South African Heroes Awards 2023 opens entries for 5th Instalment
The South African Heroes Awards are an initiative of SA Positive News, sponsored by Mohlalefi Engineering.
The 5th annual South African Heroes Awards (SAHAs) have opened entries inviting community heroes to nominate themselves or be nominated by others in an effort to recognise and celebrate unsung heroes.
Entries officially opened on February 4, 2023, announced at an intimate event in Melville, Johannesburg.
“These awards celebrate ordinary South Africans who are doing extraordinary things to uplift their communities”, said Amanda Matshaka, SA Heroes Awards Founder.
“We are celebrating people who go out of their way to make a difference in their communities. These are unsung heroes; they take care of orphans, they train and mentor young people, they help the poor, the elderly and the vulnerable”, she said.
Over the past four years, the SAHAs has enjoyed overwhelming success with nominations coming from all provinces.
“We have had exceptional community leaders who won in the different categories that we have in the awards – some have gone on to collaborate on projects that will further benefit their communities”, Matshaka enthused.
The SAHAs have 10 categories; Youth Empowerment -uplifting young people through various programmes, Business Empowerment – offering assistance to start-ups/small businesses to help them succeed, Specialized Care – people who take care of vulnerable groups like orphans, disabled persons, abused people, widows, homeless, etc., Community Service – voluntary community work in different NGOs to benefit fellow community members; e.g. community policing forums, Community Health – health centres initiated and run by community members as well as primary health care, Rural Development – projects that uplift rural communities, Women Empowerment – programmes meant for the upliftment and empowerment of women, honorary Green Award that recognises people who run projects/programmes for environmental preservation.
This year two new categories have been added: the South African Hero of the Year and the honorary Ubuntu Award.
“We are excited to introduce these two categories. The SA Hero of the Year award will go to a community hero that has been voted for by fellow finalists”, said Matshaka.
“It is a way of building a sense of community among the unsung heroes and seeing value in what others are doing”.
The honorary Ubuntu Award will be bestowed upon veteran community builders and celebrated personalities who have contributed towards community building in appreciation of their acts of service.
The 2023 ambassador for the awards was also introduced at the event. Naomi Mosiane, founder of Kananelo M Trust & SAHA 2022 nominee, taking over from Linda Njotini-Ugbobuaku.
Nominations for 2023 will close on March 31. Nominees are chosen from communities by those who benefit from the services rendered by these heroes or the participants can nominate themselves based on the work they are doing.
“Simply tell South Africans why you are their hero by sharing about your selfless acts of service”. Send nomination to info@sapositivenews.com.
Winners are voted for by the public via sms, details on these are made available on www.saheroesawards.co.za once a selection of finalists by the judging panel has been done.
The South African Heroes Awards are an initiative of SA Positive News, sponsored by Mohlalefi Engineering.
For more information and interviews contact info@sapositivenews.com
Instagram: @saheroes_awards
