Save the Soet River in Strand, South Africa

Help Us Bring the Soet River Back to Life

The Soet River in the Helderberg Basin in South Africa is just two blocks from my home in Die Bos.

I drive past it almost every day, and for years I’ve watched it get worse. What should be a flowing river has slowly turned into a place where litter collects, waste builds up, and people begin to accept that this is just the way it is.

But it shouldn’t be.

My name is Dean van Schalkwyk, and I’m the Strategy Coordinator at Making a Change NPO. This project means a lot to me personally because I live here. I grew up in the Helderberg, and I care deeply about this community. I don’t want to just talk about the problems we face — I want to be part of fixing them.

At Making a Change NPO, founded and run by myself and Andrew Forte we’ve spent the last few years using our platform to tell the stories of people and organisations making a difference in South Africa. Now we’re stepping into that role ourselves by taking on issues in our own communities an...