Witnessing Impact | A Visit With Cultural Connections

In December 2024, 665 participants took part in our annual Swim Club, collectively helping to raise over R170,000 in support of education and conservation. Part of the funds raised was donated to NPO Cultural Connections, helping to kickstart their newest programme in Kranshoek.

We recently spent an afternoon with their Rheenendal Eco Youth Circle, an after-school programme that brings young people together for immersive experiences in nature, within a supportive community of peers and passionate facilitators.

Four walls alone do not make a house. Or a school. Or a care centre. What’s required is love – and someone with an unfailing commitment to help, and to heal.

When it comes to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the basics – food, water, shelter – are quickly topped by other, more impactful ingredients. Ones that tell us that what humans need, almost just as much as warmth and a full plate, are the intangibles: family, belonging, safety. To feel connected. To find community. To develop confidence and self-acceptance. To exercise creativity.

Yet many of these concepts are elusive – in a world where connection is often a hard-to-come-by currency.

This month, it was a privilege to witness the work of Cultural Connections in action at one of their Rheenendal Eco Youth Circle workshops. We joined in with special guests from the Lunchbox Theatre, who use interactive theatrical experiences to raise awareness and spark dialogue around environmental and social issues.

A facilitator of an Eco Youth Circle workshop hosted by Cultural Connections - an asset-based community development project in South Africa.

Cultural Connections’ approach is asset-based and deeply intentional. They focus on responsive, long-term impact – refreshing in a space where initiatives can sometimes be short-lived or misaligned with real community needs.

“Although we started with nature-based education, as a team we responded to the youth and their needs, their experiences with us and stories of their lives and communities,” says facilitator Layla Staegemann.

“Through that response, we’ve built a programme that’s as much about inner restoration as it is about outer restoration. It centres on people as part of nature, especially within their local ecosystems. Through activities and safe dialogue, we encourage youth to find a sense of place – both in their environment and their social system – in a positive, contributing way.”

A student at the Cultural Connections Eco Youth Circle.

Layla’s journey with Cultural Connections began in 2018, when she joined their food security programme in the Eastern Cape. After five years working abroad in organic farming and permaculture, she returned home with a strong desire to serve and share her learning.

“I was involved in ecological restoration work in the Garden Route at the time, and the two paths merged in a school exchange called Planting Trees, Seeding Minds. I got involved in various initiatives, from conservation beekeeping to reforestation – always looking for ways to connect people to nature, believing deeply in its social and mental benefits. I’ve seen how having a sense of place and connection to local ecosystems can enhance wellbeing and unlock creativity.”

Many of the youth in their programmes live under persistent stress or trauma. In response, the team focuses on creating safe, stable environments grounded in care and belonging.

“A lot of our work is about helping young people feel part of something. To feel safe – physically and psychologically.”

The team clearly have deep roots in the communities they work with. Their presence is steady, thoughtful, and consistent. And it shows.

Layla and her team clearly have deep roots in the communities they work with. Their presence is steady, thoughtful, and consistent. And it shows. There was laughter and lightness, genuine connection and care – perhaps most evident in the post-workshop sharing circle:

“This is my safe space,” said one of the youths.

“Working in Pearston, in the Eastern Cape, over the past six years has shaped the way I work in communities,” Layla shared. “As an outsider coming in – especially when you are coming and going – I’ve made the mistake (and seen others do the same) of not taking time to really get to know people.
I’ve learnt the value of generative conversations – just listening. Not harvesting stories for research. And adopting a trauma-informed approach has changed how I understand safety, bias, and what it means to treat people as they want to be treated – not as we want to treat them. And to recognise the deep injustices that affect the people of South Africa every day.”

Student and facilitators engaged in theatrical at a recent Eco Youth Circle workshop hosted by Cultural Connections - an asset-based community development project.

Eco Youth Circle workshop in action, hosted by Cultural Connections - an asset-based community development NPO.

In a world faced with increasingly complex socio-economic challenges, the question remains: how do we build healthy humans that feel nurtured and loved?

Her reflections on trust-building are echoed in the deeply personal encounters she and her team have witnessed – moments that bring the programme’s impact into sharp emotional focus.

“Earlier this year at camp, Nikki and I saw a child in tears beneath a tree, sitting with a new friend from another circle. She said her family had always dreamed of visiting this place, and her mother had promised to bring them one day. When we entered the clearing with the Yellowwood tree, she was overcome – not just because she was finally there, but because she’d joined the Eco Youth Circle on her mother’s encouragement. She told us how good it felt to be celebrated here, unlike the bullying she faced at school. What struck us most was that she lived just ten minutes away – but had never been here before. It reminded us how many children grow up near places of natural wonder but never experience them, simply for lack of access or guidance.”

In a world faced with increasingly complex socio-economic challenges, the question remains: how do we build healthy humans that feel nurtured and loved? How do we foster real impact in vulnerable communities – in a way that ripples from an individual to a community. And to the wider world.

These are the questions Cultural Connections is seeking to answer.

What a privilege to witness the work of this small but dedicated team. And what a privilege to use our shared platform for good. A reminder that intentional action, no matter how small, can create change. And that deeply caring individuals really can make a world of difference.

Stuart Palmer of the Lunchbox Theatre, special guest in action at a Cultural Connections Eco Youth Circle in Rheenendal.

Children engaged in creative play, at a Cultural Connections Eco Youth Circle in Rheenendal.

Through our CSR initiative, MOVE, Mungo is committed to donating 1% of our profits to causes that advocates for environmental conservation, education, and community upliftment.