May 24 / Karina Andersen

2025 SOF ANNUAL REPORT

The SmilingOne Foundation (SOF) Publishes 2024/25 Annual Report: Building Environments for Change in High-Risk Communities


Cape Town, May 24th 2025 - The SmilingOne Foundation has proudly released its Annual Report for 2024/25, capturing powerful stories of transformation across some of South Africa’s most high-risk environments.

For 18 years, SmilingOne has stood apart. Its distinctive approach goes far beyond delivering programs - it creates supportive, values-driven environments for sustainable change. Through its evidence-based methodology, SmilingOne develops Champions of Change within each project: individuals equipped with leadership tools, emotional literacy, and conflict-resolution skills. This ensures communities have the capacity to sustain their growth well beyond the lifespan of the facilitated intervention.

From Correctional Centres to Classrooms

A defining feature of the SmilingOne methodology is its unique link between school and prison projects. Men educated and mentored through SmilingOne’s work inside correctional centres - many from the same challenged communities - return as relatable, authentic role models to support youth in high-risk schools. These Change Agents, having walked a similar path, help disrupt cycles of disengagement and violence by building trust and modelling what is possible through personal responsibility and values-based leadership. Their lived experience allows them to connect with learners in a way traditional interventions rarely achieve.

Six Years of Impact at Ravensmead High

The report’s centrepiece is a comprehensive six-year impact case study of Ravensmead High School, demonstrating SmilingOne’s change model in action. The school transitioned from a reactive, disengaged school environment into one grounded in trust, pro-active leadership and collective growth, with teachers and learners alike empowered to build a healthier learning culture.

Mr. Phiegeland, a Teacher at Ravensmead, offers a compelling example of this transformation. He describes how SmilingOne’s guidance helped him shift from a reactive ‘dragon’ approach to a more reflective and supportive role, enabling him to create a classroom that feels safer and more supportive for his students.

His journey illustrates how SmilingOne’s strategy of investing in educators as Partners in Education amplifies impact - knowing that empowered teachers directly serve the wellbeing and growth of the students. 

Other Highlights of the year:

  • Over 154 “Exposure Classes” reaching 1,200 students
  • Consistent SmilingOne Club sessions providing a safe space for 30 enrolled youth
  • Ongoing education of new Change Agents inside Brandvlei Maximum Prison
  • Launch of a new partnership with Elswood High School, applying lessons learned to another high-risk community

“We Don’t Just Deliver Programs - We Build Movements”

“Establishing a culture of care, accountability, and values-based leadership is what truly transforms a community,” said Karina Andersen, Founder of SmilingOne Foundation. “We venture where most don’t dare go - into environments may consider impossible to shift. Our unique recipe helps communities break destructive cycles and build healthier futures.”


A Defining Financial Turning Point: A Call to Invest

The 2024/25 period was a reset year - one of deep reflection, honest conversations, and bold decisions. 

For too long, SmilingOne has delivered extraordinary outcomes on limited resources, often bridging gaps through voluntary effort and sheer determination. But that model is not sustainable. To protect the wellbeing of the team and the integrity of the work, the Foundation has drawn a clear line: For the work to remain impactful and sustainable, it must be properly resourced. 

One of the toughest decisions was closing of the long-standing project site at Ravensmead High School. 

“We would have loved to keep our learning hub there,” said the SmilingOne team. “But by the end of 2024, continuing wasn’t an option.” Still, the handover was a proud milestone: a school community now standing strong on its own, with empowered teachers and engaged learners continuing the ripple of change. That is SmilingOne’s definition of success: “when we can step back, and the work carries forward.”

In the midst of financial uncertainty, a long-time sponsor stepped forward to partly fund a new school project. This was more than financial support — it was belief in the mission. A reminder that SmilingOne is not just doing good work - it’s delivering a proven solution to some of South Africa’s toughest social challenges.

SmilingOne Is Not Asking for Charity - It’s Offering a High-Impact Investment Opportunity

The foundation is now inviting visionary funders and courageous partners to walk alongside them. This is a strategic, heart-centered investment in people and environments that have been written off for too long - an opportunity to back a proven model that brings real tools into real lives, helping communities transform from the inside out. 

If you believe in the power of human transformation, if you want your investment to leave a lasting impact on the future of South Africa - then this is your invitation. 

Invest in The Change Experience. 

Help scale a movement that turns pain into power and potential into leadership. 

EXPLORE THE FULL REPORT
Partners, funders, and supporters are invited to explore the full 2024/25 Annual Report and discover how together we can expand The Change Experience across more communities in need.

📘 Read the report: www.circlesofchange.academy/annual-report-2025 
📩 Contact: Karina Andersen | karina@smilingone.com

About SmilingOne Foundation
Since 2008, SmilingOne has been a trusted catalyst for positive change in South Africa, working with high-risk schools and correctional facilities to create safe spaces and develop authentic leaders who sustain growth within their own communities.
Created with