Turning Grey Today's into Colourful Tomorrows | Featuring Theo Willemse from The Imibala Trust

Описание: In this week's episode of The Good Newspaper, we were fortunate enough to go through to The Imibala Trust's Village in Bright Street, Somerset West, where we were given a tour of their various premises. This was but a foretaste to hearing about all the incredible work that Imibala Trust does, as we would afterward get the chance to interview their current CEO Theo Willemse. The tour comprised of their library, education centre, IT room, (which also happened to have a lego therapy section) skills centre, a pristine, and rather large ballet room, vegetable gardens, sensory gardens and more.

The interview itself was a genuine pleasure as we conversed about how Imibala came about, their mission to unfurl the potentialities of their students in every way they can possibly conceive, the cultivation of an environment where the learners (most, if not all of which come from broken homes and impoverished conditions) come, as Theo himself mentions, "to be happy, to be recognised, to be given opportunities, all based on respect, grace, and courtesy with a big, big flavour of kindness". Topics also discussed include some impact stories, their "Yes-Ya-Yebo" show that made its way to international acclaim at the Edinburgh Film Festival, the continued vision for the Trust and much more.

Imibala is always looking for more volunteers, as it is the lifeblood of their organisation. If you would like to help, you can find their volunteer section on their website. Alternatively, their "Sponsor-a-Child Programme" aids the learners by sponsoring their school clothes for a year, (which just so happens to support local businesses, as much of the clothing and shoes are made in the townships) for the low cost of R1400.00. Finally, Theo urges us to not only be kind to ourselves, but to go out and do random acts of kindness, whether its a compliment, or helping to shine a positive perspective on a situation; it costs us nothing and the impact it has is generally understated.