Social media spurs youth vaccine reluctance
Many young people between the ages of 18 and 35 are sceptical of the Covid-19 jab because of stories circulating online about negative side effects and mixed messages from officials.
Stories by: Bonile Bam
Health department fails Eastern Cape villagers
Residents in a rural town raised hundreds of thousands of rands to build their own health post, which the provincial government promised to run. Now it stands empty.
Grinding hardships persist with no help in sight
Unimaginable levels of poverty in far-flung rural villages in South Africa are not being addressed by local councillors who are supposed to help improve the lives of residents in their wards.
Eastern Cape shack dwellers mull over their options
Residents of small settlements say they are not hopeful that their appalling conditions will change after next month’s elections, but many seem willing to cast their vote regardless.
Eastern Cape preschool affected by toxic environment
A dumping site near the school is hazardous to pupils, who are forced into hot, crowded classrooms often targeted by criminals. The municipality says it cannot help.
Remembering Mdazo: a ‘neat, friendly warrior’
Assassinated Numsa organiser Malibongwe Mdazo survived many attempts on his life but never gave up fighting for workers. He was a comrade to many, a brother, husband and father too.
It’s a grinding battle to find a way out of poverty
Running a business in order to survive is tough in South Africa, but in small-town Eastern Cape it comes with some extra challenges, especially if one has mobility difficulties.
Marikana – The struggle for breath and dignity
The Marikana area in North West province may be rich in platinum group metals, but the profits from mining them do not benefit residents, who have little hope of improving their lives.
Rural residents’ Covid-19 vaccination struggles
Elderly residents in particular face a number of hurdles, from struggling with technology and internet access to the cost of travelling to a vaccination centre.
A communal approach to food and water
A group of women who started growing food are uplifting their village and creating a network of like-minded communities in rural Eastern Cape.
Indlela uluntu olujongise ngayo ekutyeni nasemanzini
Umbutho wabasetyhini owaqala isitiya semifuno uphuhlisa ilali yawo kwaye wakha unxibelelwano phakathi kwabantu abacinga ngokufanayo emaphandleni eMpuma Koloni.
New Covid-19 grant, old Sassa problems
A sharp increase in the number of social grant recipients after the introduction of the special grant during the pandemic has exacerbated the strained grant payment system.
PE struggles under the weight of Covid-19 bodies
Those who help bury the dead – from gravediggers to undertakers – have been struggling to cope with the rise in demand during the second wave of the pandemic in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Injured farm workers need justice and compensation
Many labourers in the Sundays River Valley have never seen a cent after suffering debilitating pain and even disability from accidents while at work. A non-profit trust wants to change this.
Storm hits lives and livelihoods in Eastern Cape
Parts of the Eastern Cape face a huge rebuilding and recovery exercise after high winds and hail killed three people and many animals and tore down buildings.
The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s land of hunger
Jobless people in the country’s most impoverished province join the growing social grant queues before dawn on empty stomachs, having run out of food for the month.
Eastern Cape faces a subdued festive season
The festive season won’t be the same in the Eastern Cape this year, with fewer travelling after losing their livelihoods during the lockdown and physical distancing at traditional ceremonies on the cards.
Eastern Cape pupils face consequences of Covid-19
Young people are anxious about missed schoolwork and exposure to the coronavirus on public transport, while teachers struggle to teach in masks and a principal worries about his matric pass rate.
Fort Hare students in Covid-19-sparked data crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how access to cheap and reliable data is a vital utility – without it, students fear they will be left behind.
Lovedale, a national treasure of a press, faces closure
The 200-year-old Lovedale Press is kept alive by the dedication of its owners, who work without pay. But if funding is not found, it could close, leaving South Africa the poorer.
Light Reading | I wandered lonely
On a trip home, a photographer captures an image of a landscape that encapsulates a sense of his people, their history and the animals that move like a river on four legs.