Good News

BULLETIN 15 July 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# Airports Company South Africa has announced a strategic partnership with the South African National Deaf Association, which empowers the deaf community with equal opportunities and recognition in society. ACSA’s group transformation manager, Ele Tshikovhi, says the collaboration underscores their commitment to supporting the disability sector by providing skills development and underpins their socio-economic development strategy. Tshikovhi says giving front-line and customer-facing staff sign language training also reinforces the company’s dedication to inclusivity and equal opportunities for all.

# The Western Cape government says the GoBeyond Conference has been a huge success with over one-thousand young people taking part. The conference, hosted at the University of the Western Cape, included seminars, workshops, guest speakers, music, and dance. Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC, Ricardo Mackenzie, says the activities at the conference were designed to inspire and equip attendees, enhancing their agency, professionalism, and emotional intelligence. He adds that the conference provides crucial support and inspiration to young people in a transformative university environment.

# The University of Pretoria’s Giving Matters campaign has made education accessible for students in the missing middle. These are students who do not qualify for National Student Financial Aid Scheme funding. The campaign, launched in 2022, has a goal of raising 100-million-rand. So far the campaign has changed the lives of more than 407 students. The university’s vice-chancellor and principal, professor Themba Mosia, says they have raised about 82-million-rand in the past three years.

# Fireblade Aviation is partnering with Reach For a Dream Foundation to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The partnership aims to raise two-million-rand by selling ten-thousand tickets for a five-star chartered getaway. This effort will support the foundation’s mission to grant dreams to two-thousand-200 children this year. Fireblade Aviation managing director Leigh Kretzschmar says this partnership enables the company to broaden access to families with seriously ill children.

# And, Egyptian vultures, extinct in South Africa for decades, will be reintroduced and homed in Hartbeespoort, North West. The two African Egyptian vultures, which come from World Bird Sanctuary and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in the US, are joining VulPro’s breeding programme. They are currently in quarantine at Johannesburg’s Lory Park Zoo. The bird’s ultimate home will be the Shamwari private game reserve in the Eastern Cape. VulPro founder Keri Wolter says the Egyptian vulture, also known as Pharaoh’s Chicken, is one of the most fascinating birds in the world.

Stay tuned for more news………….