Eish, it was a big weekend for South Africans in Canada!

Between Afrikaans is Lekker in Calgary, Toronto, and Saskatoon, Saffella in Calgary, the South African market in Saskatoon, and our Boerewors Roll Day here at Serengeti in Vancouver, there was a lot going on. Judging by all the photos and posts I saw on social media, it looks like the Saffa community was out in full force and a lot of fun was had.

So yeah, a lekker weekend all round. Love seeing so many people getting together, catching up, and making Canada feel just a little bit more fun.

On my side, it’s been busy. Proper busy.

Most of the week was spent sourcing gear, planning, and lining everything up for the mobile tire van. We’re going with the name Mobile Pit Crew, and I need to have everything ready before the seasonal tire change kicks off. As the saying goes “As dit pap reen moet jy skep”. Being ready for the first season is what will make or break this business…

Of course, I’ve still got a million other things on the go. That’s one of my classic flaws. I do something, get it running well, and just when it starts bringing in money, I go chasing new ideas and doing the stuff that’s fun instead of the stuff that pays. Shiny object syndrome. Every time.

This past week has also been about refocusing. Figuring out what’s actually helping and what’s just noise. Because, as most of you know, Canada has a way of chewing through your savings at an alarming pace. And we’re getting to that critical point now where we’ve got to turn things around and start adding back into the savings instead of chipping away at it.

So yeah, time to focus on the stuff that works. Head down, getting things done. And so far, things are moving in the right direction, which is lekker.

Anyway, that’s me. Let’s check out what else is going on this week…

In This Week’s newsletter

• 📅 Upcoming Events

• 👋 Welcome, Rike!

• 🤔 Thought of the Week

• 🤖 AI Thought of the Week

• 📮 That’s a Wrap

📅 Upcoming Events

Not a whole lot happening in August, but definitely not nothing.

One of the highlights of the year is coming up this month - The Netvleish Boere Fees in Dawson Creek. Vorster’s been putting on an amazing weekend every year with great food, music, and proper Saffa vibes. It’s one of those events that’s totally worth the mission if you can make it.

Unfortunately I won’t be going this year—one of my best mates (We’ve known each other for 30 years) is getting married that same weekend—but I’ll definitely be back next year. If you’ve never been, give it a go. You won’t regret it.

Here’s what else is coming up:

• Summer Saffa Kuier at Centennial – August 9, 2025 • Delta, BC

• South African Pub Night in North Vancouver – August 18, 2025 • North Vancouver, BC

• Hemingway’s SAFFA Pub Night – August 20, 2025 • Toronto, ON

• Disney’s The Lion King – August 20, 2025 • Vancouver, BC

• Netvleish Boere Fees – August 29, 2025 • Dawson Creek, BC

• South Africans in New Brunswick – August 30, 2025 • Fredericton, NB

Oh, and if there’s an event happening in your area that’s not listed here—or if you spot something we’ve missed—please shoot us a message. We rely on you to keep us in the loop, and we’d hate for anyone to miss out on a lekker kuier just because we didn’t know about it.

You can always email [email protected] or drop us a DM.

👋 Welcome, Rike!

We’ve got a new director joining us at the South African Institute of Canada — Rike Wedderburn.

If you’re in the Lower Mainland, that name should definitely ring a bell. Rike has been helping South Africans settle in for years. She’s one of those rare people who just quietly gets on with doing good — organizing events, building community, and being there for anyone who needs help or connection.

I still remember one of the first events we ever went to after arriving in Vancouver — a proper lamb-on-the-spit braai in Delta. That day, we met people who became lifelong friends. And over the years I’ve met so many others who had the same experience. That’s just who Rike is — always bringing people together and making life in Canada a little easier.

So ja, we’re seriously lucky to have her officially on board.

Welcome, Rike! So glad to have you as part of the SAIC team.

🤔 Thought of the Week

We live in a weird time.

Everything’s been reduced to bite-sized opinions and quick outrage. Thanks to social media, we’ve kind of trained ourselves to expect every issue, every person, every idea to fit neatly into a headline, a meme, or a tweet. But life doesn’t work like that. And people definitely don’t work like that.

I was thinking back to something that happened a few years ago back in South Africa. We had a hectic incident at our house. Belinda had just pulled into the driveway with the kids when some guys ambushed them, dragged them out of the car, hit her over the head with a gun, and forced them into the house and ransacked the place. It was rough.

After that, I got properly involved in community security. I wasn’t just thinking about protecting our house anymore. I wanted to stop the bad guys at the edge of the neighbourhood, not at my front door. So I helped organise security firms, boom gates, cameras at the access points, paid for guard huts, and ran a Facebook group where people could report incidents and stay in touch. I was properly stuck in.

Then, a while later — just before we left SA — I posted something casual on Facebook about maybe getting fireworks for the kids for New Year’s. I didn’t even end up buying them. But suddenly, I was public enemy number one. People jumped down my throat about how it would scare their pets. Overnight I went from “thanks for all you’re doing” to “the Devil reincarnate.”

And that stuck with me.

Because I see it all the time now — in politics, in life, in everyday interactions. We’ve forgotten that people are complex. You can do good and still make a dumb call now and then. You can disagree with someone and still recognize the value in what they’ve done. There’s no such thing as a perfect person. We all mess up sometimes. We all say things someone else might not like. That’s just being human.

So I guess the thought this week is just this: before you judge someone, before you write them off completely, take a second to zoom out. People are more than just one comment or one decision.

There’s always a bigger picture…

🤖 AI Thought of the Week

Stuff’s going to get real freaky, real soon.

We’re right on the edge of the next big leap in AI — and when I say big, I mean properly big. Some people are saying it could be as big as that moment when ChatGPT first dropped and the whole world went, “Wait, what just happened?” It’s that kind of jump.

Up until now, most of us have been using AI tools like ChatGPT as a super smart chatbot. You ask it things, it gives you an answer. You ask it to help you write something, boom, it helps. Super useful, but it’s still just a chatbot.

But that’s all about to change.

The next phase is agentic AI — something called AI agents. Now AI agents have been around for a little while, but until now, they’ve been stuck in their own little boxes. Sure, some could access the internet or do simple tasks, but they couldn’t act as you.

That’s what’s coming now.

The rumour is that with ChatGPT-5 — which is already rolling out to some folks and supposedly launching later this month — we’re going to see AI that can work inside your browser and use apps on your computer as you.

Yup, you read that right.

We’re talking about an AI that doesn’t just give you suggestions. It actually does the job. Clicks the buttons. Fills out the forms. Books things. Updates files. Basically, like a digital you that just gets on with things in the background.

Instead of you sitting there clicking away on your computer, you’ll just tell it what needs to be done — and it’ll go do it.

Once this kicks in — once AI is running inside your browser and can understand natural instructions — you’re not going to want to be left behind.

We’re entering a world where instead of hiring someone to do a job, you’ll just tell your agent what you want done.

For example, I won’t need someone to upload stories to the website anymore. I’ll just say: “When a new feature story comes in my email, take the info, log into WordPress, edit and format it, and send the link back to the person for approval. If they reply with edits, go back and fix it.”

Done. Start to finish.

That’s not the future — that’s literally about to be the now.

And while I’m not sure how it’s all going to play out when my AI starts talking to your AI, arranging things neither of us know about… one thing’s for sure:

Shit’s going to get weird.

📮 That’s a Wrap

Alrighty, that’s it for this week.

Hope you all have a lekker one, whatever you’re up to. Wish me luck with the van build — things are moving fast now and there’s still a ton to figure out. If you know anything about building tire vans or if you’ve got any tire-related contacts, shout. Honestly, any help is appreciated at this point.

Oh, and about that AI Tip of the Week — I keep writing them, but I’ve got no idea if you actually enjoy reading them. If it’s something you’re into, let me know. And if you’d rather not have all that AI talk in the newsletter, also let me know. I won’t take it personally. Just hit reply and say hey.