Attention: Hong Kong Residents Currently Stuck in South Africa

Please get in touch with Vega Hall-Martin via Facebook or on +852 6219 6673 for more information.

Tribute to Eugene Wong 

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of long-standing South African community member, Mr Eugene Wong on 18 April. One of the first things that come to mind when thinking of Eugene is his unwavering enthusiasm for Springbok rugby (even when the Boks ‘played kak’). He could always be found in the Castle Corner at the Rugby Sevens, proudly donning his Springbok jersey. Eugene was also a supporter of the SAAHK community and assisted with the management of our Facebook group in past. He was an active member of the South African community in Hong Kong and was well known and loved by many for his friendliness, enthusiasm for all things South African and his great sense of humour.

Eugene’s love of South Africa was kindled after visiting the country for the first time in the early ‘80s. In 1990 he moved to Johannesburg and made it his home for the next 16 years. When he moved back to Hong Kong in 2006, he brought the spirit of Mzansi with him and made sure that he was never too far from a good braai, biltong or a Black Label Whiskey. Eugene was very proudly South African and always travelled with his South African passport despite the fact that he also had an HKSAR passport. Eugene will be greatly missed by the community and we would like to thank him for his years of support and love for our beautiful home country. We are sending all our love to his family during this difficult time and would like to thank his daughter Eugenie Wong for providing us with a photo and information about Eugene.  

Funeral Information:

The funeral has been scheduled for 3 May at 4 p.m. on 1/F ( 真誠堂）of Universal Funeral in Hung Hom. The mourning for relatives and friends, and the Buddhist vigil will start from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. The viewing will be held at 10 a.m -11 a.m. on 4 May followed by the cremation ceremony at Cape Collinson Crematorium.

Spectacular South Africa -  Wine Month (April and May)

Discount South African Wines to Enjoy While You #stayathome 

South African wine month is a great excuse to stock up on all your favourite wines from home. And if you can do so without leaving the comfort of your own home, even better! WOSA has a comprehensive list of all participants offering special deals during this time (in store and online). We've rounded up three of our favourite online deals. MyiCellar is offering great deals of up to 35% off on staples such as Two Oceans, Fairview and Klein Constantia; while Wine'n'Things are offering 25% off their selection including Bellingham, Hartenberg and Kanonkop. If you're looking for a great selection of boutique wines, click over to Babington Wines for their selection of Holden Manz and Lynx wines. Happy online shopping! 

WWF Tembo-Pilipili project in Tanzania 

The Tembo-Pilipili project (which means “elephant-chili” in Swahili) is an innovative initiative that focuses on reducing human-elephant conflict by implementing low-cost humane strategies that allow farmers and elephants to thrive in Tanzania. Farmers are trained to use chili crops as fences to deter elephants from encroaching on their farmland. So far, the project has enlisted 3,240 Tanzanian farmers who now use chili fences to protect their crops from elephant invasions and has helped 107 community-based organisations to improve farmer livelihoods. WWF has launched a campaign to train a further 1300 farmers. One farmer can be trained for only HK$425 (HK$100 or above is eligible for a tax-deductible receipt).  

Send Shoprite Checkers Vouchers to Friends and Family in South Africa

To enable customers to help those in need during the national lockdown in South Africa, the Shoprite Group via its affiliate Computicket has launched virtual vouchers which can be redeemed at any Shoprite, Checkers or Usave supermarket nationwide. The virtual vouchers can be safely bought online in just a few easy steps and are sent via SMS (South Africa) to a recipient’s mobile phone within an hour of placing the order. It can be redeemed immediately once received. If you would like to support family or friends back home or give to those in need, this is a convenient platform to do so from abroad. (Please note - we found that the Computicket website could not be reached unless we used a VPN for South Africa. However, this may differ from browser to browser.)

WWF Oceans Celebrations Activities: 1 - 3 May Onwards 

To mark World Oceans Day on 8 June, WWF Hong Kong is organising a series of fun and interactive activities throughout May and June to celebrate the important role the world’s oceans play in our lives. Activities will be hosted at their Hoi Ha Wan Marine Life Centre in Sai Kung and include a guided boat ride on their glass-bottom boat for coral observation, expert talks and a beach clean up and litter survey. These activities offer guests a unique opportunity to visit their Hoi Ha Wan Marine Life Centre and enjoy a fun-filled and meaningful eco-friendly day with the whole family. 

2020 SAAHK Membership Renewal

We would like to remind members to renew their membership for the coming year. Member benefits include discount at various suppliers and establishments in Hong Kong as well as ticket discounts to events. Membership fees help us to cover administrative costs involved in running the Association and is imperative to our existence. Please keep an eye on our website for updated member deals. 

1000 South Africans Perform the National Anthem Under Lockdown

It started as a small group of artists wanting to do something heartfelt and authentic at the start of the lockdown. It grew into something much bigger – a national and historic moment of hope that South Africans will be able to look back on with immense pride.

At the end of March – and the start of #LockdownSA – a group of over 50 of South Africa’s most talented performing artists came together – virtually – to perform our national anthem as part of the #AnthemChallengeRSA initiative. Each of the artists recorded their proud rendition individually at home. The recordings were collated into a single video and shared across social media with an invitation to all South Africans: JOIN US! The nation was challenged to submit videos of themselves performing our anthem; the result is a 1 000+ piece virtual choir of South Africans from every walk of life performing together in a show of true unity before President Cyril Ramaphosa began the process of reducing the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

“The process of receiving all the video submissions was both exhilarating and emotional,” says James Bassingthwaighte, part of the #AnthemChallengeRSA creative team.

“It took a significant amount of bravery to put yourself on the spot and sing an anthem in five different languages to a video camera and more than a thousand ordinary South Africans rose to the challenge! We easily managed to fill the 1 000 slots we were hoping to achieve and are actually still receiving submissions, even though the deadline has passed! The variety of submissions was extraordinary. We had families, groups of friends, choirs, recorder players and entire orchestras stepping up to join us! It really was amazing to see the ingenuity and the support that this project attracted from South Africans under lockdown.”

“One Thousand South Africans Perform Our Anthem” was released on YouTube and is a once-in-a-lifetime choral tapestry led by well-known South Africans including Busiswa, ProVerb, Leah, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Andre Schwartz, Donald, Katlego Maboe, Zolani Mahola, Tumi Morake, Khaya Dladla, Danny K, Relebogile Mabotja, Caroline Grace, Moonchild Sanelly, Willem Botha, KB and many others. 

(Adapted from the original article by Brent Lindeque, source: goodthingsguy.com)