At Trust House in Suurbraak, growth is not only about what children learn. It is also about the people who help create opportunities for them.
For Light From Africa Foundation (LFA) Art Facilitator Michelle Slee, one of the moments that brought this home happened during an art class for youth and adults. After helping a participant understand the concepts of line and form, the woman thanked her for the effort she had put into teaching her.
“These small successes build a greater sense of fulfilment,” Michelle says. “They have an impact on people and learners and on their growth. I have also grown a lot myself.”
Michelle’s own journey is a powerful example of that growth.
When she joined the LFA as a Rural Art Facilitator in June 2024, she had no formal art teaching experience or qualification. Since then, she has grown in confidence and developed her skills through in-service art teaching training at the Peter Clarke Art Centre in Cape Town.
She has also enrolled to complete her matric examination, taking an important step in her own education while encouraging others to keep learning.
For Michelle, the art she teaches is as much about confidence and self-expression as it is about technique.
“When I work with the children, I do it with love, from my heart,” she says. “The art class is not just a place where you learn technique, but a space where you grow, build self-confidence and discover your creativity.”
She wants her learners to develop the confidence to make their creativity their own.
“I teach the learners skills, but I also don’t want to limit their creativity. I want to help them discover their own style and trust themselves.”
A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING
Michelle is part of a wider network of women contributing to life at Trust House. Fellow LFA facilitator Hetta November works closely with learners, while Yolande Oktober leads the Early Childhood Development programme at the centre.
For Hetta, it is seeing the difference their work makes that keeps her motivated.
“Successfully completing activities with the learners and seeing the impact it had on them reminded me that our work really does make a difference,” she says.
She also sees collaboration as one of the team’s strengths: “Our team’s superpower is our ability to think creatively and find solutions when we have problems.”
Together, these women help create something that goes beyond individual classes or activities. They are helping build a community space where children and adults can learn, create and develop their confidence.
There is another important dimension to this work. By creating meaningful opportunities for local women to use and develop their skills, community programmes can also contribute to greater economic empowerment. Experience is built locally, skills remain within the community and women have opportunities to continue their own personal and professional development.
For the children at Trust House, there is value in seeing this too. They are surrounded by women from their community who are teaching, learning, solving problems and pursuing their own goals.
It is a reminder that building stronger communities is not only about investing in programmes. It is also about investing in people.
HELP US KEEP TRUST HOUSE GROWING
Continuing this work requires support.
Funding helps LFA sustain its programmes at Trust House, support local facilitators and create opportunities for children, adults and families in Suurbraak to learn, develop and thrive.
Your support can help keep these opportunities growing. Partner with Light From Africa Foundation to sustain our work at Trust House and invest in a community building its future from within.
Support our work here.
For more information about our projects or to partner with us, email Godfrey Hendrickse at info@lightfromafrica.com.
