* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    ‘New frontier’: Austin leaders start discussions on air taxi technology – KXAN Austin

    Austin Leaders Ignite Exciting Conversations on the Future of Air Taxi Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    ‘New frontier’: Austin leaders start discussions on air taxi technology – KXAN Austin

    Austin Leaders Ignite Exciting Conversations on the Future of Air Taxi Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

A better South Africa, one stitch at a time

November 6, 2023
in News
A better South Africa, one stitch at a time
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Close-knit: 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day’s Good Wool World Cup 2015. (Supplied)

The book 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day: The Knitting & Crocheting Revolution should be made compulsory reading for anyone studying towards an MBA or wanting to run a public benefit organisation. 

Not only is it a fascinating archive of the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day movement, it is also a masterclass textbook on how to drive philanthropy through public participation, hashtags, campaign ambassadors and a championing spirit.

The 67 Blankets for Mandela Day movement is a unique philanthropic organisation whose trading currency is not transacted through bank accounts. The currency is in the hands of thousands of supporters who use wool to weave colourful blankets that are distributed free to less fortunate people across the country. 

Each blanket is branded, documented and personally delivered by the movement’s founder Carolyn Steyn or by one of her many ambassadors across the country.

The 222 page full-colour book documents how, in 2014, Steyn took up a challenge from Nelson Mandela’s PA, Zelda la Grange, to knit 67 blankets for Mandela Day. Unable to complete the task on her own, Steyn put out a midnight call on social media for assistance. 

The response was the birth of a phenomenal movement of people who turned the art of philanthropy into one of the most democratic and inclusive exercises experienced in South Africa. It has won several awards, including breaking consecutive Guinness World Records.

The book highlights the movement’s rise to international stardom. Supported by striking photos, and endorsed by personal narratives from blanket weavers and beneficiaries, a story about ubuntu and transformation evolves with the turning of every page. 

There are moving testimonies by prison inmates who crochet blankets in their commitments to thread their lives together and to give back to society. There are narratives about rural African women who have so little but who are determined to crochet a blanket to support others even less fortunate than themselves. 

The symbolism of blankets in African communities has its own power. “A blanket can cover you from the cold. It can cover your woundedness after losing a loved one — like how women use it when visiting grieving families. 

“They wear it over their shoulders or around their waist to symbolise their solidarity with that family,” writes Sello Hatang in the foreword. Hatang is the former CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Knitting clubs have been set up at schools. Among the most ardent supporters is Jeppe High School for Girls, where Steyn matriculated. After school, she had her eyes set on a career in the performing arts and enrolled at Wits University. 

“I remember her having a bubbly personality with a quiet determination to succeed in anything she undertook, be that her academic studies, acting in various roles, doing menial tasks such as sweeping the stage or supporting her fellow students backstage,” says Fred Hageman, a retired professor from the Wits School of Arts.

Steyn built a successful career in South Africa specialising in musical theatre but she had her eyes set on Hollywood. Just as her career there was about to take off, she had to return home, first to be at the bedside of her dying mother and then again when her father was dying. After her father’s death she stayed here.

Steyn’s mother grew up in Nazareth House Orphanage. Her mother brought up her and her two sisters in the east of Johannesburg in an ordinary community but instilled in them the need for community service. 

One of the organisations that requested blankets was Nazareth House — Steyn and her two sisters went there to distribute them.

“Our mum was there from the tender age of three and when she had finished her schooling, she remained at Nazareth House until her twenties, as she assumed the role of teacher to the younger orphans. 

She used to tell us about Sundays when people would come and choose children to adopt and how she would call out, ‘Pick me, pick me!’ Nobody ever did. Walking the same corridors she did and seeing the little children arrive from crèche, I was beside myself,” Steyn recalls.

The gods, however, had a different fate for Carolyn. It was Mandela who played matchmaker between her and businessman Douw Steyn as they were close associates. It was Douw’s jet that transported South African business people to meet the ANC in exile in Lusaka, Zambia.

After marrying Carolyn for the second time, Douw Steyn gave her the wings to fly. Her first beneficiary was the Naledi Theatre Awards, which received a R2 million donation, then  she refurbished the entire Sandton Theatre on the Square. 

Several more projects benefitted from her contributions but her real fulfilment seems to have come with the birth of the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day movement.

Championing a cause that encourages people to knit or crochet blankets, Steyn has gathered a formidable team of ambassadors who invent and manage creative strategies to mobilise enthusiasts to turn bales of wool into colourful blankets. 

Each campaign is driven by a focused social media strategy and a unique hashtag. Targets are set and performance is encouraged and rewarded. The ambassadors get behind the act and every accolade is celebrated as the achievement of the entire community that has woven the movement together.

This kind of compassion and determination to stay globally relevant, to drive transformation and societal change and progress at the most personal level, is seldom taught in an MBA lecture room. 

If every corporate organisation, every government office and every service sector in South Africa took only one page out of 67 Blankets for Mandela Day we could heal our country of the wounds of corruption, failure, inefficiency and intolerance that impede us from achieving Mandela’s dream of a better future for all.

Ismail Mahomed is the director for the Centre for Creative Arts and a multi-award-winning arts administrator and playwright. He serves on the board of several arts organisations in South Africa and is a regular participant, nationally and abroad, on cultural leadership matters.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Mg.co.za – https://mg.co.za/friday/2023-11-06-a-better-south-africa-one-stitch-at-a-time/

Tags: AfricanewsSouth
Previous Post

Middle-class South Africans reject traditional retirement

Next Post

Ugreen’s next-gen PowerRoam range of portable power stations electrify SA

UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR): All you need to know – Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM)

Everything You Need to Know About the 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR)

October 23, 2025
PPPs in Bolivia: The future of our economy? – Dentons

Could PPPs Unlock Bolivia’s Path to Economic Prosperity?

October 23, 2025
Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

October 23, 2025
Mark Peterson receives inaugural APSA Career Achievement Award in Health Politics and Policy – UCLA

Mark Peterson receives inaugural APSA Career Achievement Award in Health Politics and Policy – UCLA

October 23, 2025
GOP senator accuses Dems of playing politics with people’s lives: ‘This is a crime’ – Fox Business

GOP Senator Slams Democrats for Playing Politics with People’s Lives: ‘This Is a Crime

October 23, 2025
Forest cover enhances pest control by birds and bats independently of vineyard management intensity – besjournals

Forest cover enhances pest control by birds and bats independently of vineyard management intensity – besjournals

October 22, 2025
November Family Consumer Science Program – Alachua County

November Family Consumer Science Program – Alachua County

October 22, 2025
Correction: Anti-Science Movement story – The News-Gazette

Unraveling the Truth Behind the Anti-Science Movement: A Closer Look

October 22, 2025
Best Burgers 2025: 9 cult-favorite burgers off the beaten path – Yahoo

Best Burgers 2025: 9 cult-favorite burgers off the beaten path – Yahoo

October 22, 2025
Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

October 22, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (881)
  • Economy (903)
  • Entertainment (21,774)
  • General (17,751)
  • Health (9,944)
  • Lifestyle (915)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (903)
  • Politics (913)
  • Science (16,113)
  • Sports (21,402)
  • Technology (15,882)
  • World (886)

Recent News

UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR): All you need to know – Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM)

Everything You Need to Know About the 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR)

October 23, 2025
PPPs in Bolivia: The future of our economy? – Dentons

Could PPPs Unlock Bolivia’s Path to Economic Prosperity?

October 23, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version