Meet the Team
Craig Stewart, Warehouse Director
Craig loves being at the cross-section where the rich and the poor interface; in fact, his passion and greatest challenge is to find ways to initiate these interactions. Craig applied for the job as Director because he was struck by the unique vision of the Warehouse—social development that isn’t just charity, but is mutually beneficial and sustainable.
Caroline Powell, Church Mobilisation
Caroline longs to see the church fulfilling God’s call to respond to injustice. Her work as the supervisor of Urban Gleaning matches the gifts and needs in a way that encourages relationships and upholds dignity. After realising it was impossible to encourage others to build bridges if she was not doing so herself, she left an affluent church and joined a church in a township. This move has made her even more fervent about the role of relationships in development work—a key aspect of The Warehouse’s approach.
Elizabeth Clack, Community Development Practitioner
Elizabeth is a self-confessed ‘drama queen’ and ‘culture vulture,’ yet her deepest desire is to see the poor lifted out of dependency and hopelessness, and for their voice to be heard. ‘Working amongst the poor makes my heart sing!’ she says. Elizabeth has been with The Warehouse since 2004 and develops our organization in community development best practice.
Brian Koela, Church Partnerships
Brian Koela heads up the Church Partnerships team and brings years of relationship building, passion for the Church and eagerness to see the Church being a place of transformation in our Cape Town communities. Years as a pastor have helped prepared him for his role at The Warehouse.
Erica Greathead, Incubator Projects
Erica was lead by God into Care for Kids even before the project started. She was employed for eighteen months to start a pilot project but is still working at the Warehouse—despite her claim that working with kids isn’t her forte. She believes her gifts are in management, which has been developed in the context of a nursing career. Erica enjoys seeing people realise they are capable of doing much more than they ever imagined.
Pat Burgess, Care for Kids
Pat started working at the Warehouse at the beginning of July, 2008. After fifteen years in the same job she wanted a new challenge—a vocation that would use and develop her gifts while focusing her passion for people. As the Care for Kids administrator, she thinks of ways to support care-givers and orphans. The Warehouse has been a good fit for her because of its Christ-centred and prayer-based approach.
Thami Minya, Care for Kids
For Thami, the Warehouse is a place where everyone works with the common aim of helping others. She has worked on staff since July, 2008 as a trainer for volunteers. Thami’s great joy is seeing people grow. She loves that her work is all about relationships. She enjoys sharing her story with others and encourages others to do the same. She says that the Warehouse feels like home, like ‘a dream come true.
Lilian Zwene, Care for Kids
Lilian began working at the Warehouse in March, 2009, having previously worked with the physically disabled. She is excited about working in a place where she can be totally herself, bringing the ‘real Lilian’ to work. Lilian’s guiding principle is that one must always do the best they can for God. She is married and has two children.
Jonathan Jansen, Fusion
Jonathan has a heart for high-risk youth because he was once one of them. Dropping out of school in grade 7, Jonathan is well aware in pressures facing youth today. His involvement with the Warehouse began when he met Grant Stewart by chance. Jonathan wants to see churches fight for young people, and strives to help support them in that within the Manenberg community.
Colleen Saunders, Church Mobilisation
Colleen has been involved in the Warehouse since its inception. She started out on the planning committee in the Warehouse’s initial stages, later becoming a trustee, and then a volunteer. Colleen has been working fulltime for the Warehouse since 2007. A background in teaching, development and facilitation has equipped her for her role in church mobilisation at the Warehouse.
Bronwyn Damon, Church Mobilisation
Bronwyn has a diverse professional background, having worked in both teaching and social development sectors. She started out in the LINK team which addressed the church’s need to respond effectively to the plight of young learners in South African schools. Part of this role included the development of working relationships with church leaders with a passion for young people, and this has led to broader involvement in the church mobilisation team. She’s been at the Warehouse since March, 2009 and is inspired to make different lifestyle choices based on her experience of working in the Warehouse.
Joy Klimbashe, Church Partnerships
Joy was first employed to work in the “Men on the Side of the Road” project as a minister. He later felt drawn to the Sweet Home Farm project, where he currently resides as the Coordinator. What Joy loves about working at the Warehouse is the community environment. “We care for one another, support one another—regardless of whether they’re in your department or not.”
Siyamboleka James, Sweet Home Farm
Who better way to serve a community than one of its own members? Siyamboleka or “Goodman,” embodies a core value of Warehouse, which is to work alongside existing structures and people rather than inventing our own. As a resident of Sweet Home Farm, Siyamboleka is able to identify the specific needs of the community—an awareness that has made him very effective an assistant coordinator since February 2008.
Barry Lewis, Sweet Home Farm
Barry moved to Cape Town from London in 2009 after having previously led two mission trips with his wife to the Warehouse. During that time his heart was broken for the people of Sweet Home Farm and a desire to serve them grew in him. He loves the community at the Warehouse and how everyone has chosen to be there to be part of this massively divergent expression of the church’s response to poverty and injustice.
Linda Martindale, Communications
As a freelance journalist for fifteen years, Linda’s work centred around justice and social transformation. Since starting at the Warehouse in June, 2009, she has been able to channel her passion for social justice in the areas of communications, advocacy and provision. It’s a privilege for her to be surrounded by those with the same heart for justice, as well as to explore these issues in her work as a writer.
Lauren Potgieter, PA to Craig Stewart
Lauren is a relative newcomer to The Warehouse, having joined the team on a part-time basis in January 2011 to help ease the administrative load of a busy Director. “Having known many friends of The Warehouse over the past few years, its great for me to be able to see first hand, the amazing things that happen in this community. Even though I am a ‘virtual assistant’ to Craig and only meet with him once a week, I still feel like I have a wonderful window into the work of The Warehouse. Its great to stop for an hour during the week to catch up with Craig and enjoy a good cup of Warehouse coffee!”
Arthur Stewart, Spiritual Formation/Strategic Integration/Leadership Development
Arthur loves helping people live out their unique identity and calling. He serves the Warehouse staff in the areas of spiritual formation, community life, staff development, and implementing values and strategy. Arthur and his family moved to Cape Town two years ago and they are thankful for all the ways God and His people have helped them feel at home.