To mark the newspaper’s golden jubilee, messages have been sent in from some who wanted to mark the occasion and give thanks for the role the Northcliff Melville Times has played in their lives.
Below we publish two who combined share the sentiment of others acknowledging the importance of community newspapers.
Growing Champions is a non-profit organisation based in Northcliff. Under Samantha Toweel-Moore, they work tirelessly to lift children and young adults out of a life of crime, abuse and addiction.
Here is what she had to say:
The Northcliff Melville Times (NMT) has been like a proud ‘Gogo’ celebrating all our milestones with us over the past 13 years. It has captured our joys, our hearts, and our vision. It has been there through struggles and rallied our extended family, the NMT community, to share in our story and give us their wisdom, their time, and their gifts so that we could live fully.
So many times, when you are born into poverty and violence, people associate you with mistrust and expect criminal behaviour from you. Our ‘Growing Champions’ have become deputy head boys at their schools, change leaders in the community, brand leaders and football league champions.
The NMT has captured it all. It has made our children and youth fighting the good fight visible so that the suspicions they face are reduced. They have been welcomed into the homes of people who they have never met, welcomed into our restaurants like MV Café and put on the walls. Cresta Centre has repeatedly let us erect pop-up stores to sell their brands about healthy living.
The NMT has helped children working to overcome the stigma and destructive lifestyle of addiction and abuse that their families have known to build a new healthy family legacy with the NMT family.
We couldn’t have done it without your devotion to our stories, our voices of change and transformation, determined to plough good into the soil of this community.
The seeds we planted have been watered by you and we pray we will bear many fruits that our Gogo and extended family can enjoy life under the trees that you have breathed life into.
Hugest congratulations on this phenomenal milestone. Enjoy the celebration of your long life, Gogo. We treasure you.
Selwyn Klass lives in Emmarentia and is the co-founder with Henni Erasmus of the Historic Documentary Film Society launched 10 years ago.
He writes to the editor:
Ours is an organisation primarily for pensioners to enjoy films about historical events. They regularly hold screenings followed by lavish teas for attendees to mingle and enjoy a morning outing.
I wish to commend Northcliff Melville Times for your continued support of our cultural and social forum.
Certainly, my association with the paper was heightened with your arrival as its editor (Aimee McGill) several years ago and the excellent coverage received, particularly by Neo Phashe. She not only sets the scene for our events but makes a point of attending, whenever possible, our functions held at The Ditsong Museum of Military History in Saxonwold.
She is warm and interested in the seniors’ anecdotes and impressions following the screenings at the tea.
Our attendees look forward to seeing their picture on the social pages, adding to the paper’s far-reaching circulation.
The year opened with Northcliff Melville Times being honoured with multiple and most deserved awards.
Having sat on an editor’s chair, I applaud your ‘quality of journalism’ for achieving new heights.
I still treasure your lead feature, headlined The Queen and Mr Klaas, that recognised Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II who celebrated her historic platinum jubilee.
On this auspicious golden anniversary, may your paper continue in its achievements.
Heartiest congratulations!
Click here to read our 50th birthday celebrations:
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