The Odds in Our Favour

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 chats to Saskia about the roots of the organisation, the tragic case of Franziska Blöchliger in Tokai 10 years ago, and whether she has had any feedback from government since it declared GVB a national disaster six months ago. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 the starting point for Uthutho. As the two prepare to represent South Africa in Silicon Valley after winning the 2026 Red Bull Basement national title, Less shares how their own lived experience, technology, and asking better questions are helping reshape the future of transport. One of the questions needed to be solved in developing the idea was how to track the untrackable, like routes, delays, bus times, etc. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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, Huna says, speaks to the rural pursuit of autonomy, dignity, and the power to shape the future. But it all starts with equitable access to crop seeds to support those left on the outskirts of South Africa’s largely commercial food economy. Huna also challenges President Cyril Ramaphosa this election year to ditch political empty promises, and back rural womens’ farming in practice. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 where children can feel safe and present. And in a country with constant tensions, teaching calm may be one of the most powerful interventions we have. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 voices to access land, water, and seeds. In this News24 Good News podcast, published every Friday at 07:00, seasoned broadcaster Saskia Falken asks: “What happens when ordinary South Africans stop waiting and start fixing things?” This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 safe spaces for them to cry. This is a far-reaching conversation about local culture in motion, cycles broken, and how change only begins when men bare their souls. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 charities and even children's homes. Van Neel believes we should all live today as if it were the last, and make it count. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 forging safe spaces, like private farming plots, where none exist, showing how communities step in when local support systems have broken down. She says, “We can be the implementer of our own change." This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 fashion, the complexity behind what we wear, and the power of individual choice, because every purchase is a decision, and every decision shapes our reality. This episode is proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 to school without shoes every day, and Nomlala is challenging the government and you to get involved and pledge. To date, Nomlala's handed out 100 000 pairs of shoes, but his goal is at least one million... and he's even sold his properties and cars to realise this epic dream. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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 concerned with revitalising. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors.

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. Listen for more, or check out our special site for upcoming episodes: The Odds in our Favour. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

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 episodes: The Odds in our Favour. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth – helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24’s editors.

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 upcoming episodes: The Odds In Our Favour. This episode was proudly brought to you by Old Mutual Wealth — helping clients grow, protect, and preserve what matters most with investment strategies designed to support your legacy. Comment below and send our host, Saskia Falken, a voice note: 082 326 9855. The full edition drops every Friday at 07:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. The show is produced by An Wentzel and quality-checked by News24's editors. *Discretion may be advised for sensitive listeners.