Treverton College school boys youngest to compete and first in their category at the Expedition Africa-Mnweni-Drakensburg 120 km Adventure Race

Treverton College Matric students, Kai Broom and Jarred van Alphen, aged 18 and 17, came first in the two man team category in the Expedition Africa 120 km Adventure Race which was held on Saturday. They were also the youngest competitors in the 120 km event.

John Collins who is one of the top Adventure Racers in the world was part of the 4 man (Merrell Songlines) team which came first in the 200 km race. Both he and his brother, Mark Collins are alumni of Treverton College.

Kai Broom says “This was a 12-24hr 120km adventure race. It consisted of 4 legs, the first one was a 40km track, we had to summit the berg and back down, we had to find the check points along the way and if you didn’t you obviously got disqualified. The second leg was a 20km bike ride to a dam, then the third leg was a 12km paddle across the dam and of course finding the check-points. The last leg was a 25km cycle back to the finish. It took us sixteen hours and five minutes to finish the race. We did have a few issues - we got a little bit lost in the forest, it rained a lot and there was lots of lightning and we got drenched. Jarred also got a few cramps but nothing we couldn’t handle, it was super fun. It was a challenge but we managed to finish top of our category and second overall.”

This extreme adventure race route was designed to take roughly 12 hours for the top teams to finish and 24 hours for the last team to finish. The first trekking leg had 2 170m of altitude gain and loss alone. The Expedition Africa-Mnweni-Drakensburg 120 km Adventure Race forms part of the Africa Series which is part of the Adventure Racing World Series and for the first time ever Adventure Racing World Champs will be held in South Africa in the Eastern Cape in October.

For further information please visit https://expafrica.net/expedition-africa-drakensberg/

Pictured here L-R: Jarred van Alphen and Kai Broom

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Howick High School is honoured to be hosting the Milton Academy Jazz Band from the USA. The academy’s jazz music department
has been acclaimed as amongst the best in America. Over the years they have played twice at The White House for Presidential receptions and for Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Facilitated by the Rotary Club of Hilton & Howick, the band are visiting South Africa on an outreach tour, which they have done every 2nd year since 1991. On these tours, students have delivered over $265,000 worth of donated music instruments and materials to underprivileged South African school music programs.

We are delighted to bring this opportunity to the uMngeni community to enjoy this amazing band perform and bring us 'The Joy of Jazz'. The show takes place on Tuesday, 14 March 2023 at 18:00 in the Howick High School hall. Tickets are R100 per person or R50 per learner in school uniform and can be booked by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

On Thursday, 23 February 2023, members of the Treverton College Athletics Team took part at the District Trials in PMB. A small team was selected to take part due to requirements and standards.

The following achieved outstanding results.

Kai Broom - Ran new personal bests in both the 1500m and 800m where he finished 1st and 2nd in his age group.

Tejah Balie and Karijn Kooy - Ran head to head in both the 1500m and 800m where Karijn finished 1st and Tejah 2nd (1500m) and Tejah 2nd with a new personal best and Karijn 3rd (800m) in their age groups.

Mbali Skwintshi - 1st place in her age group for 100m.

Andre Honiball - New personal best and 2nd place in his age group for Javelin.

We had some other good results, however, those mentioned above were our stand out achievements.

Well done to the team and we look forward to taking part in the Aquelle Interschools Meet next Wednesday in PMB.

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Deep in the Umkomaas Valley near Richmond, a team from "Working for Water" came across a very large snake, a Southern African Python, that had trouble moving.

Now this same team had done a snake course with Nick Evans- Snake Rescuer, and they were concerned that this snake seemed to have trouble moving... what to do...?

They decided to be proactive, bundle the snake into a maize bag, and carry it out of the valley to someone who could assist... that happened to be Terry Tedder. 

Terry then contacted FreeMe Wildlife to assist, drove the snake all the way to Hilton, where we met.

We love what we do, and how we do it.

But we can't do it alone. Please visit our website for ideas on how you can help: www.freemewildlife.org/support-us

Caption TOP: This is a large snake... but something not quite right with it... only the head and about 1m behind the head is moving, the rest of the body seems "dead".

Caption RHS: This is what the "Working for Water" team found while they were working in the Umkomaas Valley... they were concerned for the snake and decided to take action, put it into a bag, and carry it to help

Weather reports indicate that cyclone Freddy will make its way over parts of South Africa over the weekend. The affected areas (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Northern KwaZulu-Natal) have been advised to adequately prepare for strong winds and heavy rain. Animal owners are reminded to ensure that their animals have adequate protection from the effects of cyclone Freddy as well.

A cyclone can be terrifying for animals, who have no way of understanding what is happening, and will depend on their caretakers for protection. Animal owners are advised to bring pets indoors or ensure that the animals have strong, suitable shelter from the elements, as well as access to clean drinking water and adequate nutritious food. Careful consideration needs to be given to keeping animals in enclosures in the event that floods occur.

Animal owners are further advised to have emergency contacts, such as local veterinarians, police department, and SPCA details close at hand in the event of a disaster. We advise that locals should make use of social media disaster groups to keep track of developments and stay informed.

SPCAs in the areas at risk have been advised to be proactive in informing animal owners to protect their animals- herds should be moved to higher ground, and provisions should be made for animals held in enclosures.

For animal emergencies, the public is advised to contact their local SPCAs or other animal welfare shelters directly.

About our local SPCA

Home fragrances are in stock at The Ugly Duckling. Choose from Black Forest, Flamingo, Franjipani, English Rose or Ocean Breeze.

'A pleasant fragrance in the home elevates your experience and restores calm and serenity. We have a lovely range of fragrance oils to bring some beautiful scents to your home.' find your home fragrances at The Ugly Duckling.

Join our award winning rental teams in our PMB, Hilton and Howick offices.

We are looking for a dynamic person to join our rental department. Experience in residential property would be an advantage.

For further details please email your CV and a covering letter to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

More about Pam Golding Properties

'We are so excited to welcome Grace Botha, nee Sonjica, Head Girl 2009, who joins the Howick High School team to conduct and train our Choir. Age Quod Agis, Grace!' shared Howick High School.

Durban’s much-loved FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY heads to Kenya on 24 February for a two-week exchange project with Nairobi and Siaya based DANCE INTO SPACE. The exchange comes out of a large project headed by Dr. Lliane Loots (Artistic Director of FLATFOOT) and Prof. Yvette Hutchison (Warwick University, UK) that is setting up a network of African choreographers, researches and dancers called the African Disability Dance Network (ADDN). Funded by a two-year grant from UKRI – AHRC, that will be officially launching digitally on Tuesday 20 February.

Alongside a portfolio of award-winning performance work, FLATFOOT’s integrated dance work has seen it nationally spearhead work with dancers with Down Syndrome, and its numerous programmes with dancers with physical disabilities. FLATFOOT travel to Kenya to share and learn from sister dance company DANCE INTO SPACE (DIS) headed by Ondiege Matthew. DIS, whose work has seen them collaborate with artist from Birmingham Rep (UK) and whose work is supported by Amnesty International, offer a mission to share artistic skills with people from all walks of life and to create work that cross all sorts of borders – both physical, cultural and social.

Loots and Matthew met first in Nairobi in 2019 and have kept a strong connection over the lock down years and now finally get to meet in a dance studio. Loots says, “I cannot begin to say how excited I am by this opportunity to work with Ondiege. He is a man whose dance work and vison are blazing trails in Africa. While our friendship is strong, being able to move together and share creative energy is a dream. I remain so humbled by Ondiege’s agenda to create deeply humanising integrated dance practices in Africa – I am looking forward to learning from him!”

Loots travels to Kenya with three of the senior FLATFOOT dancers, Sifiso Khumalo, Jabu Siphika and Zinhle Nzama, where they will engage a full daily programme of shared classes and training and begin to work on joint choreography with their Kenyan counterparts.

In a rounding off of this exchange, Matthew and some of his DIS Kenyan dancers will travel to Durban, South Africa, to the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience (hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu Natal in 2024 to share their work with South African audience and dancers.

Pictured here: Lliane Loots and Ondiege Matthew – a “selfie’ taken in Nairobi in 2019

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South Africa’s Biometric Power

Embracing biometric identification is crucial to a business’s success

Biometric identification is nothing new. It has literally become a fabric of our everyday routine, with most of us having things like fingerprint recognition readily accessible on our mobile phone to stop others from accessing our device.

In the corporate world though, biometric identification plays a much more important role in fighting crime and saving businesses millions of lost Rands each year.

“Our technology advanced world gives criminals a sophisticated means to commit fraud. Biometrics is the golden source for identification - an undeniable way of verifying that the person is who they say they are,” says Shanaaz Trethewey, chief operations officer at Comcorp, a software innovator and specialist in authentication technology solutions.

South African businesses of all sizes and in all sectors but especially in the financial sector must already ensure they meet strict identification checks and regulations set out in The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) and Know Your Customer (KYC), which are designed to verify a customer's identity and identify risk factors.

However, these anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism legislations are set to be adapted in February 2023, placing greater pressure on businesses that were previously not listed as accountable institutions to increase regulatory vigilance and implement stricter consumer due diligence.

The Benefit of Biometrics
The truth is that there are several plusses for any company who implements biometric identification. “The phrase ‘time is money’ is very relevant here. Biometric identification provides a quick and efficient solution to combat possible fraud and thus helps reduce downstream costs of a business,” says Trethewey.

These digital processes are also very relevant and appealing to the new generation of consumers and businesses outside of the traditional financial service sector. These generations are accustomed to the latest technology, and do not see the need for manual processes. They instead appreciate the levels of vigilance, protection, and compliance in the financial sector and are keen to extend this to all spheres of everyday life – from elevating their ability to secure communal premises to even helping courier services deliver parcels to the correct recipient.

“It is all about ensuring that the right technology is used at the right time to make customers transact with ease. Right now, the biggest challenge for businesses is to educate those consumers who value manual processes in the benefits of biometric technology. These consumers need to feel like businesses are working with as opposed to against them, in implementing processes that protect their identity and prevent them becoming a victim of crime. Anything that creates a high barrier to entry for fraud to take place is a positive step not just for a business but for a consumer too,” says Trethewey.

As a reputable software innovator with over 25 years of financial industry expertise, Comcorp is determined to change this, and possess world class technology. Their Liveness checking technology is advancing facial recognition beyond static biometrics, which still plays a vital role in authentication and identification.

Whilst criminal activity will always seek to find ways to overcome the ID check or "fake" features, Liveness checking technology pushes the barrier to entry that much higher.
Likeness checks prompt a person to move in a certain way. The images are then captured during this movement process and because it requires active engagement and the following of instructions, the process proves that the person is alive and the intended recipient.

Overcoming the challenges
The biggest challenge with implementing any kind of new technology is consent. A great deal of concern revolves around where and how data from this technology will be stored and for what purpose it will be used.

Surprisingly, the concerns don’t always come from the legal sector, but from ordinary consumers who are afraid of mismanagement, mishandling and misuse. Very specific laws which are in place to protect consumer rights like The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) for example should be a welcome comfort.

Another challenge is getting businesses to understand the cost they risk from not implementing these cutting-edge technologies. As Trethewey explains, the cost factor is determined by how long a company is willing to wait until implementing such a change, and what they will lose until then. In some cases, the cost of a lack of FIC compliance can result in a fine of up to R1 million and suspension of the business, also non-compliant parties can face jail time of up to ten years.

“The good news is that most companies already have platforms that make a roll out easy. After approvals and process discussions have been administered, and all stakeholders are aligned and trained, these integration projects can be turned around quickly and seamlessly by a company like Comcorp. The main challenge still remains; to take the first step. The recent FIC revisions will hopefully create a greater need and desire for change,” she concludes.

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All are welcome to join us for a chat, a cup of coffee or tea as we help to grow confident and resilient children.

Morning (8-9am) and Evening (6-7pm) options available on Thursday 9 March. Hosted by Howick Prep School.

Invite your friends, family members and neighbours. We can’t wait empower our community so that we can in turn empower our children.

Open to all Howick and surrounding community members - not only Howick Prep parents.

More about Howick Preparatory School

Another week has brought us to the end of month 2 of the year, and (thankfully) we’re starting the downhill slide to winter.

J Leslie Smith & Associates hosted our monthly JLS 2-4-2 Nominated Mixed Pairs on Tuesday. The weather held and we had a lovely turnout with every one enjoying the morning. Congratulations to the following winners and a big thank you to our sponsor JLS:-

First Prize – Craig Whitby & Cindy Bro
Second Prize – Koos Marais & Lisa Nagel
Third Prize – Allan & Sharon Willey
Plate Prize - Dave & Grace Mainprize
Plate Runners Up – Bob Chetty & Londiwe Mvelase

On Wednesday afternoon we hosted some of the NIBA players for their practice and received the following wonderful feedback “Our training was fantastic. The ladies were so impressed about how lovely the club looked. Steve had everything ready for us, offered us tea. The greens were brilliant faster than ours in Clark's own words. They were a dream to play on.”
What a pleasure to have them practice on our greens and we look forward to the possibility of hosting them again in the future.

Friday saw 16 teams entered into our monthly SGK Nominated 2 Bowl Trips competition. Whilst a rather HOT day there was lots of great bowls played and amazingly all three toucher prizes were taken within the first three minutes of the competition. Well done to Mary Steytler, Tara Janse Van Rensburg and Colin Norris on their super-fast touchers!

Congratulations also must go to:

First Prize – Craig Whitby, Tara Janse Van Rensburg & Mark Taylor
Second Prize – Allan & Sharon Willey & Koos Marais
Third Prize – Rick, Ed Sharpe & Shayne Knott
Plate Prize - Colin & Pat Norris & Lisa Nagel aka “Team N”
100 Club Winner – Barry Fairbrother

On Saturday Kevin Palmer & Wendy Smith played their Club Mixed Pairs game against Malcolm & Liz Tait. What a fantastic game! Kevin and Wendy went into the last end 2 shots down and managed to just sneak in a win by picking up 3 shots on that final end. It was certainly nail biting and well done to all four players!

As usual, we have some exciting things coming up. Keep an eye out for details on our Friday Night Lights which will be played on the first and third Friday of every month, as well as our all day competition which will be sponsored by J Leslie Smith & Associates, along with Oakleigh Funeral Home. That will take place on the 21st of March and there will be some great cash prizes up for grabs!

That’s all for this week… see you on the greens!

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, 21 February : J Leslie Smith Drawn 2-4-2 Nominated Mixed Pairs. Tabs In 08h15
Friday, 24 February : SGK Nominated 2 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 08h45
Wednesday, 1 March : Halfway Toyota Drawn Trips. Tabs In 13h15
Saturday, 4 March : Greendale Spar 3 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 13h15

Regular tabs in times are:-
Tuesdays at 08h15
Wednesdays at 13h15
Saturdays at 13h15.

Visitors are always welcome. For more information contact Wendy on 071 353 2866

Coaching by registered coaches is available: Contact Colin or Bernice on 071 164 3162 for further information.

Pictured here: Shayne Knott with Barry Fairbrother who was the lucky winner of our 100 Club

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

Our Treverton Pre-Preppies Outdoor Classroom keeps expanding! A new Mud Kitchen has been developed and is an absolute HIT with our Pre-Preppies.

So much learning is taking place as they measure, mix, sell and barter their way around the play/learning space. Play is learning. Play is growing. Play is developmentally appropriate for our tiny tots. Mathematic concepts, scientific concepts, language skills and social skills are all exercised and grown as they relish the idea of being a chef and running their own businesses. Providing proper tools and themes are simple yet effective to encourage and expand a play area into a play/learning sphere.

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TyreSurance® offers you one year of peace of mind – with up to 50% off replacement tyres if yours are irreparably damaged.

Learn more, or register, today: https://hiq.co.za/tyresurance/

Connect with your local Hi-Q in uMngeni by calling 033 330 3515 or drop in at 37 Main Street, Howick.

“Change is possible. And a well-crafted film with a powerful message shown to a relevant audience can be a catalyst for positive change in society.” This is the big take-out from alumni of the inaugural online Film Impact Screening Facilitation Course offered by Cape Town-based media organisation Sunshine Cinema and the UCT Centre for Film and Media Studies in 2022.

Its success, along with the growing need for societal shifts, has resulted in the course becoming an annual feature on the film and social justice landscape. The 2023 online course will run from June 1 to December 8, 2023. It will equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed to use film as a tool to initiate meaningful discussions and have a positive impact on societal issues.

South African Sihle Hlophe, graduate of the course who is Executive Producer at Passion Seed Communications, a film-driven social enterprise said, “The course…affirmed what I have always believed – that film is an effective tool for social change. I am inspired by the filmmakers who are using their films to create paradigm shifts, influence changes in policy, hold people in power accountable, and change the lives of their documentary subjects. Through the course, I had the privilege of meeting some of these filmmakers such as Rehad Desai, Anita Khanna, and Emily Wanja.”

Hlophe hopes that her recent award-winning film “Lobola, A Bride's True Price?" will bear the fruits of the course having secured five impact screenings around the country with Sunshine Cinema: “The impact campaign of “Lobola” is aimed at empowering women with important information about their marital rights, men too. This course has helped tremendously in developing a strategy for this.”

Le Roux Schoeman, a video journalist and editor working for the faith-based NGO Kerkbode, and an alumnus of the course said that he had “very little understanding of how content "lands" in real life ... in the communities where it was shot, for instance. So the course concept (How to facilitate screenings) appealed to me as a natural extension of working with video on social impact and human interest stories.”

Another alumni New York-based producer Debbie Walters said “A powerful takeaway for me was that change is brought about by ordinary people every day. When we look at change as a process rather than an event and position ourselves as part of the solution rather than just restating the problem, there is great power in what we can do even as one person. When it comes to the change I'd like to inspire within the film production community itself., I'm looking forward to sparking conversation about what is happening within my own community by creating safe spaces to encourage dialogue.”

Ugandan creative Denis Onyodi, whose vision is to impact his “world through creative and relevant visual content” did the course in 2022 and said that the overall take-out for him was that he got an understanding of the impact eco-system and how he could have a lot of control over this to achieve the greatest impact for his work.

A highlight for Denis was “meeting like-minded professionals from Kenya, South Africa, and South America and being able to discuss areas of shared interests.”

Kenyan producer, Joan Njeri said, “Figuring out how to do an impact campaign and the practical side was really interesting for me. Anyone who has a goal to work in a community should do this course.”

“The course is open to anyone wanting to learn more about how to use film as a means to make change,” explains Sydelle Willow Smith Sunshine Cinema co-founder, and lecturer. “These could be locally-based issues for example service delivery or gangsterism, or bigger global issues such as climate change, and food security. But what is vital is that people, once having watched a film, are able to have robust and open discussions with a facilitator, with the aim to help or galvanize a community into positive action.”

Well-known story-tellers, film producers and directors, activists, writers, community leaders and university lecturers who have used their skills to effectively make change will be lecturing the course.

Participants will learn the methods and processes for hosting impactful screenings and will leave with a toolkit and a network of peers and mentors to support their future efforts.

There is a fee for the course, but several scholarships are available to participants who merit the opportunity.

Applications must be in by 31 March 2023.

For more information or to enroll visit
https://sunshinecinema.org/2023-uct-impact-course-application/

Pictured here: Sihle Hlophe

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The Treverton College Interhouse Gala went on despite the threats of rain. Campbell, Harland and Jonnsson swam gave their best. However, one House gave it their all. Well done to Harland on your win.

Congratulations to the following on their awards:

Most Improved Swimmer - Craig Jelliman (Top)
Snr Victor Ludorum - Jarred Van Alphen (Below LHS)
Snr Victrix Ludorum - Sienna Reese-Lombard (Below 2nd from Left)
Jnr Victor Ludorum - Zach Rhapson (Below 3rd from Left)
Jnr Victrix Ludorum - Sienna Marx (Below RHS)

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"The series of infusions has made a significant difference and the outcome exceeded my expectation. This has been the most effective treatment I have tried... My anxiety is almost completely gone. I can go for a walk. I sing along to songs. I don't ruminate on negative thoughts as much. I find myself not wanting to sleep all the time. I enjoy spending time with my family now. I have more motivation. I don't look in the mirror and think I look hideous any more." KetaMIND Patient, Umhlanga Clinic *Patients’ true identities have been protected.

Your nearest branch is in Hilton, call 087 702 8542.

We’ve definitely had weather for ducks and not bowlers recently!

Unfortunately the rain seems to have been tuned into our tabs in times each day and so we haven’t been able to get on to the greens too much in the last week. Of course it hasn’t put too much of a damper on The Midlands Hillbilles who are always up for a bit of a “kuier” and a laugh regardless of the weather.

Our Hillbillies are the social bowlers in our club who join us every Wednesday, starting between 4.30 and 5pm. This is a great crowd to join if you’re just looking for a fun social game of bowls, or if you’re new to the game and want to get a bit of knowledge and experience, but without any pressure.

Aside from normal trips and fours formats, you can quite often find them playing a few rounds of Last Man Standing which always gets quite festive. The great thing about Last Man Standing is that even the most inexperienced of bowlers will still be able to play and have a really great time regardless of skills. As long as you’re not the furthest away from the jack you’re still safe!

Also, The Hillbillies are a really friendly bunch, so if you’re not sure of the rules or have never rolled a bowl there’s always someone who is willing to guide you and help you along. They definitely fit the description of a “social club with a bowling problem”. The only word of warning we can give is that the laughter and jokes do sometimes get a little loud, but then as the old saying goes, if it’s too loud you’re too old.

Hillbillie membership is R600 per year, and tabs fees are then R20 per Wednesday. Visitors are welcome at R30 per game and for any prospective bowlers we always have some club bowls around that can be used on the day so no need to spend money on your own bowls whilst deciding if it’s the game for you!

For any additional information please contact Wendy on 071 353 2866, or alternatively come along one Wednesday afternoon and see what it’s all about.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, 21 February : J Leslie Smith Drawn 2-4-2 Nominated Mixed Pairs. Tabs In 08h15
Friday, 24 February : SGK Nominated 2 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 08h45
Wednesday, 1 March : Halfway Toyota Drawn Trips. Tabs In 13h15
Saturday, 4 March : Greendale Spar 3 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 13h15

Regular tabs in times are:-
Tuesdays at 08h15
Wednesdays at 13h15
Saturdays at 13h15.

Visitors are always welcome. For more information contact Wendy on 071 353 2866

Coaching by registered coaches is available: Contact Colin or Bernice on 071 164 3162 for further information.

Pictured here: Our club President and one of the founding members of The Midlands Hillbillies, Kevin Palmer, proudly displaying a Hillbillie trophy!

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club