These are the people who inspired South Africans and brought us hope and joy in a year of challenges

This year wasn’t easy. The pandemic proved it’s going nowhere, there was loadshedding and more loadshedding, the petrol price skyrocketed and the July riots will go down as one of the darkest periods in the country’s history.

But if there’s one thing about South Africans – it’s that we really know how to find inspiration on even the darkest of days. For every story of despair, sadness or loss there was another of triumph, resilience and achievement.

We look at South Africans who have inspired us this year and proved that even in the toughest times, goodness shines through.