The SmilingOne Foundation

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The SmilingOne Foundation

We inspire personal valuebased leadership. Love is our Essence. Guidance our Passion. Follow our daily Change Agent news and updates!

WELCOME TO OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

Help the / Fundraising Campaign - Actress Jessica Sutton and her wonderful fans are helping to raise USD 10,000 in support of our SmilingOne Foundation's work in South African Prisons - with the aim of educating more Change Agents: www.circlesofchange.academy/seeds-4-change

The SmilingOne Team of Change Agents avail profound spaces of

SHARING and CARING! You can get to know more about us as you follow our daily inspirational sharing and change agent updates and news. Feel free to message us as well...

01/06/2026

Happy Monday 💛

Here’s a little snippet from our AGM about our school project.

In this clip, Teacher Ms Botha reflects on our partnership and shares her experience of having SmilingOne at Ravensmead High School. She’s one of our treasured Partners in Education and a champion for her students. I’ve also included her case study.

We are deeply grateful for our partnership with Ms Botha and the entire Ravensmead High School community.

A heartfelt thank you also to our sponsors for their incredible support. It is because of you, we have been able to reopen the Ravensmead High School project in 2026. As you will hear in this testimonial, this work matters and our presence is needed.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead. We look forward to sharing more highlights and stories from our AGM in the days to come.

Much love from the SmilingOne Team

27/05/2026

ONLY 2 DAYS TO OUR AGM

I’m so excited to welcome you to this year’s online Annual General Meeting of The SmilingOne Foundation - Saturday, May 30th @9.45am. If you’re not able to join us live, you can always watch the recording afterwards … but first prize is of course to join us live on Zoom 🌻

Crafting this year’s Annual Report has been a profoundly touching experience. I can’t wait to share it with you all. Here’s a little sneak peek into one of the stories from prison. Moses kindly gave me permission to share part of his journey with all of you. I’ll share more insights into the story on Saturday.

It is one of the greatest privileges of my life to walk this path with these men.

THANK YOU to each one of you for supporting THE SHIFT 💚 Because of YOU, these men are given a sacred space to meet their most tender selves … and choose change.

For details on the AGM (view my banner)
DM for registration.

LOVE, Karina
SmilingOne Founder
Social Impact Rebel

20/05/2026

SmilingOne School Project Updates

Through this time of preparations...

It is 7:45 in the morning. School has not started yet. A girl walks into the SmilingOne Club space in tears. “Sir, my teacher does not know I am at school yet.”

The SmilingOne Change Agent gives her a welcome that is pleasant, calm and secure.

The student is carrying an overwhelming ball of confusion and doubt. “What is going on with me?” she asks.

The load of academics feels too much... The expectations of family add to the load... The pressure to perform well brings anxiety... “How do I deal with it all?” A question many of us ask in a struggle.

She catches the words before they come out, but they slip anyway. “I want to give up...” Tears follow, with hiccups. This is major for her. The load feels unbearable, and she feels crushed under the pressure.

As she explores and shares more of what she is going through, she sees the pattern. “I have been here before...” In that moment, she gains a different angle. And her face lights up with ideas to move through this challenge.

Because many times, we do have the answers. It is just that we are so overwhelmed and defeated by our struggles that we do not see clearly. And we can make hasty decisions. Having someone to talk to can mean so much for your process. It can help you unpack your struggles.

At SmilingOne, we create a safe space for students and teachers, a place to bring the pressure and overwhelm that school life can carry.

Afterwards, SmilingOne connected with the student’s teacher, and the teacher shared: “I am so happy we have SmilingOne at the school because our students have a place where they can offload and speak about their challenges. This is a challenging time for them, and I hope they find it well to go to SmilingOne. They need support.”

08/05/2026

News from SmilingOne School Project

It’s difficult to deal with challenges on a daily basis… And as students, teachers, or human beings in general, we sometimes struggle to understand what is happening to us…

Sometimes it happens so fast that it sweeps us off our feet… takes the wind out of our sails…

That confusion makes even the slightest challenge feel like a mountain. It can leave us sitting with a heavy load, unable to focus or give attention at times.

This week was such a big process for the students in the Project that we dealt with multiple symptoms: tiredness, distraction, confusion, and ultimately feeling defeated by the load they are carrying.

At SmilingOne, we allow processes like these to be explored by our students. We connect with the gift of sharing.

A student shares: “I think that I want to give myself the opportunity to say that I understand the areas where I can still build. I have not spent a lot of time on communication. I have stopped talking, and I think that can be my first step towards uncovering my challenges…”

A powerful gift indeed. Because we choose to release. We choose to change. We choose to learn and understand. That we can hold ourselves back at times. That our reactions might not serve our desired outcomes. And in doing so, we practice sharing, releasing, and allowing a new moment to shape, as we explore our challenges.

04/05/2026

A huge thank you to the Roberts family.

Dave Roberts sold us his late mother Wendy’s car, and that one act has changed what’s possible for our work at Ravensmead High School.

Our Value-Based Leadership programme depends on parents being part of the journey. For many families, just getting to the school is the first hurdle. One of our students lives with his disabled grandmother who, until now, couldn’t make it to school visits. That changes with this car.

This is what our Partners in Education looks like in practice.

Thank you, Dave. Thank you to the whole Roberts family.

Love, team SmilingOne

24/04/2026

News from SmilingOne School Project

In circles...

So many things happen in a circle. Students find a place of sharing, a place of caring and a sense of belonging.

A student shares - "I come to SmilingOne because I am not judged or made fun of for not knowing. My weaknesses are not used against me."
A tough and hard space so many students find themselves in. Dealing with peer pressure, bullying and all the struggles sometimes that comes along in the educational environment. Who has the answers?

At SmilingOne - we bring group sessions to students - exploring their challenges, learning new tools, to find purpose and meaning out of the chaos. Ultimately students learn to champion their Change.

These spaces are not just a sense of security - it is an establishment of their leadership - values-based leadership, that builds Self in places where there were no answers.

Welcome to the Circles of Change!

23/04/2026

News from SmilingOne School Project

An open dialogue...

In an environment where things are always busy, taking time out to reflect and contemplate on what keeps you stuck is hard. You spend time on survival so much that you rarely pause and breathe... Asking yourself important questions. At times it seems like you are not coping, feeling emotionally overwhelmed.

At SmilingOne - we take students to an open dialogue... A period spent on sharing our struggles, learning to understand more about what we go through. A student shares - "I can see what I am going through, dealing with it is the tough part because it means I have to face everything that's happening..."

This also serves as an invitation for students to sign up to SmilingOne's intensive Value-Based Leadership program which assists students to dive deeper into challenges, exploring a new way of Self... Championing their Change!

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http://www.circlesofchange.academy/sof

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