FoundNation Podcast

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 founder of this community project.

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 sponsorship to cover the costs associated with learners' schooling.

This organisation based in Walmer, Port Elizabeth creates opportunity by allowing those in need trade the items of recycling they collect for grocery items. These traders become micro-entrepreneurs that help the city prevent approximately two tonnes of waste from going to landfill every month. At present the centre is closed but they've applied for municipal approval to reopen.

Simoné is exploring Eastern Cape-based organisations in Season 2. For this first episode she visits Khululeka, an NPO that works into the Chris Hani District. As their tagline "working together for children" suggests, their main focus is helping our youth. They do this by equipping and supporting ECDs in the province, enabling them to offer better services to the kids.

The final episode in this season focusses on litter and how it affects KZN's rivers. We hear more from the Kloof Conservancy Team about their successful Aller River project. Cameron Service from The Litterboom Project also shares more about how they came up with this idea that is allowing them to collect up to 500 kg of litter in the Umgeni river each day!

This is where it all started for Simoné, in the environmental space. The episode gives more information about those people who are fighting for our natural environment, just because they are passionate about it. The episode features Paulo Candotti from (Kloof Conservancy), Ashley Crookes (Darlge Conservancy) and Keith Cunningham (Clansthal Conservancy). A longer episode, but truly interesting.

In this episode we get to hear from Cookie Edwards, the Director of the KZN Network on Violence Against Women. For many years Cookie has been working hard to combat the proliferation of violence against women in South Africa. She shares information about her work, but also tells us more about the personal journey that inspired her to get involved.

This episode features LIV Village, an organisation that provides a home and, more importantly, a family for children who find themselves in lonely or tough situations. At their new home based in Cottonlands, near Verulam in KwaZulu-Natal the children are cared for by carefully chosen house moms. LIV also provides education and healthcare to these young people.

Lizzie Mkhize lives in Cato Manor, Durban. She runs a community centre from her home where people living with HIV/AIDS can pick up their medication. Herself and her husband John also provide various other medical tests as well as running an after school literacy programme. They do this with no outside support to speak of! Lizzie gives Simoné and one of her friends a tour of Masibambisane and tell them more about what they do here.

Simoné is back in Inanda for this episode where she meets with Maggie Dhladhla from Sizimsele Development Trust. This lively 75-year-old woman shows her around the centre that she built from the ground up. Amongst other things they offer early childhood development, healthcare assistance and entrepreneurial development at Sizimisele.