Women and children bear the primary responsibility for water collection. They often have to walk an average of 7 Kilometres a day just to collect water. If businesses reduced their water usage by 10%, 624,000 households would gain access to 30 kilolitres a day. For a sector that uses 27% of the total water supply overall, the response from the business community to date has been inadequate. While South Africa has been hit by one of the worse droughts in its history and the people of Mzansi have been inundated with messages on individual responsibility to save water, we fail to see a similar commitment by the business community, who have the resources and the money to act. We cannot allow for business interests to put profits before the lives of people. Endorsed by: ActionAid South Africa, African Civil Society Centre, Project 90 by 2030, Gender CC, Federation for a sustainable environment, Jukskei Catchment Management Agency Forum, 350Africa.org

The fact that Jansen, who is supposed to uphold the rule of law in an objective and unbiased manner, could a) rise through the judicial ranks and b) defend her racism so eagerly is outrageous. How are we, as citizens of South Africa, supposed to trust that Judge Jansen will preside over cases fairly when she is so clearly racist and uninformed?

12 Million People go to bed on a hungry stomach every night in our country (http://m.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/?articleId=7906847)

Mining companies have been exploiting workers for decades when it has come to workers rights, safety and health. Many workers have died, slow painful deaths with no compensation, having worked in mines that produce gold used by jewellers. Public pressure forced regulation of conflict diamonds, and labelling of goods from Israel, now we need to use consumer power to transform the gold industrial complex.

PIK IT UP workers have been on strike for weeks asking for a living wage. This is affecting municipalities and with local municipal elections coming up, decisive action needs to be taken to prioritize PIK IT UP workers

Over the last year, South Africa has seen a rise in student protests calling for the decolonization of institutions and for the provision of free education. All across the country there has been explosions of student and worker anger directed at university management and the state for their failure to respond adequately to the anti-black, anti-poor and liberal state of our higher education system. Black students and outsourced workers can no longer be silent about their dehumanization in our institutions of higher learning. Black students and outsourced workers can no longer accept being marginalized on their own land. However, university executives across the country are silently using their institutional powers to stifle dissent by victimizing student activists. At the University of Cape Town, supposedly the ‘best’ university in Afrika, management has turned to repressive means and is intimidating and victimizing student activists. Outside of the gaze of the media and public scrutiny, Vice Chancellor Max Price and his deputies are silently executing a clear mandate: suffocate legitimate student protests by criminalizing, indefinitely suspending and expelling those the university regards as ring leaders instead of dealing with the issues raised by students. To date the University of Cape Town has: • Indefinitely suspended 3 student leaders from the university. • Indefinitely Interdicted 5 activists from accessing the university. Initially there were 16 students interdicted. • Charged 9 student activists through internal disciplinary procedures with the intention to expel Several students have now lost a whole term due to their suspensions and interdicts barring them from accessing the campus and it is predicted that UCT will target more black students. For black students access to higher education is political. Our histories have been shaped by poverty, a lack of human dignity and inequality due to being denied access to quality education. Furthermore, gaining access to higher education burdens us with the duty to break this cycle by actively challenging the neoliberal anti-black policies around housing, fees, institutional racism and patriarchy in order break open the ivory towers of higher learning for the majority of the people of this country. It is this cause that UCT is now criminalizing and victimizing black students for. We call on all progressive forces, parents, community leaders, alumni, civil society, politicians and the general public to put pressure on UCT management to lift the suspensions, remove the interdict and to seek alternative methods of resolving these conflicts so as to avoid denying students access to education at UCT.

Campaign: #RISE one million signatures against sexual violence “The list ends here” Invitation Letter to sign a million signatures against sexual violence - the RISE’s Advocacy Event in connection with Sinoxolo Mafevuka’s rape & murder case - (24 Feb 2016) This letter serves as an official invitation to support the RISE Young Women’s Clubs Advocacy Campaign in Connection with Sinoxolo Mafevuka’s rape and murder case by signing this petition. The purpose of the event is to take a stance together against sexual violence. At Soul City Institute, we value and appreciate your department’s support in terms of creating safer communities where girls and young women in particular, are not affected by any type of sexual violence and/or its consequences. Hence we are indeed grateful. The event will be hosted by Soul City. The event will consist of the following main activities: #RISE one million signatures against sexual violence. Here the clubs (branded) will meet at the Khayelitsha mall and call out to the community members to sign a petition (on the poster –size papers) for no sexual violence against girls and women. This will take place on Thursday the 24th of March 2016 from 14h00 to 16h30. Your signature is about taking action in ending sexual violence and amplifying the voices of survivors of sexual violence and those at risk of being sexually violated. Be part of this movement and make your voice heard. This event is initiated by Soul City to eradicate sexual violence against women and girls in the Western Cape. We look forward to a continuing partnership with you.

Akhona is in grade eight. Like many of her classmates, she often misses school when she has her periods because her family cannot afford sanitary pads [1]. Akhona is not alone. On average in Mzansi. a girl will miss 60 days of school because of her period [2]. And some are forced to use socks, newspapers and worse because they can’t afford sanitary pads. Over time this can cause girls to drop-out completely. If they struggle through, they often find themselves unable to fully take part in school activities. Livity Africa's LiveVIPZA campaign, which initiated the parliament challenge, aims to present a plan in June on how to provide sanitary pads to low income communities to the Health Portfolio Committee. But the implementation requires that the Ministers of Basic Education, Health and Social Development kick start the plan. [1] I use a sock as a sanitary pad, says Langa learner http://www.groundup.org.za/article/i-use-sock-sanitary-pad-says-langa-learner_2418/ [2] Dignity Dreams article with information on how many girls miss school a month and in a year: http://www.ngopulse.org/organisation/dignity-dreams

Young people were encouraged to register for the upcoming elections, but Noziziwe Buthelezi* won’t be voting in these elections or ever. She died last week after after a failed, unsafe abortion. While abortion is legal in South Africa, women like Noziziwe* are forced to risk their lives by using unsafe, illegal options. The posters advertising these fill our streets, yet most public institutions have no information about the safe, free alternatives available to women. If enough of us come together, we can demand that the National Department of Health (NDOH) upholds women’s right to access quality, affordable and acceptable sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including abortion. *Not her real name

Children from age 1 to 6 got a very innovative education and my intake of children in 1 year is the proof that We provided a holistic education .

This goverment has been rigging it own funds/budget in the name of recostruction of the corrupt system but corruption is even growing in alarming speed and has been musterminded by the state itself.

The bedrock of our nations is the older folk who suffered and endured the brunt of the apartheid regimefor years, who sacrificed their youth and who have contributed, in no small measure, to the economy of this country - yes they did! - are being marginalised because they are not spending hundreds of thousands of rands per annum on housing or holidays or shopping at the top boutiques. If they don't get to the baas' (white, black, brown or pink) house early enough, then the baas cannot go to work knowing that their kid(s) are safe, their house will be looked after and cleaned, the plumber/TV man/electrician will be given access to repair or install some new equipment/appliance. I want them to get the consideration and respect due to them!