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Stuff from Johannesburg

Helping to Keep Young Girls in School

Johannesburg – A day of off-road adventure and women’s empowerment has turned into something far more meaningful, as Tiger Wheel & Tyre’s Girl Take the Wheel initiative makes a difference in the lives of young girls through a donation to the Ernest Foundation.

On Friday, 9 October 2026, representatives from TiAuto Investments, the group behind Tiger Wheel & Tyre, handed over menstrual hygiene packs and additional goodies to the Ernest Foundation, helping to ensure that a lack of basic hygiene essentials does not stand in the way of a young girl’s education.

The donation was made possible through the proceeds of the Girl Take the Wheel Women’s Day 4×4 event, held at Rust de Winter in Gauteng on 22 August 2026. The event brought together women from different walks of life for a day of adventure, learning and shared experiences behind the wheel.

From tackling challenging terrain to discovering their own capabilities, participants embraced the opportunity to build their off-road driving confidence in a supportive and encouraging environment. But beyond the excitement of the trails, the event had another important purpose: to make a lasting difference in the lives of young girls.

Every rand raised from the Gauteng event was used to purchase menstrual hygiene packs for the Ernest Foundation, an organisation dedicated to supporting vulnerable children and communities.

For many schoolgirls, something as basic as access to menstrual hygiene products can determine whether they attend school or stay at home. Through this contribution, Tiger Wheel & Tyre hopes to help remove that barrier, allowing more girls to continue their education with dignity and confidence.

Representing TiAuto Investments at the handover were Natashé Taylor, Retail Marketing Manager; Louis Van Niekerk, 4×4 Operations Manager; and Liesl Els, Marketing Assistant. The donation was received by Pride Nkhumise, Founder and Executive Director of the Ernest Foundation; Gashtigo Ndhlovu, Chairperson; and Thabang Chiloane, Treasurer.

“When we planned Girl Take the Wheel, we wanted to create an experience that would empower women, but we also wanted that empowerment to reach beyond the event itself,” said Natashé Taylor, Retail Marketing Manager at TiAuto Investments. “It is incredibly rewarding to see the enthusiasm and support of our participants translate into something so meaningful. No young girl should have to miss a day of school simply because she does not have access to basic menstrual hygiene products.”

The success of Girl Take the Wheel is a reminder that even a day spent enjoying the great outdoors can create opportunities to change lives.

For Tiger Wheel & Tyre, the journey does not end when the engines are switched off. Sometimes, the most important part of the journey is the difference made along the way.

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Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.