Woman & Home South Africa

Random acts of kindness. It‘s a phrase that‘s bandied about a lot these days. At Woman&Home, it‘s a phrase that we try to live by, but are very careful not to overuse as it should never lose its impact. The acts that we‘re referring to don‘t need to be massive either. Often, something small can have a big impact. If you‘re at the store, help someone reach an item on the top shelf if you can. Is there an older person in the toy aisle unsure of what to buy for their grandchild? Don‘t ignore them if they ask for your opinion – even if you don‘t have children, help them as best you can. It won‘t cost more than a minute of your time. Speaking of time, we fully…

A STORM’S A-COMIN’ Is there anything better than lighting your favourite candle, pouring a glass of red and curling up next to the fire on a chilly winter’s night? Make Cape Islands African Storm Candle (R549, Yuppiechef) your candle companion, with warming sandalwood and comforting jasmine – it’s the perfect recipe for relaxation. SMART BUY Guess Bella Vita Rosa, the second addition to the Bella Vita family is a sensual scent, soft and floral with notes of magnolia, Italian lemon and jasmine. It’s rather long-lasting for an Eau de Toilette, and for R999 for 50 ml – we think that’s real bang for your buck. Stocked at Edgars. FIND BALANCE As someone who has always suffered from PMS, I couldn’t wait to try this! With rave reviews from customers experiencing less period pain and more…

if you were alive and consuming media at the tail end of the ’90s, then chances are high that at some point you wanted to be Ashley Judd. The actress had an ethereal beauty and a career that was really hitting its stride, thanks to her roles in darkly glamorous crime thrillers like Kiss the Girls and Double Jeopardy. And yet if you were to read her 2011 memoir, All That Is Bitter and Sweet, it’s clear that Ashley’s time in Hollywood, while an important scene in the movie of her life, is by no means the full story. Her most defining role won’t win her a golden statuette, but it is the reason we’ve chosen her to grace the cover of our Kindness issue: Tireless humanitarian work. REVOLUTIONARY EMPATHY The list…

An ill-fated jungle adventure. A desperate journey in search of life-saving treatment. A heroine making it against the odds. No, it’s not Ashley Judd’s latest blockbuster – it’s a chapter from her real life. In February 2021, while on a research trip to the DRC, Ashley stumbled over a fallen tree in the dark and broke her leg in four places. ‘What happened next was an incredibly harrowing 55 hours. It started with five hours on the forest floor, biting a stick and howling like a wild animal,’ she recounted in an Instagram Live for The New York Times. ‘I’m going into shock. I’m passing out. Then it was an hour and a half in a hammock being carried out of the rainforest by my Congolese brothers.’ From there, Ashley endured six…

Why was an American actress casually hiking in a Congolese rainforest? Ashley and her partner visit the DRC twice a year to study the endangered wild bonobos – a species we’d do well to learn from, she says. ‘The bonobos are our closest living relatives. They are egalitarian. They are matriarchal. They have a total absence of sexual coercion. Females have choice in their copulations. And their social stability is undergirded by female coalitions. In fact, if a male bonobo does aggress, the female emits a special vocalisation and all the other females come rushing in to assist – whether or not they know, like or are related to her. Peace is restored and they go on sharing their fruits. We have a lot to learn from them.’…

SPREADING HOPE Vashti Toms, 45, lives in Durban with her three sons. Vashti started eXpose HOPE, an NPO caring for the women of Durban who are trapped within the sex industry and victims of trafficking. ʻIn 2007, I started visiting homeless shelters in the Point area of Durban CBD. I soon realised that the majority of homeless women and girls who were living in the shelters and on the street were trapped in the sex industry and were profoundly broken. Many were victims of sex trafficking and severe childhood sexual abuse; none had ever had the opportunity for counselling or any support to help them to heal from their trauma. They were living in survival mode every moment of the day. My heart broke for them and from that point of brokenness,…