I just returned from a short trip to Cape Town, where I gave a presentation at a Proudly SA CEO Forum. The forum was held at one of Cape Town's trendiest restaurants, Forty Ate, and the topic of the forum was corporate social investment.

I took this opportunity to present the expansion plan that I have for Marang House and specifically focused on the sustainability part of this plan and how the benefits of the traditional franchise system can assist us with sustaining future Marang Houses. I hope that I managed to trigger some interest among the attendees of the forum, as I would love to also establish Marang Houses in Cape Town.

The social (enterprise) franchising model, as I like to call it, will not only sustain the new houses, but will also provide a very interesting investment opportunity for social investors. I will at a later stage further explain this model on my blog. In the meantime, if you are a social investor, please feel free to contact me to find out about this investment opportunity.

Download the presentation (PowerPoint) here.

The winners of the prestigious Homegrown Awards were announced yesterday evening during a high-profile gala dinner in Fourways. The Deputy President Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Nguka was one of the esteemed guests who addressed the 3rd Annual Homegrown Awards finalists. Marang House unfortunately didn’t take the award home.

Marang House received national recognition after being short listed as one of the finalists in the Wesbank / PSA Homegrown Awards in the category ‘Nation Builder of the Year’. The Homegrown Awards, which are endorsed by President Thabo Mbeki, are the leading showcase for South African organizations that are contributing to South Africa's economy and society.

We would like to thank Proudly South African and its sponsors for organizing Homegrown Awards and for continuously promoting South African organisations, products and innovations and the people behind them. We were very honoured to have been one of the finalists this year and we will proudly continue to operate according to Proudly South African's high standards.

Click here to read all about the finalists, the winners and the gala evening.

Pieter together with Koula from 5fm, who is running the Comrades to raise money for Marang House.

Salome Parkies, Head Nurse at Marang House, in traditional African attire.

South African Deputy President Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Nguka

I came across an interesting story in a recent edition of the Sunday Times. This story especially cought my eye, as these guys volunteered and fixed up one of the bedrooms at Marang House during their last holiday. Well done guys!

Police too slack, so Scouts make arrest

Two Ferndale Boy Scouts arrested a woman’s attacker and took him to the holding cells themselves as their local police were “too busy” changing shifts.

The brothers, Wilko, 17, and Arno Tillwick, 24, have been awarded police certificates for making “an outstanding” citizen’s arrest, but they said they merely acted in accordance with the Scouts’ motto: “Be prepared”.

Wilko said he was asleep one Sunday morning in late March when he woke to a woman’s screams and his neighbour’s barking dogs. He jumped out of bed and ran outside with his brother hot on his heels. “We ran up the road and saw a woman wrestling a man. We pulled the man off her and dragged him towards our gate,” Wilko said.

Read more >>>

Nashua North made a very generous donation of R60.000 towards Marang House earlier today. This was the second year in a row that they supported Marang House. Nashua North is very committed and they took the time to come and visit Marang House and spend some time with the children, which everybody enjoyed very much.

On the picture: Jeff Wilson, Sean Ferris and Nick Tuttelberg from Nashua North hand the cheque over to Pieter Ernst Jr and the children of Marang House.

I just returned from the press launch of the Reebok Triple Charity Challenge and am very honoured to announce that 5fm DJ Koula will be running the upcoming Comrades Marathon to raise funds for Marang House.

Koula is competing against multi award-winning kwaito star Kabelo and SAfm's Thabiso Sikwane in a challenge to see who can raise the most money for charity. You can support Koula and Marang House by SMSing "KOULA" to 38338. R10/sms. If you want to donate a larger amount of money or want to make a corporate pledge, then e-mail to charity@comrades.com, but be sure to mention Koula and Marang House!

Koula has secretly been training for the past seven months to prepare for this 89km race on 17 June 2007. Follow all the developments during the final weeks towards the event on 5fm and on this blog.


From the official press release:

Johannesburg. 9 May 2007 - Three of South Africa’s most celebrated voices – popular 5fm DJ Koula, SAFM’s Queen of Talk, Thabiso Sikwane and multi award-winning kwaito star, Kabelo have announced their Reebok-sponsored head-to-head challenge in this year’s Comrades Marathon.

This is Koula and Thabiso’s first attempt at the race, while it’s Kabelo’s second: Last year this top-selling artist rose to the challenge of training for the Comrades, completing it under 11hours and in doing so raising R240 000 for charitable projects for the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) and three other charities he selected.

The three have been training under the guidance of Nic Bester who is reportedly pleased with their progress. All have now completed their qualifying races and have a programme set for optimum personal success.

"The last six months have been an incredible journey: physically, psychologically and spiritually. Initially I'd risen to the Comrades challenge because it seemed like an utterly insane idea! But now I'm totally hooked on running! And if underprivileged kids can benefit from all of this, even better!" enthuses Koula.

Koula is supporting Marang House, a half-way house based in Johannesburg that provides a stable home-environment to disadvantaged seriously ill children who are otherwise forced to stay in hospitals for extended periods.

Reebok Marketing Manager Dave Turnbull says: “Koula, Thabiso and Kabelo represent the new generation of respected celebrities on the cutting edge of youth culture. They are smart, streetwise and sussed. They are also profoundly in tune with life and what makes us tick. They possess such awesome self-esteem - the very epitome of our Reebok brand for the individual. We trust their participation and success in both running and raising money will inspire many other young people to follow their dreams and realise their unique potential.”

Support DJ Koula in her head-to-head challenge by SMSing "KOULA" to 38338 - R10/SMS

Here are some of the children who have stayed at Marang House since the beginning of this year, but who I haven't spoken about on my blog before:

Labels: children, muzi