community activism Archives

Carol Dyanti: Growing Hope Through Community Development South Africa

This episode of This Way Up features Carol Dyanti, founder of Uzima, an organisation working in Ezimbuzini, an informal settlement on the edge of Soweto. Carol describes how she was introduced to the community and built trust with the indunas (leaders) and residents after being called in following the death of a teenager’s newborn and…

Ferial Adams: Championing Citizen Science for Clean Water

Ferial Adams, founder of WaterCAN (Water Community Action Network), is a longtime environmental justice activist with a PhD focused on citizen science. She explains how a R200 water-testing kit lets ordinary people verify contamination in their own water, giving them evidence to challenge municipalities and validation for illnesses they’d long suspected were water-related. She discusses…

Chantal Nativel: Fighting River Pollution and Restoring Johannesburg’s Rivers

Chantal Nativel leads twice-monthly volunteer cleanups of the Braamfontein Spruit in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs. What began as dog walks with her German shepherd and a master’s thesis on water pollution and perimenopause grew into International Rivers Day cleanups that now draw a small, committed group pulling string, polystyrene, car parts, and even washing machines from…

Welcome Witbooi: Gangsterism, Second Chances and Community Development South Africa

Welcome Witbooi, founder of BrightSpark Foundation was raised in Cape Town’s gang-infested Valhalla Park. He was a promising student but was drawn into gang life through absent role models and community influence. Sentenced to 23 years in prison at just 17, he had to join the 28s gang to survive, rising rapidly to General by…

This Way Up: Conversations About Social Change South Africa

This Way Up, the podcast that shines a light into the corners of South Africa where change is happening.