Good News

BULLETIN 29 August 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# The Santa Shoebox Project has received over ten-thousand team pledges. The shoeboxes are distributed to underprivileged children attending more than one-thousand educational and care facilities each year, through more than 60 satellites around South Africa and Namibia. Team pledges encourages groups to organise 20 or more shoebox pledges to boost the spirit of generous giving. The shoeboxes are personalised, dependent on the child’s age and gender, and anyone can sponsor a shoebox or pack one. Individual pledges are opening on Sunday.

# The University of Cape Town’s head of the Division of Global Surgery, professor Salome Maswime, has been selected to lead a newly designated World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre. The centre’s work will prioritise effective organisation, planning, and patient movement across the health system, ensuring timely access to quality care that aligns with users’ needs. WHO has collaborating centres in over 80 member states. Maswime says this is a new beginning to influence global health positively, especially in Africa.

# The University of Pretoria’s JuniorTukkie division celebrated its 20th anniversary with a vibrant campus activation that showcased the programme’s lasting impact on the lives of students. Over the past 20 years, JuniorTukkie has played a crucial role in equipping students with the skills and emotional intelligence needed to thrive at university and beyond. Since its inception in 2004, close to ten-thousand students have gone through the programme. The university says JuniorTukkie remains dedicated to fostering excellence and unlocking the full potential of the country’s youth.

# Country music legend Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library book giveaway programme continues to expand. Since the programme started, books have been sent to more than 240-million children in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. In the US the programme has now expanded statewide in places like Missouri and Kentucky. Parton says she has made it her mission over the past three decades to improve literacy:

 # And finally, an Israeli museum invited a toddler and his family back after the child accidentally smashed a centuries-old artefact. The four-year-old visited the Hecht museum in Haifa together with his father, just known as Alex. The boy was reportedly curious of what was inside the three-thousand-500-year-old jar, used to store and transport olive oil and wine. It is characteristic of the ancient Canaan region and predates the Biblical kings David and Solomon. The museum says the family is welcome to return to see the restored jar.

Stay tuned for more news………….