lengths to create a perfect imitation of fiction, and
Caboz is compelled to take a deeper look.
Manuela Wall
Life in the city is like living in an advertisement. Giant billboards line congested
highways, fill shopping malls, and cover apartment block windows. Made from metres
of synthetic material, they turn to waste once the ad is over. When Manuela Wall looks
up at these commercial vinyls, she doesn’t see the product they’re selling. Instead, she
recognises an opportunity to turn a concrete jungle into an urban oasis.
Wall left her home in Germany to pursue her passion for gardening. She had little space
and barely any sun to satisfy her green fingers. On arrival in Cape Town, Wall discovered
Soil For Life – an organisation that teaches communities to grow their own food.
Dee Hendrickx
Rescuing animals isn’t all love and cuddles. Dee Hendrickx braves heartbreak every
time she takes in a parrot. The keen intelligence, sociability, and exotic looks of these
birds intensify their appeal as pets. But the amount of care they require can’t always be
met, which is why they’re brought to Hendrickx in horrific conditions. When humans fail
to understand them, the birds suffer. Four years ago, Hendrickx founded Brainy Birds, a
sanctuary for parrots. Her love for the species has spanned her entire life. When she
learnt of the unnatural circumstances that parrots endure in cages, she turned her
passion into action. Today, she has over 200 of them in her care. From booming macaws
and witty African greys to the littlest cockatiel, Hendrickx knows every one by name.
And that's our beautiful news for the week.
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Drop us a whatsapp or sms on who you think should be featured in the Beautiful News
interview on wednesday.
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