
Help spread warmth with pamper care packs for elderly
The Richards Bay-based Walk in Faith NPO is preparing over 100 pamper care packs for the elderly this winter.
Each pack includes a warm blanket, socks, hand lotion, Cup-a-Soup, a scarf, cappuccino sachet and biscuits.
For anyone who wants to help make this winter more cosy for the region's elderly, the team is accepting donations.
As the cold sets in, many in the community need support to stay warm. Donations of blankets, socks, lip balm, lotion, Cup-a-Soup, Vaseline or Zam-Buk, tissues, or wet wipes are most welcome.
To contribute, contact Walk in Faith founder Merinda Ackermann (Richards Bay) on 081 5382331 or Linda Venter (Empangeni) on 083 4170133.
Don't have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here:
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp – 060 784 2695
Instagram – zululand_observer
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Unlocking healing: how 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals' is redefining wellness
In her debut book, 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals', Dr Mmatheo Motsisi delivers not merely a spiritual guide but a radiant call to awakening. Image: Dr Mmatheo Motsisi/Facebook In her debut book 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals', Dr Mmatheo Motsisi offers readers more than just a spiritual guide - she offers a luminous call to awaken. It is a work that invites seekers, healers and the quietly curious onto a sacred path of self-discovery, healing and transformation. Blending African indigenous wisdom, yogic philosophy, Buddhist mindfulness and universal mystical traditions, Motsisi's writing moves like poetry: gentle but piercing, grounded yet transcendent. At the heart of it is the lotus - a timeless symbol of consciousness unfolding, petal by petal, from murky waters toward the light. 'The 'Lotus of Thousand Petals' symbolises the full flowering of consciousness,' Motsisi explains. 'Each petal represents an aspect of our being, healed, integrated and illuminated until we remember our wholeness.' The Johannesburg-based healer, medicolegal expert and mediator says the inspiration to write the book began as 'a quiet yet persistent call' within her soul. 'It was a whisper urging me to give voice to truths carried deep within,' she recalls. 'This book is lived, not merely imagined. Every chapter carries the resonance of my own path through shadow and light, pain and grace.' Motsisi's writing process was not a sprint to the finish line - it was a pilgrimage. 'It took several years,' she says, 'not because the words were difficult but because the becoming they required was profound.' The act of writing became its own initiation. 'Emotionally, it was raw and revealing. Spiritually, it was an initiation, with each page becoming an altar where I laid down a piece of myself only to have it returned transformed.' This deep, embodied process shaped 'The Gem' into more than a book. It is, in Motsisi's words, 'a compassionate companion' for anyone navigating modern life with presence and purpose. It is a reminder that every hardship and victory is sacred - steps toward liberation and self-realisation. Although rooted in centuries-old wisdom, the book addresses the struggles of the present day - constant noise, inner restlessness and disconnection from self and others. 'At the heart of all ancient traditions is the truth that we are not separate,' Motsisi says. 'Our healing and liberation are shared journeys, and the inward path is inseparable from our connection to one another.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Although rooted in centuries-old wisdom, 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals' addresses the struggles of the present day - constant noise, inner restlessness and disconnection from self and others. Image: Supplied In today's world, she believes, spiritual awakening is less about retreating to mountaintops and more about living fully awake in everyday life. 'Awakening now is about being present in the world, awake to our interconnectedness,' she says. ''The Gem' offers reflections, practices and stories that help readers find inner stillness amidst outer noise and live with conscious intention.' One of the recurring themes in the book is the need to face and dissolve internal barriers. Motsisi names fear, self-doubt and the belief in unworthiness as 'powerful inner prisons' that hold people back. Her approach to dismantling these is gentle yet transformative. 'My book invites readers to meet these blockages with compassion rather than force,' she says. 'Through soulful inquiry, it helps dissolve these barriers and reveal our true, limitless nature.' This, she adds, is not a call to bypass pain but to integrate it. 'Every challenge is an invitation. Every scar carries a story. When we honour these, we reclaim our power.' Motsisi also addresses the tension between spiritual reflection and active engagement in the world. 'Spirituality without action can become withdrawal, and action without depth can become hollow,' she reflects. 'Balance comes when inner clarity guides outer action, when each step is rooted in presence, and when each inward turning strengthens our engagement with life.' This, she says, is where the lotus metaphor shines - rooted in the mud but blossoming above the water. 'We are called to bloom not by escaping the mud, but by using it to grow.' The book is written for anyone who feels 'a quiet yearning for something more.' Whether or not readers label themselves as spiritual seekers, Motsisi hopes they will find in its pages a mirror reflecting 'their beauty, strength and divine essence.' One of the most moving responses she has received came from a reader who told her, 'It felt as though this book was written just for me.' That, Motsisi says, is the ultimate affirmation. 'It means the work has met someone exactly where they are.' While the book is a complete offering in itself, Motsisi sees it as the first chapter in a larger body of work. 'I sense it as the first petal of a greater blossoming - a body of teachings that will continue to unfold through future books, workshops and gatherings.' Since the book's release, she has been moved by how it has taken on a life of its own. 'It has humbled me,' she admits. 'Watching it leave my hands and find its way into the world reminds me that we are vessels for what wishes to be expressed.' Her trust in divine timing has deepened. 'Our stories, shared sincerely, can become medicine for others,' she says. At its core, 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals' is a book about becoming - about embracing life's cycles of loss and renewal, shadow and light, mud and bloom. It calls readers to honour their own path, however winding, as sacred. For those willing to turn inward, face their fears, and open to life's mysteries, Motsisi's debut offers both a map and a companion for the road. And for the author herself, this is just the beginning. 'The journey never truly ends,' she says. 'It simply unfolds - petal by petal.'


The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
Ratang Bana cares for Alexandra's vulnerable children amid funding cuts
Ratang Bana, an Alexandra-based NPO, has long served as a lifeline for children affected by poverty and orphanhood. But the organisation now faces a funding crisis, one that threatens to dismantle the fragile support system it has built for Alexandra's most vulnerable. Emphasising its significant role within the community, Ratang Bana's Idah Rambau said the organisation also gave vital support to children in child-headed and youth-headed households. 'We give them food parcels when we have them, and we offer psychosocial support through our various support groups.' Read more: Alex children gleeful as they celebrate Children's Day But the cases they handle are often beyond resolution, and they often require more than just food parcels. Rambau cited one specific case of a youth-headed household with four orphaned children, all without identity documents. She said the eldest, now the sibling carer, had never attended school. 'Over the weekend, they had nowhere to stay. Their mother had been allowed to stay temporarily in Extension 8, but after she passed, the owners wanted their space back. One of our caregivers had to volunteer to take them in.' In some of the worst cases, Rambau said, young sibling carers were themselves ill. She described a young woman caring for two siblings while battling tuberculosis. 'She defaulted on her medication and was admitted. Now she's pregnant. No one is taking care of them.' Rambau said Ratang Bana would sometimes receive food parcels from a local church to give to families facing such challenges, but with more than 200 households currently in need, they were forced to rotate support. The situation worsened after USAID withdrew its funding. 'It affected us a lot. We had to reduce staff. It also affected our beneficiaries,' she noted, adding that programmes such as HIV testing, prevention, and youth education, especially the YOLO (You Only Live Once) initiative for 12–15-year-olds, were halted as a result of the funding withdrawal. DA MP Bridget Masango recently visited the centre and expressed concern. 'They employed 135 young men and women but have lost half of them because of the withdrawal of funding by USAID,' she said. Ratang Bana is one of the few organisations in Alexandra with deep, daily insight into the lived experiences of vulnerable children. But without urgent support, its ability to assist is slipping and with it, the safety net for hundreds of young lives. Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration!

IOL News
07-08-2025
- IOL News
What is sleepmaxxing? Experts debunk yet another social media 'trend'
Experts have raised alarm about the trick, following a Chinese state broadcaster's report that attributed at least one fatality in China last year to a similar "neck hanging" routine. Image: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels From mouth taping to rope-assisted neck swinging, a viral social media trend is promoting extreme bedtime routines that claim to deliver perfect sleep -- despite scant medical evidence and potential safety risks. Influencers on platforms including TikTok and X are fueling a growing wellness obsession popularly known as "sleepmaxxing," a catch-all term for activities and products aimed at optimizing sleep quality. The explosive rise of the trend -- generating tens of millions of posts -- underscores social media's power to legitimize unproven health practices, particularly as tech platforms scale back content moderation. One so-called insomnia cure involves people hanging by their necks with ropes or belts and swinging their bodies in the air. "Those who try it claim their sleep problems have significantly improved," said one clip on X that racked up more than 11 million views. Experts have raised alarm about the trick, following a Chinese state broadcaster's report that attributed at least one fatality in China last year to a similar "neck hanging" routine. Such sleepmaxxing techniques are "ridiculous, potentially harmful, and evidence-free," Timothy Caulfield, a misinformation expert from the University of Alberta in Canada, told AFP. "It is a good example of how social media can normalize the absurd." Another popular practice is taping of the mouth for sleep, promoted as a way to encourage nasal breathing. Influencers claim it offers broad benefits, from better sleep and improved oral health to reduced snoring. But a report from George Washington University found that most of these claims were not supported by medical research. Experts have also warned the practice could be dangerous, particularly for those suffering from sleep apnea, a condition that disrupts breathing during sleep. Other unfounded tricks touted by sleepmaxxing influencers include wearing blue- or red-tinted glasses, using weighted blankets, and eating two kiwis just before bed. 'Damaging' "My concern with the 'sleepmaxxing' trend -- particularly as it's presented on platforms like TikTok -- is that much of the advice being shared can be actively unhelpful, even damaging, for people struggling with real sleep issues," Kathryn Pinkham, a Britain-based insomnia specialist, told AFP. "While some of these tips might be harmless for people who generally sleep well, they can increase pressure and anxiety for those dealing with chronic insomnia or other persistent sleep problems." While sound and sufficient sleep is considered a cornerstone of good health, experts warn that the trend may be contributing to orthosomnia, an obsessive preoccupation with achieving perfect sleep. "The pressure to get perfect sleep is embedded in the sleepmaxxing culture," said Eric Zhou of Harvard Medical School. "While prioritizing restful sleep is commendable, setting perfection as your goal is problematic. Even good sleepers vary from night to night." Pinkham added that poor sleep was often fuelled by the "anxiety to fix it," a fact largely unacknowledged by sleepmaxxing influencers. "The more we try to control sleep with hacks or rigid routines, the more vigilant and stressed we become -- paradoxically making sleep harder," Pinkham said. Beauty over health Many sleepmaxxing posts focus on enhancing physical appearance rather than improving health, reflecting an overlap with "looksmaxxing" –- another online trend that encourages unproven and sometimes dangerous techniques to boost sexual appeal. Some sleepmaxxing influencers have sought to profit from the trend's growing popularity, promoting products such as mouth tapes, sleep-enhancing drink powders, and "sleepmax gummies" containing melatonin. That may be in violation of legal norms in some countries like Britain, where melatonin is available only as a prescription drug. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended against using melatonin to treat insomnia in adults, citing inconsistent medical evidence regarding its effectiveness. Some medical experts also caution about the impact of the placebo effect on insomnia patients using sleep medication -- when people report real improvement after taking a fake or nonexistent treatment because of their beliefs. "Many of these tips come from non-experts and aren't grounded in clinical evidence," said Pinkham. "For people with genuine sleep issues, this kind of advice often adds pressure rather than relief." AFP