UPDATE: Two young South Africans taking the world by storm
Martin Bester spoke to two young Good Morning Angels recipients who are taking the world by storm and making the most of the help they received from Good Morning Angels.
Octovia Malatji
Hospitality student Octovia Malatji smashed her 2025 third-year studies and is now looking forward to her final year.
Malatji has one more year to go to fully qualify in Hospitality Management at the University of Mpumalanga.
Octovia was raised by her grandmother and supported by her elder sister in the deep rural Sephukubje Village near Tzaneen in Limpopo. Both her parents have passed away.
Octovia started her studies in 2023 and has done exceptionally well despite financial struggles.
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Last year, she wrote in to the Good Morning Angels New Year's Edition. She received all the support she needed from the Willard Bursary Fund and Good Morning Angels and managed to ace her third year with five distinctions.
For her fourth and final year in 2026, her class fees are covered, but she needs assistance with accommodation and food costs.
She has worked incredibly hard and only needs that final push to complete her studies and start working in the hospitality industry she loves so much. Her goal is to look after her grandmother and make her proud.
REQUEST FOR: Makgate Octovia Malatji from Tzaneen in Limpopo
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist Octovia with R50,000 towards her accommodation and food needs for her 2026 final-year Hospitality studies at the University of Mpumalanga.
Andru van Zyl
Martin Bester checked in with Andru van Zyl, the 18-year-old cycling from Polokwane to Cape Town in aid of children with cancer.
Gallery
On the 2026 back-to-school Wednesday, we checked in with Andru van Zyl, last year’s head boy at Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool Pretoria (Affies).
After finishing his final matric exams, 18-year-old Andru decided to spend his final school holiday cycling from his hometown of Polokwane in Limpopo to Cape Town on his dad’s 20-year-old bicycle.
This journey is all in aid of CHOC, which assists children with cancer and their families.
Andru says he decided to do this after a Grade 8 schoolmate was diagnosed with cancer last year: "Hearing this news shook me deeply. It reminded me how suddenly life can change, and how many children across South Africa face this terrifying journey every day. That’s why I'm doing this ride for CHOC, an organisation that walks alongside children with cancer and their families, providing care, comfort and support when they need it most."
READ: The best moments of Good Morning Angels 2025
In December last year, Good Morning Angels contributed R50 000 to Andru’s selfless fundraising effort.
We checked in with him this morning to find out how far he has travelled and how much he has raised.
Andru hopes to reach Cape Town on Thursday, 22 January.
For more information and to donate: https://www.givengain.com/project/andru-raising-funds-for-the-cows-114361
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