News Bulletin of 15 March 2026, 11am

A lecturer from the Department of Chemistry and Science at Stellenbosch University, is turning grit into opportunity for deserving science students. Through her Wheels of Opportunity initiative, Dr Marietjie Lutzshe aims to raise R100,000 for the Move4Food programme. This would help students in need access essential support so they can focus on their studies. The idea for WOOP began in 2022 when Dr Lutz learned that one of her students was facing homelessness but still excelling academically. To help financially struggling BSc students, she launched a fundraising cycling challenge. This year, she will take on one of the toughest mountain bike stage races in the world, the **Absa Cape Epic to support the cause.

The Santa Shoebox Project received a R200,000 donation from the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, part of which was raised through the Waterfront’s December 2025 festive gift-wrapping initiative. CEO Deb Zelezniak says the funds will help build ten reading corners in under-resourced early childhood centres across Cape Town and surrounding areas.

The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra visited a primary school in Cape Town, performing classical, popular, and film music while introducing students to different instruments. Part of the orchestra’s annual Schools’ Concerts programme, the initiative reaches around 15,000 children each year, giving them hands-on exposure to orchestral music. Children sang and watched as the orchestra demonstrated instruments and performed pieces from classical, popular and film music.