There are friends and then there are ‘Friends with Purpose’. Every year for the past four years, Klipdrift has dedicated International Friendship Day to celebrating the amazing things that happen when good friends come together to share some Klipdrift and #GoldBetweenFriends.
The first ‘Friends with Purpose’ film told the story of two brothers and best friends who built a tourism business cleaning up Khayelitsha’s wetlands. The second shared the tale of two ex-Springbok Women’s rugby players who joined forces to empower a new generation of sportswomen at the Kwaru Rugby Club in Gqeberha. Then, the Biking Bandits, a trio of friends from Soweto showed Mzansi how to reconnect a community with weekly cycle rides on pimped-out fixie bikes, and a Homies Friendship Ride in Soweto on International Friendship Day 2022. By sharing these Friends with Purpose stories with South Africa, we’ve managed to raise R100 000 for each initiative along with donations of additional equipment.
This year’s instalment tells the story of Gwijo Squad, a golden friendship that led to a nationwide movement! Some would describe Gwijo as a type of “war cry”, but more specifically it refers to powerful songs sung together (or chanted) by a passionate group of people, usually at traditional or sports events.
Best friends, Nande and Chulu Macingwane, who founded Gwijo Squad, simply explain, “We’re soulful people – we sing when we’re sad, we sing when we’re happy, we sing when we celebrate. It never gets old, the goosebumps, the hair standing up at the back of your neck…” It’s an experience that transforms you, not only with unforgettable memories, but with new friendships. Chulu adds, “There are few things that gel a group together quite like singing together”.
However, Gwijo Squad is more than just a group of friends that got together to sing, it has become a space for us, as South Africans, to enjoy the game we love in a way that feels like home. In this latest short doccie, the power of iGwijo becomes clear – how it connects and lifts people through sharing something that’s deeply moving. To find out more about Gwijo Squad, check out this year’s ‘Friends with Purpose’ film here.
In the spirit of International Friendship Day on 30 July, be a friend and share Gwijo Squad’s story with your crew. You can also follow @KlipdriftBrandy on social media for the latest news and updates. With its deep Southern African roots in music and in sports, we believe iGwijo has the power to bond friends together in spirit and in purpose.
Here’s to another year of sharing South Africa’s powerful golden friendships!
