Strengthening families through Parenting With Love
Parents are children’s first teachers, and our Parenting With Love seminars embrace this vital role. Over the past six months, through 10 different seminars, we have supported families across South Africa (Johannesburg and Gqeberha) and Uganda (Katwe, Bukerere, Nakivale, and The Kyaka Refugee Camps), offering practical tools and emotional encouragement for stronger family bonds.
These workshops provide safe spaces where parents learn that nurturing isn’t about perfection but about presence, patience, and unconditional love building healthier, happier families.
Literacy & Training Director Pumeza Macingwane shares that PWL sessions are designed to create an open dialogue between parents. PWL seminars provide a safe space where parents are able to discuss the challenges that they face, while even reflecting on their own upbringing. During one such session, a parent shared that PWL has helped her heal. By taking on the challenge to reparent themselves, participants are better equipped to become better parents to their own children and break negative patterns and cycles within the family structure.
A parent who attended PWL in Uganda reflected on the impact of the seminar. "After fleeing Congo with wounds, I had lost hope as a refugee mother in Uganda. But just a few minutes of listening reignited my love and hope for parenting, reminding me that love never fails."
STEPi founder Paul Sutherland led a Parenting With Love seminar at Grey High School in Gqeberha (South Africa), in April. Paul spoke about a variety of topics, which included how to educate your child about the importance of consent. When parents are able to sit down and have conversations about challenging topics with their children, they learn that these topics can be discussed safely and openly within the home.
Tessa Kitching, one of the parents who attended the seminar before becoming a STEPi volunteer, shared the following insights:
“STEPi’s Parenting with Love course is a powerful and heart-centred journey that transforms the way parents connect with their children. It offers more than just parenting strategies—it nurtures the foundation of trust, empathy, and emotional intelligence that every strong family is built on.
One of the most impactful aspects of the course is its use of literacy-based resources to foster bonding. By reading together and exploring stories as a family, parents open the door to meaningful conversations—sometimes tough, often tender, and always important. These shared moments become a safe space to talk about big emotions, boundaries, identity, values, and life skills in a natural and age-appropriate way.
STEPi’s approach helps parents navigate those deeper discussions with confidence, creating lasting emotional connections while equipping children with the tools they need to thrive in a complex world. This course doesn’t just teach parenting—it reshapes it, empowering families to grow closer, communicate better, and face life’s challenges together with love.”
In order for children to become happy and successful adults, they need the support of parents, guardians, and caregivers who provide a safe, nurturing, and encouraging home environment. Through Parenting With Love, we hope to continue to pursue this goal, one seminar at a time.
If you would like to access our Parenting With Love resources, click here.
