A squad of 20 women move with speed across the water. With individual paddles, they propel the narrow canoe forward. Merlin Osborne leads the dragon boating team, displaying power and precision. She is strong. She is fast. She is a cancer survivor. Dressed in shocking pink, Osborne and the team have all been affected in some way or another by breast cancer. “We’re all in the same boat and we’re fighting together,” she says.

In 2007, Osborne found a lump in her underarm. Despite her family’s history with cancer, she waited more than a month to get it checked. When her fears were confirmed, Osborne spent four days in her room trying to figure out what to do. “The first thought that I had in mind was death,” she says. Then, Osborne realised that she was more than the diagnosis. “I decided cancer wasn’t going to define who I am,” she says.

Produced in 1983 and taught in schools around the world, ‘My body’, a song originally developed as part of a sexual abuse prevention programme, has been given a reboot to raise funds against women abuse in South Africa. The new track features artists including Lira, Juliet Harding from GoodLuck, Mariechan, who rose to fame as one third of the girl group, Jamali, and Gigi LaMayne.

All funds raised from the streaming of 'My Body' will be donated to the 1st for Women Foundation for its ongoing fight to end woman abuse.

Things were looking up for Nelisiwe Zuma. The Durbanite had just been offered a job in California. Unable to contain her excitement, Zuma joined her friends to celebrate her big break. But on her way home, their car flew off the road. Zuma woke up three weeks after the crash in ICU. Her friend who’d been driving didn’t make it. The emotional and physical trauma seemed insurmountable. “I thought I was never going to recover,” Zuma says. “I lost hope.”

In the months that followed, Zuma had to undergo multiple surgeries, including a spinal fusion and a skin graft on her stomach. She was also dependent on a colostomy bag. As her body changed, Zuma became increasingly depressed. “I felt not good enough,” she says. But in the process of recuperating, she began to realise how incredible it was to have survived. Her scars were a symbol of life, a reminder to cherish her body and her second chance.

The right to access safe and hygienic toilets is fundamental. Yet pit latrines are still the only sanitary facilities in thousands of schools across South Africa. This puts learners’ health and lives at risk. Children have died either by the structures collapsing on them or from falling into the waste. When yet another child lost their life last year, the government pledged to take action. But for Helene Bramwell, it was too late. “I was incensed,” she says. No child should die going to the bathroom. Rather than wait for change, Bramwell launched a campaign that’s restoring their dignity.

Read Helene Bramwell's full story, here.

A massive transformation is taking place in Chante Herries’ salon – and not just for those getting their hair done. Some of the stylists who work here have a background of drug addiction, and the impact it’s had on their lives has been quietly devastating. “What these women have gone through has taken away so much of their self-esteem, their confidence, their self-love,” Herries says. But in between the roar of the blow dryer, the chatter and laughs, change is in motion.

Read Chante Herries' full story here.

Olivia Pharo has no intention of slowing down. When the nurse resigned, she could have taken her pension and travelled the world. But this was actually the start of her bringing better healthcare to Atlantis, a suburb in the Western Cape. Working at a local hospital, Pharo experienced the burden that gang-related casualties placed on medical staff. She grew increasingly frustrated at the disproportionately high number of patients limiting the time and quality of care she was able to give. “It is a human right for every patient to be treated with respect and dignity,” Pharo says. To ensure they receive the care they deserve, she cashed in her pension and used it to open her own clinic.

In March 2019, the nurse started Sister Pharo’s Primary Health Care.

Read Olivia Pharo's full story here.

Vanessa Martin’s heart shattered when she saw the stray dog outside her office. The creature was emaciated and alone. Martin couldn’t just stand by and began feeding her. But this puppy wasn’t the only one in need. The streets were filled with homeless dogs and cats. Martin started picking up strays on her way to work, hiding them in the toilet cubicles until she could take them home. But that wasn’t enough. After 21 years of working as an administrative clerk, Martin had a renewed sense of purpose. So she quit. “Now I’m doing what I was created to do: rescuing animals,” she says.

Read Vanessa Martin's full story here.

Listen up. You may have a hearing problem. But it takes less than two minutes to figure that out thanks to De Wet Swanepoel. He’s the inventor of a nifty phone application that detects difficulty hearing. It’s changing lives, particularly for the younger generation. “Children who don’t hear well can’t learn well and as a result, can’t perform in a school environment,” Swanepoel says. Without affordable healthcare, something as common as a slight hearing problem can go undetected and become a barrier to education. “It costs a fortune to have your hearing checked and I knew I had to do something,” Swanepoel says.

Read De Wet Swanepoel's full story here.

Stiaan Scheepers starts his day doing what most kids fear – maths. Addition, subtraction, fractions and division are child’s play to him. Scheepers is a nine-year-old mathematical prodigy capable of crunching complex sums at exhilarating speeds. Numbers don’t intimidate Scheepers. Not when he’s faced far worse.

Read Stiaan Scheepers' full story here.

For the b-boys of Eerste River, coming together begins with breaking. Hip-hop pumps through the neighbourhood, drawing people to the source of the sound. At the axis of the gathering is Dmitri Nell. The professional b-boy switches effortlessly between backflips, head spins, and jaw-dropping footwork. Nell moves to influence the youth of his community with this unique style of dance. “Where I come from, we are exposed to gang violence from a young age,” Nell says. Fiercely talented, he is battling criminal activity from the dance floor. “Breaking saved me,” he says. “It can save this community.”

Read Dmitri Nell's full story here.

Siphokazi Mdlankomo’s culinary skills are on fire. Her passion for preparing exquisite meals carries her through life. A domestic worker for 15 years, Mdlankomo had a great relationship with the family she worked for. But not every domestic worker has the same experience. Miniscule incomes and undervalued labour imbibe thousands with resigned dreams. But Mdlankomo had the gall to shoot high. Today, she’s dishing South Africa fresh faith and a feast of home-cooked love.

Read Siphokazi Mdlankomo's full story here.

Evelina Tshabalala began the race of a lifetime the day she moved to Cape Town in search of work. With a young child to take care of, 4am was the only time she had to go running. Before long, her pursuit revealed her athletic prowess. Barefoot, Tshabalala ran her first professional 10-kilometre race – and won. That afternoon, she entered a five-kilometre race. She won that too. With the prize money she could finally afford a pair of running shoes. Shortly after, Tshabalala began competing in long-distance races. She completed the London Marathon, placing 25th. With her insurmountable energy, Tshabalala then turned to the gruelling challenge of mountain climbing, and summited three of the world’s highest peaks. The fact that she’s HIV-positive has never held her back.

Read Evelina Tshabalala's full story here.