Inkunzi Malanga
You cav what gets moved on a lot of Jozi corners? Hope.
The news only comes to town for the bad days, when there's police tape and chalk outlines, when the word "dangerous" can be part of the headline. Basheshe bahleke!
Mandy Weiner is giving the city its due and plugging the good civil servants, active citizens, whistleblowers, investigative journalists, members of the judiciary and everyday patriots. They clocked what this place needed and got on with it. Nas'iStuff. Pass it on.
Ep 1: Gcwalisa
Bring the container you already own and fill it. That's the model that has grown into a movement in Alexandra. Mandy meets the Gcwalisa team keeping money in people's pockets, packaging off the street, and a neighbourhood rethinking how it shops.
Ep 2: CityKidz
In 2008, a property developer looked at the inner city and saw a school. From there, Renney Plitt and Afhco Holdings built CityKidz and offer an excellent education at fees a family living downtown can actually carry. Mandy visits the school that has been holding the line for eighteen years.
EP 3: Urban Surfers
Urban Surfer began as a grassroots recycling initiative. Now it backs hundreds of reclaimers with branded trolleys, proper PPE, recycling hubs, digital tracking and corporate partnerships. It's one of Jozi's most inventive upliftment projects. Mandy meets Sifiso Gumbi, who saw an industry where the city saw rubbish.
Ep 4: Ellis Park Tennis Club
The historic Ellis Park arena is getting a glow-up! Mandy tells the story of Alec Galanakis and the Joburg Tennis Grassroots Foundation, clocking what it takes to put a place like that back to work.
EP 5: Skateistan
They come for the skateboards, but they stay for the classroom support and leadership skills. Mandy is in New Doornfontein, checking out how Skateistan is schooling the youth.
EP 6: Edusafe Sandringham
Rob Katzen went back to his old school. What Jeppe High School for Boys worked out with him became the model: alumni, government, business, and community members in the same room, tackling the same problem. Mandy follows EduSafe out of Jeppe and into Sandringham High School and the other schools serving Alexandra.