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- South African overseas online communities have grown in popularity in recent years.
- One expatriate group has grown to be 75 000 members strong.
- South African expats told News24 they often connected with each other once moving overseas as they have something in common.
- For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.
Some years after leaving South Africa with his family in 2015, first for a stint in the UK and then a move to Australia, Steven Phyffer said he and his wife realised they were lonely.
"My wife and I were sitting in our kitchen and talking about how lonely we are, despite actually knowing a lot of South Africans," he added.
Phyffer said forming a community was a crucial part of settling overseas, and the easiest people to connect with in a new place for them were other South Africans.
"When you move to a new country the first friends that you make are other South Africans. It's because you have things in common."
He added he was sure other people who left the country felt the same.
So, in February this year, Phyffer launched the Oorsee platform, which helps South Africans find compatriots with similar interests who are living in the same area.Since launching the website and mobile app, 3 500 people have registered, and guests such as Steven Kitshoff, Joe Black, and Spoegwolf have been featured on their YouTube channel.
"We are thousands of people on the app, but inside the app I have seen communities grow 10 people, 20 people.
"I have seen the difference it makes for people. It makes them happy," he said.
South Africans who meet on the platform can build their relationships offline.
The Oorsee platform is one of many expats have formed.
The largest is a Facebook group called South Africans Currently LIVING abroad, which has accumulated more than 75 000 members since being started in late 2020.
One of two administrators of the group, Fleur Spratley, said it was started to try and see how many South Africans were living abroad and it grew "exponentially fast".
"It just boomed," she added.
The group morphed into a space for South African expats to share their experiences, raise publicity for South African events, and provide support for each other.
Both Spratley and Phyffer said there were many South Africans in the areas they have lived in since leaving the country.
Spratley added the Facebook group "is a little tiny drop in the ocean of the amount who are actually overseas".
It is notoriously difficult to get an accurate grasp of the number of people that have left the country.
READ MORE | SA's brain drain may not be as bad as feared
In 2019, AfricaCheck, a fact-checking organisation said in an article little data on emigration was recorded in South Africa.
Maintaining South African culture
Phyffer said interacting with South Africans overseas was an important way to maintain some culture.
He added:
Phyffer and Spratley pointed to a wide range of South African events that are hosted overseas.
Spratley said she attended a wine-tasting event at the South African store in Florida every month with her husband.
She is also part of the "Saffas jol South Florida" group which organised a cricket braai day last month.
Phyffer said he regularly networked at South African events, including potjiekos days.
SaffaEvents is an organisation based in the UK that regularly organises events in the country, including sokkie and sport events.
Not wanting to leave
Spratley said most South Africans she met overseas did not really want to leave but felt compelled to.
"A lot of us left because of the crime, it's not because we wanted to," she added.
Phyffer added his family left the country for work, but they also wanted a better future for their kids.
He said the one thing in common with all the South Africans he met overseas was that they still loved the country.
"There is one common factor that I have found in every South African that has moved overseas - they all love South Africa."
