News Bulletin of 24 November 2025, 4pm

Momentum Group has announced the winners of its 10th annual Lesedi Awards, celebrating employees whose volunteer work has made a difference across South Africa.
The awards, held at Langhams Lifestyle Estate in Fourways, carry the theme “We invest in kindness,” reflecting the company’s belief that compassion grows when put to work.
Since 2015, the Lesedi Awards have recognised employees who support causes like youth mentorship, gender-based violence awareness, food security, and care for abandoned babies.
Last year, staff contributed over 8,600 volunteer hours.
For the first time, the top Spirit of Volunteering Award went to a team.
Momentum’s Merge team, behind the Operation Anti-Freeze winter drive, has turned a local initiative into a vital support for families in need.

Three children, including 16-month-old Stephen Williams, have received free reconstructive surgery for cleft lips and palates through the Smile Slate initiative.
The program, run by the Smile Foundation with Milky Lane, offers life-changing surgeries for children with facial anomalies such as cleft lips, craniofacial differences, and severe burn scarring.
The surgeries took place at Tygerberg Hospital, where Dr. Mosadi Mahoko, a plastic surgeon dedicated to improving access to reconstructive care in the public health system, led the team.
Surgeries like Stephen’s not only restore smiles but also support feeding, speech, and dental development as the children grow.

The nonprofit Freedom Reads has opened 35 new libraries across Missouri prisons, bringing its nationwide total to more than 550.
Founded by former inmate Reginald Dwayne Betts, the initiative provides incarcerated people with books and educational resources to support rehabilitation.
Each library has around 500 books and is designed to encourage learning, discussion, and community within prisons.
Funded through donations and grants, including support from the MacArthur and Mellon Foundations, Freedom Reads continues to grow, aiming to give inmates the tools to learn and transform their lives.
Betts’ program began after a single book delivered to him in solitary confinement at 17 changed his life, a principle now at the heart of Freedom Reads’ mission that freedom begins with a book.