Okay, real talk this week.

You know when you’re juggling all the balls—community, business, life—and then one drops and rolls under the couch? Ja, that’s been me lately. It’s been a tough one to write… but here goes.

A Bittersweet Update

Our amazing friend and team member, Lois Webber, will be finishing her full-time role with us at the end of June. It’s not because of anything she did—far from it. Lois has been an absolute champion: the kind of person who quietly keeps everything running, reminds you (again) what you forgot, and somehow still replies to emails with a smile.

But the reality is… the funding just isn’t there.

Her wage subsidy is running out, and I’ve been personally covering part of her salary through my other businesses—mainly my global publishing company. Unfortunately, with the current geopolitical uncertainty (which is hitting international publishing hard), it’s just not sustainable anymore.

So, What Now?

We’re not going anywhere.

The South African Institute of Canada is still growing, still moving forward, and still very much alive. We’re just taking a step back, doing some restructuring, and making sure we can keep giving our members the value and support they deserve.

There’s a real need for what we’re building—and we’re not letting go of that.

New Directors Joining the Team

As part of this restructuring, I’m really grateful to be welcoming two new directors who are stepping up to help carry the load:

• Madeleine Herholdt – She’s already been the behind-the-scenes organizing wizard for so much, and now she’s officially coming on board to help with operations and volunteer coordination.

• Mike Levitt – Our new numbers guy. Mike’s a Chartered Accountant and will be handling finance and admin, keeping the books balanced and the spreadsheets spreadsheeting.

It’s a team effort now more than ever. We’ll also be reaching out to all our volunteers after our first board meeting to share what’s happening next and how we can all work together in this new chapter.

Let’s Help Find Lois Her Next Gig

If you (or someone you know) needs admin help, Lois is your person. She’s calm in the chaos, dependable, friendly, and just gets stuff done.

She’ll still be volunteering with us when she can, but we’d love to help her find something more stable.

You can reach her directly at [email protected]

In This Week’s Newsletter

• Upcoming Events – What’s on and what’s coming up

• Founding Member Spotlight – Boitumelo Oageng Cardwell

• Update on the Biltong Contest – Delays, stock issues, and a meaty update

• In the End, Everything Works Out – A little reminder when things feel upside down

• 📣 Help Us Keep Building

🇿🇦 Upcoming Events

It’s rugby season, and honestly, there’s nothing like shouting for the Bokke with a boerie roll in one hand and a coffee (or something stronger) in the other.

But here’s the thing — we need your help. If you know of any pubs, restaurants, lounges, community halls, or even backyard setups where the games will be shown, please reply to this email or post it in the Howzit Canada Facebook group.

Let’s get the word out, connect more Saffas, and make sure no one has to watch the games alone. Doesn’t matter where in Canada you are — if there’s a screen and a bit of gees, we want to know about it.

🇿🇦 Upcoming Dates to Remember:

• June 28 – Rugby & Boerie Brekkie, Kelowna (7:30am)

• June 29 – Afrikaanse Erediens, Mission (5pm)

• July 11–13 – Harvest Time Canada with Angus Buchan & Jeff Zak, Central Kootenay, BC

• July 16 – Hemingway’s Saffa Pub Night, Toronto (6pm)

• July 21 – South African Pub Night, North Vancouver (6pm–late)

• July 25 – Saffella 2025, Oakville

• July 25 – Afrikaans is Lekker, Toronto (6:30pm)

• July 26 – Afrikaans is Lekker, Saskatoon (6:30pm)

• July 26 – South African Market, Saskatoon (9am–3pm)

• July 26 – Potjiekos Competition, Oakville

• July 27 – Afrikaans is Lekker, Calgary (4pm)

P.S. If you’re in or near Kelowna, I can highly recommend Midtown Station Kitchen for catching a rugby game. We popped in after the last Vernon potjiekos competition and it was brilliant. Proper boerie breakfast with a piece of wors, baked beans, eggs — just the way we love it. Lekker spot, lekker people, and a great vibe to cheer on the Bokke.

🌟 Founding Member Spotlight: Boitumelo Oageng Cardwell

Let’s give a big shoutout to one of our Platinum Family Founding Members — Boitumelo Oageng Cardwell (aka Boi). Originally from Mafikeng, Boi is a talented chef who’s worked all over the world, bringing South African flavours to every table she touches.

I first met her at one of her South African street food days in New Westminster, and I’ll be honest — I was blown away. The food, the vibe, the warmth… it just felt like home. After that, Boi joined as a Platinum Family Founding Member, and she’s been part of this community ever since.

👉 Click to meet Boi and see the Street Food Day magic

And guess what? She’s not done yet…

🎉 Save the Date:

Annual South African Heritage Day – Big Braai Bash & Sokkie
📅 Saturday, 27 September 2025
📍 Hume Park, New Westminster, BC

We’re proud to be supporting Boitumelo in bringing this event to life — and if her last event was anything to go by, this one’s going to be epic. So mark it in your calendars now!

Biltong Tasting Competition Update

Okay folks, quick update on the Great Biltong Tasting Mission of 2025 — we’re running a tiny bit behind.

One of our suppliers is still waiting for a batch of biltong to be ready (you know how it goes… good things take time to dry properly). I’m hoping to pick it up by Wednesday, and as soon as it’s in hand, I’ll start packaging and getting the last round of tasters out.

The good news? All the long-distance shipments have already gone out. So this next round is mostly local — which means I’ll personally be driving around and delivering them. Look out for me sometime later this week or over the weekend, biltong boxes in hand.

And hey, if you’ve already tasted yours — don’t forget to mail me your feedback so we can crown the ultimate Canadian biltong champ. Taste carefully… it is a serious business, after all. 😎

🌅 In the End, Everything Works Out

You know that quote — “In the end, everything will be okay. And if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

I was reminded of that again today.

I’ve always believed that things work out the way they’re supposed to — even if it doesn’t look like it at first. Sometimes the rough patches are just part of something better we can’t see yet.

Take Johan and Judy, the couple with the houseboat in Nanaimo. You might remember we stayed on their boat for a couple of nights. Well, just last week, Judy told me they were really struggling to get bookings. Only two or three nights were booked, and things were looking pretty bleak. Johan was trying to find work but kept hitting dead ends — overqualified, no luck.

We’d chatted a few times, tried to come up with ideas to help, but it just wasn’t clicking.

Then this morning, Johan calls me — and everything’s changed.

Suddenly their Airbnb bookings have taken off — they’ve got almost 30 nights booked now. And even better? A charter operator in their marina hit something and damaged his catamaran. With his boat out of commission, he asked Johan if he could use theirs… or if Johan would take over the charters himself.

So Johan said yes — and in the last four days, he’s already taken nearly 40 people out on the water. He’s making some money, having a blast, and just like that, they’re doing charters and getting houseboat bookings. Everything’s bumping.

But here’s the kicker: they didn’t just sit back and hope.

They kept showing up. Judy worked hard on getting everything ready — from licences to house rules to listings. Johan helped people around the marina. They stayed positive and pushed forward, even when things looked slow.

So if you’re in one of those valleys right now — don’t give up.

It’s not the end. In the end, everything will be okay.

📣 Help Us Keep Building

If you’ve read this far — thank you. Really.

This community exists because people like you keep showing up. Whether it’s sending in a rugby meetup, sharing your biltong tasting feedback, or just forwarding this newsletter to a fellow Saffa… it all helps.

👉 Know someone who would love this newsletter? Please forward it to them.
👉 Got an idea for an event or want to get involved? Email [email protected].

Let’s keep building something lekker together.

Cheers,
Callie

Hey, let me know how I did in today’s newsletter.

Is there anything else that you think should be better? I respond to all replies, so give me a shout and let me know what you liked, what you didn’t like. Always good to hear from you.