The Big Issue #309

July – August 2022

  • Issue #309 is available in South Africa, nationally, from select Spar, Pick n Pay and CNA stores, and street vendors across Cape Town CBD and suburbs.

Prince William works with The Big Issue

Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge writes exclusively for The Big Issue. He explains why he took to the streets recently to sell The Big Issue in the UK, and why ending homelessness is a cause close to his heart. Buy your copy of the magazine for the full story.

What can you do with a ballpoint pen?

The Pen Art Competition kicks off in Africa and the Middle East this year with BIC Art Master Africa. Entrants stand to win prizes worth USD 2000 (about R33000).

Re-engineering the masculinity crisis

“Encouraging vulnerability among Big Issue male vendors, enhancing their wellbeing, and that of others is vital for fostering better parenting skills”, says our social worker Tshepiso ‘Tshepi’ Nhemachena.

Past to present

An interview with Christopher Clark, journalist and author of Clare: The Killing of a Gentle Activist, published by Tafelberg. When journalist Christopher stumbled upon Clare Stewart’s story, it would not let him go. A multimedia journalist and a documentary filmmaker covering underreported social issues, mainly across Southern Africa, his writing, films and photography have been commissioned by The Atlantic, BBC News, The Guardian, Harper’s Magazine, Reuters, VICE and The Washington Post.

Laughing with Kev

When Comedian Kevin Fraser first uploaded his online videos – mostly zany spoofs of various characters tugging gently at the pained world of the average South African – his popularity exploded. Now he is travelling the world with his stand-up comedy.

Straight talking non-fiction

Haji Mohamed Dawjee is a South African columnist and author. She broaches controversial subjects in her unrestrained, emphatic and opinionated style. Here’s the Thing is Haji’s second book, following Sorry, Not Sorry:Experiences of a Brown Woman in a White South Africa, (2018). Read an essay from Here’s the Thing in your copy of The Big Issue.

Get in touch
As always, we value your feedback and would love to hear from you on this and other features in the magazine. Send your comments to bigissue@mikatekomedia.co.za

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More from this Issue:


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  • Agents of Change
  • City Life
  • Feature
  • News
  • Vendors

310

The Big Issue #310 August – September 2022 Our spring SOCIAL JUSTICE Issue #310 is available in South Africa, nationally, from select Spar, CNA and Pick […]

Love your local vendor

Our vendors operate as self-made entrepreneurs and their sole earnings are the profits made from each magazine they sell. We appeal to you to donate to their wish lists below, enabling them to further their opportunities. And, if you can make a dream come true, please get in touch.

Your Body, your rules

NO MEANS NO!
I do not have to be polite!
if someone makes me feel scared or uncomfortable. It is okay to say NO to a bigger kid or a grown-up and family members.

Worrier State

Worrier State: Risk, Anxiety and Moral Panic in South Africa, (Wits University Press), by Nicky Falkof delves into the culture of fear in South Africa. Anxieties about security and identity are examined with candid pragmatism that South Africans will relate to and understand.

Gugulethu’s sweetest business

Vuyo Myoli has set himself up as a beekeeper in the Cape Town township.

The rise of township power

Author of Citizen and Pariah, Vanya Gastrow completed her PhD in 2017. She holds a BA LLB MPhil (private law) from UCT and is an admitted attorney.

Social justice chair

The biography, No Longer Whispering to Power: The Story of Thuli Madonsela by Thandeka Gqubule, (Jonathan Ball Publishers) received mixed reviews, and, although it was published in 2017, remains a national staple that helps makes sense of a corrupt and complicated South African social justice system.

Support our Vendors

Please support our vendors who face the cold weather and dangerous traffic to generate a living. We appeal to you to donate towards our their wish lists below, enabling them to further their self-made opportunities. If there is any way you can make a dream come true, please reach out to us.

Re-engineering the masculinity crisis

“Encouraging vulnerability among Big Issue male vendors, enhancing their wellbeing, and that of others is vital for fostering better parenting skills”, says our social worker Tshepiso ‘Tshepi’ Nhemachena.

Laughing with Kev

When Comedian Kevin Fraser first uploaded his online videos – mostly zany spoofs of various characters tugging gently at the pained world of the average South African – his popularity exploded. Now he is travelling the world with his stand-up comedy.

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