The Odds in Our Favour

In South Africa, more than 70% of children in Grades 1 to 3 cannot read at grade level in their home language*. By Grade 4, just over 80% cannot read for meaning**. In Episode 18 of The Odds in Our Favour, Erica Wicomb from the Instructional Leadership Institute shares how strengthening school leaders can transform teaching quality, turning ideas and training into practical action that improves le...

In Episode 17 of The Odds in Our Favour, Jaraad Hassim of PatchPal tells us how a flat tyre was the breaking point that motivated him and two co-founders to establish a business to fix South Africa’s great pothole problem. A pothole is easy to ignore, until someone decides it’s not. Hassim, Karl Lee and Zakariyya Adamjee saw a problem that communities had learnt to live with, and turned frustratio...

Throughout Africa, small businesses power local economies; yet, many remain trapped in survival mode, not for lack of ambition, but because of missing systems, structure, and long-term strategy. From spaza shops to community enterprises, entrepreneurship is often driven by grit, but not always supported by the frameworks needed to scale. In Episode 16, Anisha Mordaunt, founder of AFRIBOA, joins us...

In Episode 15 of The Odds in Our Favour, Saskia Falken chats to Dr Tom Ellman of Doctors Without Borders about the new HIV prevention breakthrough, Lenacapavir, and asks: “Who will actually get it?” While science moves forward, access remains shaped by patents, pricing and power. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – also known as Doctors Without Borders – is an organisation known for delivering frontl...

In Episode 14 of The Odds in Our Favour, Saskia Falken chats to the indomitable Sabrina Walter, whose foundation, Women4Change, has led many successful and viral campaigns against gender-based violence (GBV). Most recently, the “purple” campaign saw thousands gather and stay away from work towards the end of 2025, ending with President Cyril Ramaphosa declaring GBV a national disaster. Walter chat...

In Episode 13 of The Odds in Our Favour, Saskia Falken chats to Shaqeel Less about Uthutho: a platform designed to bring visibility, safety and real-time information to commuters. The spark for Uthutho began with a poignant question: why does something that so many rely on work the way it does? For University of the Western Cape graduates Less and co-founder Makhi Mangxola, that frustration became...

In Episode 12 of The Odds in Our Favour, Saskia Falken resumes her focus on access to land with activist Lungisa Huna on freeing up access to critical water sources and crop seeds for rural women farmers. Huna discusses how her Trust for Community Outreach and Education collaborates closely with smallholder farmers, women and youth to reclaim control over food systems and scarce resources. This, H...

What if the foundation for learning isn't intelligence but the ability to keep calm? In Episode 11 of The Odds in Our Favour, Saskia Falken chats to Janna Kretzmar from the Earthchild Project, which works in schools across Khayelitsha and Lavender Hill. They help children regulate their emotions before they're expected to perform. Through yoga, mindfulness and life skills, this work creates spaces...

In Episode 10 of The Odds in Our Favour, Saskia Falken chats to Mercia Andrews from the Rural Women's Assembly Southern Africa, who shows how women in rural spaces are organising, leading, and reshaping systems. This is a conversation about resilience in action, redistribution of land and power – no handouts – and how women are supporting and empowering one another and using their collective voice...

In Episode 9, Saskia is joined by not one but two guests: Luyolo Lengisi and Sibusiso Diko of Langa for Men, a Cape Town non-profit that assists boys and men in rising above gender-based violence (GBV). Founded in the aftermath of student Uyinene Mrwetyana's murder, the pair challenges the notion of toxic masculinity head-on in areas where GBV is rife, holding young men accountable and creating sa...

In Episode 8, Saskia calls in former pro football player turned philanthropic endurance trail runner, Stefan van Neel. We know that most men are taught to stay quiet, endure, and carry pain alone, but Van Neel uses extreme physical challenges, like summitting many of Cape Town's mountain peaks, to open conversations about men's mental health, while raising critical funds for various cancer chariti...

In Episode 7, Saskia sits down with Sheriff Ramoabi, a grassroots activist who represents the incredible but lesser-known Rural Women's Assembly and The Healing Circle. In many rural communities today, there are no shelters, counsellors, or hotlines for women facing all types of abuse, while work opportunities remain slim. Ramoabi shares how her initiatives, such as One Woman, One Hectare, are for...

Every item of clothing tells a story, but not all of it is visible. In episode 6, Safiyya Karim shares why she walked away from a corporate career to challenge one of the world's most exploitative industries. As director of Fashion Revolution South Africa, she is working to reimagine fashion through transparency, sustainability, and accountability. This conversation explores the true cost of fast...

In episode five, Saskia attempts to figuratively walk for about 30 minutes in Gerald Nomlala's shoes, hearing how the founder and CEO of the Kasi Angels Foundation sacrificed almost everything to assist underprivileged South African children with school shoes. And Nomlala refuses to compromise by donating cheap plastic shoes. The philanthropist and activist estimates that about 7 million pupils go...

In episode four, Saskia is inspired by Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman and what it takes to respond to a natural disaster with a relief aid group now synonymous with the South African story. Sooliman reveals that while faith guided him in establishing the organisation, it was his gut feeling that took the group to new heights. He also argues that health remains the sector he’s most c...

In Episode 3, social entrepreneur Leana de Beer shares how confronting unequal access to higher education led to the creation of entities Feenix and WaFunda – and why systemic change can start with bold, practical solutions. She shares how important it is to reclaim opportunity, break barriers, and what happens when ordinary South Africans refuse to accept that talent should be limited by wealth....

In episode two, Jessica Dewhurst unpacks why she founded Justice Desk Africa to help plug the gap between constitutional rights and lived reality in South Africa – and why young South Africans are key. In a world where rights are not guaranteed, we empower others by sharing knowledge, says Dewhurst. This is the power of everyday activism. Listen for more, or check out our special site for upcoming...

In episode one, Siv Ngesi joins us in the News24 studio to talk about period poverty. Every month, millions of South African girls miss school because they can't afford sanitary towels. The activist and actor shares how this devastating fact led to the founding of the MENstruation Foundation and why restoring dignity does not need policy change*. Listen for more, or check out our special site for...