Change is in your pocket
The Big Issue is a socially responsible non-profit organisation that enables willing unemployed and marginalised adults to take responsibility for their own lives through a developmental employment programme.
Help us spread some winter warmth in support of this year’s Mandela Day, which is on Tuesday, 18 July. Get out your wool and needles and start knitting blankets, scarves or beanies, which will be donated to all our valued Big Issue vendors.
Congress and International Theatre Festival for Children and Young Audiences recently turned the spotlight on creating access to the arts in Africa.
Kobus Smith, a Big Issue vendor who recently stopped selling The Big Issue magazine at Canal Walk Mall, Century City, hopes to be at a selling point in Milnerton soon.
The Big Issue plays a vital role in the development of its vendors’ skills and talents. Nonceba Sondlo, a former vendor, is now living her dream of being an early childhood development educator, thanks to this magazine.
South Africa’s first township hemp house is cool in summer, warm in winter and emits the fragrance of grass and nature.
Crime novelist Irna van Zyl’s seven-year journey to getting published was not an easy one. After countless rewrites, several rejection letters from publishers, and taking a sabbatical in between, she released her debut novel, which is not so dead in the water.
Shirmoney Rhode, author of Nomme 20 Delphistraat, writes about her small beginnings and inspiration, and finding her voice as a young writer from the Cape Flats.
The spectacular ‘The Rhinos Are Coming!!!’ outdoor art exhibition has returned to the city to raise funds to help stop rhino poaching.
Ever considered adding the town of Wellington to your bucket list? If not, take a cue from Ingrid Jones, who took a road trip to this historic town.
When we first heard of Maureen Gericke, a pensioner in Gardens, and the city cats she’s been looking after for 17 years, we couldn’t resist the urge to share this love story with our readers.
For some people the dream of being published can be weighed down by the realisation of just how difficult achieving this dream actually is. Sibongile Machika, junior publisher at Jacana Media, and Dane Bowman, project manager of Staging Post, a service bureau for self-publishers, share insights into the pros and cons of traditional and self-publishing. […]
Tanner Methvin, a partner at Impact Amplifier, and Claire Pengelly, a water analyst at GreenCape, discuss the current water crisis, potential business opportunities, and more.
The Big Issue appeals to all public space and shopping mall owners, managers and operators in the greater Cape Metro area to allow our vendors to sell the magazines at their sites. It can be hazardous and physically exhausting to sell magazines at traffic light intersections. We would like to see more vendors selling the magazine in a safer environment. For more information, email md@bigissue.org.za.
Carolyn Steyn, philanthropist and founder of 67 Blankets, shares how one challenge to knit a blanket in honour of the late president Nelson Mandela has grown into a global movement, and changed her life forever.
Buhle Sithela is a young entrepreneur who is not waiting for his big break to come before bringing change to his community. He is using innovation to bring the big screen and big change to audiences in Khayelitsha.
Cape Town cyclist Grant Clark shares how his love for cycling and reading led him on an epic journey from Cairo to Cape Town to raise awareness and funds for childhood literacy.
Cape Town’s Sindiwe Magona, an accomplished author, playwright and public speaker, looks back on her life and shares some words of encouragement with her impatient younger self. As told to Melanie Farrell
