South Africa: Building our safe squad-knowledge is our armor

This story highlights how Lefika la Phodiso creates safe, creative spaces that help young people break silence around violence and develop emotional literacy and resilience. Boitumelo Bapela, a project manager at Lefika la Phodiso Community Art Counselling and Training Institute in Johannesburg, works with community art counsellors to create safe, welcoming and non‑judgmental spaces for adolescents. Before their work began, many young people in Soweto and Tjovijo lived with daily exposure to gender‑based violence and carried their experiences in silence. 

These young people had no trusted space to talk, ask questions, or articulate their emotions. Lefika sought to break this silence by creating safe circles and creative conversations that use art and gentle dialogue. Through these processes, adolescents gain vocabulary, emotional literacy, and the knowledge needed to identify unhealthy behaviors and build resilience. The change has been transformative. Adolescents now have a sanctuary for emotional expression, building peer support networks, and advocating for safer communities. 

Parents, initially fearful of these groups, came to understand their purpose through psychoeducation sessions and now support their children’s involvement. The programmes impact is evident in participants’ artwork, vision maps, and testimonies showing increased confidence, strengthened peer relationships, and hope. Community counsellors report consistent attendance and growing trust among participants. 

 Sustainability is built through a layered model. Counsellors receive supervision to prevent burnout. Emotional skills learned by adolescents ripple into families and communities, reducing bullying and promoting empathy. Community members can train as art counsellors, building long‑term capacity and ownership of the work. 

Quotes 
Ziyanda Magadl; The change isn’t just in them… it’s in me, from a wounded participant to a leader of healing.