From a young girl sleeping in a cage to help rescue dogs, to a friendship that continues to inspire a nation, this week’s good news offered plenty of reasons to feel hopeful about South Africa.
South Africa (30 May 2026) – Every week, thousands of stories compete for our attention. Open any social media app or scroll through a news website and you’ll find no shortage of reasons to feel worried, angry, fearful, frustrated or overwhelmed. The truth is, many South Africans are carrying a lot right now. We see it in the messages we receive and the comments shared on our articles.
Life feels expensive, work can be demanding and there are very real concerns about safety, politics, service delivery and what tomorrow might bring.
I was speaking at an event recently where we explored the stories we tell ourselves about our country and our lives. I called the Keynote “Two things can be true at the same time“.
South Africa can have very real challenges while also being filled with extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. We can acknowledge the difficult headlines without allowing them to become the entire story. That idea sits at the heart of everything we do at Good Things Guy.
For more than a decade, our team has searched for the stories that don’t always make the front page (unless you’re on Good Things Guy) but say something important about who we are. Stories about neighbours helping neighbours, communities rallying around those in need, people dedicating their time to causes bigger than themselves and everyday South Africans making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. What continues to amaze me is how often those stories begin in exactly the same place. Not in boardrooms, government offices or grand plans but within communities… they start with someone noticing a need and deciding to do something about it.
Every Friday, we gather many of those stories together in our newsletter, which now reaches more than 100,000 subscribers across South Africa and beyond. It has become one of my favourite parts of the week. We look at the 100 stories we share every week and choose 14 to share with you. And it’s something we have delivered to inboxes consistently for 11 years (except that 1 time… but that’s a different story). It’s an opportunity to take a breath and reflect on the moments that reminded us (that week) of the good that still exists all around us.
Not everyone receives the newsletter, though, which is why I thought we’d bring a little piece of it here each Saturday. Think of this as a letter from the editor and a chance to catch up on a few of the stories that stood out during the week.
And this week delivered some truly memorable moments.
One story that continues to resonate with readers is the friendship between Chad Nathan and Sidney Miller.
The first time South Africans met Sidney Miller, he was pushing himself through a Cape Town storm in a wheelchair, soaked to the bone and completely alone. Now, just a couple of weeks later, the man who once felt invisible is being cheered on by thousands of people across the country… and finding friendship and hope in places he never expected. This week, Chad Nathan shared another update on the story that has gripped South Africa from the very beginning. This time, he visited Sidney in hospital after the amputation of his second leg.
And while the video carried the heartbreak of everything Sidney has endured, it also carried something else too… warmth, humour, kindness and a friendship that has become so meaningful to so many people following along online.
Another story that had readers reaching for the tissues introduced us to a remarkable young girl who is about to spend her fifth winter sleeping in a kennel.
From a very young age, Rebecca Koszulinski has had a passion for helping rescue dogs, spending her time caring for animals who have often experienced neglect, abandonment or hardship.
Rebecca is 10 years old this year, and the upcoming SPCA Dog Box Challenge will be her fifth in a row. The challenge sees participants get ‘locked’ in a dog kennel (without the dogs inside) for 24 hours. They stay and sleep in the kennels all night while rallying to raise ‘bail’ money of R10,000 to be released the next day.
It’s impossible not to feel hopeful about the future when young South Africans are leading with hearts like hers.
Our SPAR Hero of the Week was Grace, who took on the Leaping Wolf Challenge to support a cause close to her heart. We feature heroes every week, and what always stands out is that they rarely see themselves as heroes at all. They’re simply people who decide to do something.
According to the 1st Muizenberg Sea Scouts, Grace taught herself how to knit using a loom. But she didn’t stop there. She went on to raise funds to buy looms and wool so she could share the craft, teaching her fellow Cubs and friends how to loom knit right alongside her! Her goal was to encourage others to help make premie baby beanies for the neonatal unit at Mowbray Maternity Hospital. What started as one Cub learning a craft quickly grew into a much bigger community project.
Grace’s story fits perfectly into that category; one person’s determination creating opportunities and support for others.
Our “Oldie but a Goodie” this week featured a car guard whose discipline and determination inspired readers across the country.
Omar worked as a car guard to make ends meet. He saved all his tips in hopes of buying himself a car one day. Omar was an integral part of the parking lot he watched over, making many connections with the shoppers whose vehicles he monitored. One day Omar stopped coming to work; he had accomplished his dream and saved enough for a car. After buying the car, Omar became an Uber driver and now earns more than ever before.
Stories like these remind us that ambition exists in every corner of South Africa and that hard work still carries tremendous power.
We also continued building our 4 Kids section with “The Coach Who Believed in His Player“, a story centred on encouragement, mentorship and the impact a single person can have on someone else’s confidence.
After a difficult game, a coach reminded his young player, who felt like he let the team down, that bad days do not define who we are. The lessons may be aimed at younger readers, but they are just as relevant for adults. Most of us can remember a teacher, coach, parent or mentor who saw something in us before we saw it ourselves.
Over in our OnePlan Pawsitive Story, we highlighted a snare-finder workshop helping protect South Africa’s wildlife.
Last month, we celebrated Nick Duranty, a dedicated ranger with over 15 years of experience in the bush, who heroically offered his specialised tracking services for free to struggling farms and reserves in the KZN Midlands. This month, Nick and his four-legged partner, K9 Nitus, took that generosity a step further by hosting a hands-on Snare Finder workshop at the Bisley Nature Reserve. Bisley, like so many protected areas across South Africa, has been locked in a relentless battle against illegal poachers. Wire snares remain one of the silent killers – these traps clamp down on anything that walks into them, from antelope and warthogs to predators like leopards.
While conservation stories don’t always dominate headlines, they represent an enormous amount of work taking place behind the scenes. Every person trained to identify and remove snares becomes another layer of protection for the animals that share this country with us.
For all the challenges we face as a country, there remains an extraordinary number of people who choose to invest their time, energy and compassion into making life better for others. They don’t do it for recognition. Most don’t expect headlines or praise. They’re simply responding to what they see around them and asking a very simple question: “What can I do to help?”
One of the privileges of doing this work is being able to witness that side of South Africa on a daily basis. It gives me a perspective that I’m deeply grateful for. While difficult stories may dominate our newsfeeds, they represent only part of what is happening around us. There are countless acts of kindness, generosity and humanity taking place at the very same time, often without fanfare and often without anyone expecting recognition.
Those are the stories that continue to keep me hopeful.
As we head into a new week, my wish for you is that you notice a little more of what’s happening around you. Notice the people helping, the communities coming together or the small moments that restore your faith in humanity. They’re there. We see them every day at Good Things Guy and they’re a big part of why we continue doing what we do.
Thank you for spending part of your Saturday with us. If you’d like even more good news delivered straight to your inbox every Friday, our newsletter is waiting for you. And if you’re already one of the more than 100,000 subscribers who receive it each week, thank you for being part of this growing community that continues to believe there is more to South Africa than the headlines suggest.
We’ll be back next week with more stories worth sharing. And judging by the incredible people we feature every day, I have a feeling there will be plenty to talk about.
Okay. Love you. Bye.
