Issued by Christina Teichmann on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation:
On Wednesday, 25 April 2025, a FW de Klerk delegation, comprising of Deputy Chairperson Christina Teichmann, Legacy Programme Manager Brenda Steyn and Marketing Manager Abigail Baker, visited the U-turn head office in Kenilworth. U-turn is a non-governmental organisation that provides much needed services to the homeless. The organisation has a national footprint, with offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg and other major cities in South Africa where homelessness is a huge challenge.
This year, U-turn is one of a few selected non-governmental organisations that received financial support from the FW de Klerk Foundation in recognition of the excellent work they are doing and the valuable contribution that they make towards fulfilling the constitutional rights of vulnerable groups, such as children, people with special needs or – like in the case of U-turn – the homeless. The funds for these organisations were raised through the 2024 Nedbank South Africa Charity Golf Day, a yearly event of which President FW de Klerk is a Life Patron.
By financially supporting U-turn, the FW de Klerk Foundation aims to raise awareness for a social crisis most cities in South Africa are grappling with – homelessness.
Over the past few decades, the number of homeless persons in South Africa has increased significantly, reflecting the ongoing inequality and poverty challenges the country faces.
According to the Stats South Africa report ”A Profile of Homeless Persons in South Africa, 2022”, in 1996, the official number of homeless individuals stood at 13,135, but by 2022, that number had more than quadrupled, reaching 55,719.
The demographic analysis outlined in the report shows that men make up the majority of homeless people (70,1%) and that most homeless people are between 35-59 years of age (45%). In addition, 44% of homeless people are between 15-34….continue reading this article HERE.
Michael Masutha: {2014 – 2019} Michael Masutha served as Minister of Justice and Constitutional
Development from 2014 to 2019. He was involved in various reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of the justice system and enhancing access to legal resources for all South Africans.
Cosmo
Fun South African Fact: Vilakazi Street in Soweto has been home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners. A tour through Soweto will always stop at Vilakazi Street to reveal a number of heritage sites of great importance to democratic South Africa. Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived here at some point in their lives. In 1984, Archbishop Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his non-violent fight against the apartheid regime. Nine years later in 1993, Nelson Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with then-president F.W. de Klerk as an award for their role in bringing about the peaceful end of apartheid. Nelson Mandela then went on to become South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994.
Pompeii Unicorn
A Priest was seated next to Van Der Merwe on a flight to Brakpan.
After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken.
Van Der Merwe asked for a Rum and Coke, which was brought and placed before him.
The flight attendant then asked the priest if he would like a drink.
He replied in disgust \”I\’d rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips.\”
Van Der Merwe then handed his drink back to the attendant and said \”Me too, I didn\’t know we had a choice.\”