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In 2005 retired school principal Boy John Mokoena and his wife Eunice ran a thriving business, providing high quality interior and exterior gamazine wall coating to properties in and around Nelspruit. Business was good but they needed help to grow and service their ever-increasing clientele.

Residents of Walmer in the Eastern Cape have rolled up their sleeves and taken the fight against poverty into their own hands.

In March 2012, Pearl Zulu completed a course in municipal finance as part of her internship with the Richards Bay Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

Four former prisoners from Tsakane, Gauteng have risen against the odds to grab their second chance in life. Veli Sefali, Salamina Molakeng, Syd- ney Kodijang and Jane Ngama have teamed up with three community members to set up a cooperative.

A group of students gather around a table stacked with car parts, listening to a Chinese engineer instructing them on how to assemble a vehicle.

Things have just gotten worse for criminals and better for law-abiding South Africans as police officers acquire more skills to help them detect and prevent crime.

For most South Africans, the start of a new year begins with reflecting on fun-filled, relaxing holidays and time with families.

But, for other citizens, the festive season is anything but festive, as they fall victim to abuse at home, which should be the safest place on earth.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has injected a massive R15.7 million into an agricultural cooperative formed by a group of young people from Jericho in the North West. Bana Ba Kgwale Agricultural Primary Cooperative was started by 25 young people who wanted to get involved in farming, supply local communities with the produce and create job opportunities for their counterparts in the village.

Gone are the days when 69-year-old Hamilton Makgato and his family would gather every container and chase after a water tanker or walk for hours to the nearest borehole or river for water. Now all they have to do is open up a tap in their home and water gushes out - making life so much easier for the family.

The Department of Basic Education has committed itself to improving the literacy and numeracy skills of all learners. To achieve this the department has produced a series of workbooks to assist learners. This year the department will distribute 54 million workbooks to learners.

What are workbooks?