We are a country that was for many decades known mainly for its mineral riches and the system of Apartheid.

Since 1990 South Africa has been going through a lot of changes; the country was given the name of “Rainbow nation” by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, because of the diverse people. The world still stands amazed at the way South Africa went through the transition. Everybody expected civil war and a total collapse of all services. Instead of this, the Miracle happened, the miracle of South Africa. South Africans started working together, voted Nelson Mandela in as their first democratic president. Someone that has achieved the status of “Legend” in his own lifetime, not only in his country, but also all over the world. Nelson Mandela personifies what South Africans are striving for.

South Africa was also blessed with beauty beyond anything else, anywhere else. From Cape Point past the majestic Table Mountain that overlooks and embraces the city of Cape Town, you can travel up the West Coast, where once a year the whole world turns into a magical land full of flowers all over. You will be amazed by the beauty of the Fish River Canyon, and you can travel into Mpumalanga meaning the place where the sun rises-, and visit places like God’s Window and the Kruger National Park, a national game park twice the size of the state of Texas. In Kwazulu Natal, the majestic ancient Zulu Kingdom, the natural beauty continues with the Valley of a Thousand Hills, and then you will get the popular coastal city of Durban. The tropical climate here makes this the ideal year-round family destination. You just need to travel South for a short while and you will see the Wild Coast, and like the name suggests, it is wild and rugged and beautiful. This is also where Nelson Mandela was born, grew up and played in the fields. Traveling back to Cape Town you will pass the world-famous surfing spot, Jeffreys Bay and then suddenly enter another magical world: The Garden Route. Indigenous Forests, amazing coastlines and Majestic mountains form part of this magical land.

South Africa has many problems, we know that, and we believe we should not hide them, but rather that we all must work together to overcome them. The biggest of these are poverty, crime and HIV/Aids. The most important thing is to encourage investment and job creation as this will be the first step in healing all the legacies we have from an era of suffering.

We are a nation of courage, of optimism, of love and caring. The thing most tourists comment on about South Africa is the smiles and friendliness of the people.

“Ubuntu” is an ancient South African word, meaning “humanity to others” and also meaning “I am what I am because of who we all are” that is installed in most of our population.

Malan Jacobs

Unassuming, he is. And extremely intelligent. Who? Malan Jacobs – the 17 year old first recipient of the realsouthafrica Rainbow Award.

Malan, who is only 17 years old, is in Grade 11 at D.F. Malan High in Bellville. In many respects he is a typical teenager. He is a prefect at school and plays hockey and tennis. He takes a keen interest in most school activities.

But there is a difference between him and the average teenager. He takes an interest in much more than that. When he recently read about the newly created website against crime, he immediately logged on and read about it.

He immediately realised the negative effect this site could have on tourism, especially as it was the clearly stated aim of the creator of the site to cripple tourism.

Malan realised immediately this would harm tourism and therefore would cause even more unemployment than the current 26%. Yes, these facts roll off his tongue very easily. He tries to keep informed.

When a spate of racist comments appeared on the site it brought him to tears and he decided to do something about it. He did this by creating his own website and putting things in perspective.

“It is not correct to look at the figures only,” he says. “Many of the figures are misleading and do not truly reflect the situation for foreign visitors. Many of the muders that take place, occur at places like shebeens (legal and otherwise) and seedy night clubs where ordinary tourists would not be seen. It is a matter of interpretation.”

Malan worries abou the large gap between rich and poor and says it invites crime. “This applies to white and black. BEE creates a very rich black group, but it does not always work down to the lower income groups. That is probably the reason why the government gets blamed for the current situation as much as the white group is,” he ventures.

As one radio personality said: “When you see someone like Malan, you know the youth of our country is very able to run South Africa. They have the knowledge and ability.”

Says Pieter Boshoff, founder of realsouthafrica.co.za: “Malan’s grasp of the South African situation is of such a high quality that his site is being used by us to give our readers an overview of crime. He is unbelievably talented and his work is of a very high standard. He interprets logically and he does it with ease. He fully deserves the first Rainbow Award.”

Visit Malan’s website from this link to www.truecrimexpo.co.za

If you know of someone who in your opinion deserves this award, kindly send us a nomination and a motivation of less than 200 words in the comments.

The award does not carry any monetary value. It is just our way of encouraging those people who wish to make a difference in South Africa using their positive attitude. It also shows how other people can strive for the common good.