Channelling the spirit of Madiba

We think it’s quite safe to say that pretty much everyone over the age of 15 knows who Nelson Mandela is. On Monday, people across the globe dedicated 67 minutes (or more) to giving back, all in the spirit of Tata Madiba.

While everyone’s contributions are appreciated, there are a few that stood out. The public’s favourite protector, Thuli Madonsela, teamed up with Gert-Johan Coetzee and model Thando Hopa to showcase how they’re using recyclable materials as insulation against heat and cold in South Africa shacks.

Hollywood hottie, Ethan Hawke, was in the country and dedicated his 67 minutes to painting murals at Lalela, an organisation that provides educational arts for at-risk youth.

As for people who love pizza as much as they love Madiba, Debonairs launched the ‘Doughnation’ initiative. What’s a doughnation, you ask? All the cut off dough from your pizza is made into bread that feeds the hungry. Not that we needed another reason, but BRB, ordering pizza!

If all the darkness in the world is getting you down, check out the #MandelaDay hashtag on Twitter, and you’ll see that not everyone, and everything, sucks.

A motorsport champion passes

Monday also saw some heart-breaking news, though. South African motorsport champion, Gugu Zulu, passed away while trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Zulu and the Trek4Mandela team were set to summit on Mandela Day, hiking to raise money and awareness around the lack of access to sanitary products for young girls in rural areas. His exact cause of death is yet to be determined, but the team’s doctors did everything they could to save him. 

Every picture of Zulu showed him with the biggest smile on his face, and he leaves behind a wife and the cutest little one-year-old. Have a look at their sweetest moments here.

May he rest in peace. 

Kimye versus TayTay

This week saw the release of Kim Kardashian’s second most famous home video. Mrs Kardashian-West posted the footage of Taylor Swift agreeing to Kanye’s request to be named in his Famous song.

Wait, didn’t he call her a b*tch in that one? Swift claims she didn’t agree to that part, though. The claws came out on Twitter with the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty trending across the world. While many people believe this will be the end of TayTay’s reign, we think perhaps not.

If you’re a little confused by what actually happened, Suzelle DIY released a clip for the not so enlightened.

#FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes. Enough said. 

We’re not sure who said it first, but someone noted that the “Melania Trump Speech Memes Are The Best Thing To Come Out Of The Republican Convention”, and we couldn’t agree more. Come to think of it, it was probably Mrs Trump who said it herself.

After Melania allegedly plagiarised one of Michelle Obama’s speeches, the #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes hashtag was born. While there are thousands of tweets, below are our favourites:

@ijwarren: "Our routines are 100% original" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes

@TheBaxterBean: “Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. Never gonna run around and desert you” #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes

@LeighannLord: "This is Sparta!" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes

@LordSnow: "You know nothing, Jon Snow." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes

@irCadillac: "If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball!" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes

Grey’s Anatomy star, @iJesseWilliams, gave us this gem: "Work, work, work, work, work, work He say me have to Work, work, work, work, work, work!"#FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes

Okay, he actually gave us plenty of gems.

Please do yourself a favour and check them all out!

Dineo Ranaka unintentionally changes a life

A newfound guilty pleasure of many is sitting back and watching Twitter drama unfold. And this morning, exactly that happened. SA celeb, Dineo Ranaka, received some Twitter justice after slamming a fan’s request for a donated matric farewell dress.

Twitter user, @Miss_Mnisi, sent a tweet saying; “Hi Sisi @DineoRanaka do u by any luck make dress donations? Im in desperate need of a matric dance dress. Pls help if you can.” And this was Ranaka’s response: “A matric dance should be the VERY least of your stresses. The aim is not to look rich but to be rich. #education1st”.

Uhm, okay. We don’t quite get the connection.

But anyway, Twitter responded wonderfully, and Miss Mnisi has been offered not only a dress but hair, makeup, a ride to her dance, and so much more. People are actually even offering her bursaries. Well, Dineo did say #education1st.

Well done, Twitter!

Until next week, stay classy South Africa. 

*Image courtesy of everyone on Twitter