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There will not be another Maria McCloy

Those who loved her remember a woman who gave everything — to her art, to her city, and to every person lucky enough to have her in their corner

Loving memory: Maria McCloy was someone who made
Johannesburg feel possible. Someone who gathered people across
class, art, music, fashion and politics and convinced them that
beauty, style and radical care belonged together.

Maria McCloy made Johannesburg feel possible

Friends, creatives and a city in mourning gathered to celebrate the woman who helped shape how Johannesburg saw itself after 1994.

Homecoming: Celebrations scenes from Mgidi Moms. Photo: Mzansi Magic

Inside ‘Mgidi Moms’: Where tradition, love and celebration meet

From initiation to homecoming, Mzansi Magic’s bold new reality show explores family, identity and Xhosa heritage

How community partnerships are building youth skills and business resilience

South Africa’s economic reality continues to test both households and businesses. Inflationary pressure, rising operational costs and constrained consumer spending have created a…

The Luxurious Marble Circus

Festivals: When celebration becomes a catalyst for change

Events such as the Luxurious Marble Circus is backed by sponsorship that brings people together, creates jobs and is a driver for social and environmental change

(raphic: John McCann/M&G

Let’s club together to foster dialogue and promote tolerance in the age of social media

Organisations such as The 1926 Club foster rational discussion and respectful disagreement to counter online isolation and echo chambers

Mine water has polluted the Klipspruit. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G

Acid mine drainage: South Africa can learn from Japan’s experience of toxic waste dumping

The government needs to form partnerships with communities, including businesses, which should empower employees to create a shared vision of environmental sustainability

Caregivers: The Gauteng department of social development has ordered centres which care for abandoned infants to close but some are going to court to fight this.

Baby Savers South Africa fights back as Gauteng department cracks down on centres

Organisations are going to court to challenge the constitutionality of Children’s Act provisions

Family tree: We need to shift the emphasis away from material gifts to shared activities such as putting up festive decorations, the writer says.

A season of joy and reflection

An African Christmas is a time to ponder the joy, challenges and resilience that define the festive season – and perhaps for a rethink

Catchment: The White uMfolozi River flows through the Babanango Game Reserve. Photos: Angus Burns/WWF

Ambitious project to rewild a piece of paradise in KwaZulu-Natal

A conservation project has brought together biodiversity, habitat protection, cultural heritage and community conservation

Resonating: DJ Matt Hichens does his thing at the One Park listening bar in Cape Town, known for its curated line-up of local DJs and diverse mix of genres. Photo: Charles Leonard

Discovering Cape Town’s eclectic listening bars, where nightlife is redefined

The popularity of two Cape Town listening bars points to the need for more eclectic music spaces

Parliament in Cape Town. Photo: Supplied

State of the Nation: Pomp, pageantry and irrelevance

South Africa need not accept a political culture that offers up leaders who are out of touch with the nation’s realities

Victory: Cleopatra Kambugu, who has fought for trans people’s rights, had hers recognised when she got her ID saying she was female

Meet Uganda’s first transgender citizen

Cleopatra Kambugu is the first Ugandan whose transition has been recognised by the state

Charlotte Kneer, chief executive of Reigate and Banstead Women’s Aid refuge. (Paul Craig)

Life-saving free train travel offered to domestic abuse victims in the UK

A pioneering railway scheme in the UK is helping domestic violence victims to escape their abusers by providing them with free travel to reach refuge

The Toolbox looks to address and defy popular conventions surrounding yoga practices in order to expand its reach as a tool for healing. (Nindya and Nikhil Tricam)

Community yoga as a labour of love

The Toolbox, founded and run by Nomzamo and Nosizwe Mji, offers community outreach yoga programmes, as well as regular studio classes

The COPC model

Using the COPC Toolkit to plan integrated healthcare delivery

The toolkit integrates data to better predict and respond to health needs in an area

Milisuthando (Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/ M&G)

We are not meant to be alone

"uKukhapha is the bedrock of isiNtu. This untranslatable notion of uMntu ngumntu ngabantu".

Professor Tiaan de Jager

Striving for a malaria-free Africa

Communication Award for outreach and creating awareness by a team or individual

There is a need to continuously have policy dialogue on water usage with the communities that require this precious resource

Open dialogues for multiple use water services

Maintaining water projects that communities have initiated is vital to keep them running

Availiability of water for multiple use makes a big difference in the day-to-day life of rural communities

The ideal partner in multiple use water services

A public-private partnership working together with the water users themselves can deliver ‘green growth’