Sonya Olivier Photography

01/11/2025

An incredible event with inspiring women! Apart from a few shots taken with my cellphone, I didn't do any photography or videography on the day. I'm sharing this because... I'm a member of the Ranyaka Community Transformation team - and my youngest son, Reuben, out together this lovely video from footage provided by my colleague, Diane, and the random cellphone shots!

17/03/2021

A wonderful initiative to support!

When Siyabonga Mini from Kayamandi township in Stellenbosch discovered that 35 of the children in his dance group did not have school shoes, he took up the challenge to seek help.

His compassion inspired the launch of the first-ever Sole Mates campaign – an initiative that is now reaching out to learners in the township of Mamelodi – over 1400km away.

“Having new school shoes would simply give the children a confidence boost to perform at school and it spills over into the way that they dance,” says Siyabonga, whose NPO has been providing dance, drama, and poetry classes to young people in Kayamandi since 2018.

Please help us to collect school shoes for very deserving children by dropping off your donation at one of our drop-off points in Stellenbosch or Mamelodi, making a financial contribution, and sharing our posts far and wide to ensure they reach as many potential donors as possible.

Please visit https://ranyaka.co.za/sole-mates/ for more information on the campaign.

Brain Waves Development

Telephonic queries can be directed to:

Amy Levendal (Stellenbosch) 084 431 7691
Lesego Masethe (Tshwane/Mamelodi) 076 203 6308

15/11/2020

Loooooong time no see - and today I'm up to something :)

01/08/2019

HOPE BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR 1 August 2019 | Jamestown, People Development, Stellenbosch Last week, we had the privilege to peek behind the Green Door in Jamestown when we handed over twenty care packs donated to the project by Santam and Ranyaka in collaboration with an anonymous donor. What we disco...

08/07/2019

MY STORY COUNTS 19 June 2019 | People Development, Proud of my Town, Stellenbosch, Tell Your Story The sound of laughter can be heard as one enters the Boomhuis Art Gallery at the Woodmill in Stellenbosch. Twenty high school learners from different communities are gathered for a week-long holiday pr...

07/07/2019

Ex 26-gang leader Mario, also formerly known as 'The Killer', shares his testimony of how an encounter with the Holy Spirit saved both his life from death an...

04/05/2019

Help me help a friend

04/05/2019

So. A friend of mine needs a small, yet potentially life-saving operation urgently. It's not super-pricey, but she doesn't have a medical aid and borrowing money costs money. So, I'd rather help her make another plan.

I haven't done photo sessions for families/portraits in absolutely ages - simply because I've been so busy with my work at Ranyaka.

But I'm very happy to donate the proceeds of a photo session towards her op. So, whatsapp me on 082 302 3886 if you're in the mood for a yummy autumn photo session :) Families, couples, kids, portraits.

This offer expires on Friday 10 May :)

Love
Sonya

04/05/2019

WINTER BRINGS SNUGGLY SHOOTS - AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO HELP ME HELP A FRIEND.

I haven't posted on here for absolutely ages. Because I haven't been doing family and portraiture sessions for absolutely ages! I have been - and still am - and will continue to be, incredibly busy doing what I love (and that includes photography) at Ranyaka Community Transformation.

But this morning, when the autumn leaves in Victoria Street, Stellenbosch caught my eye, I thought... It's time for a shoot or two again. And it's a crazy thought, because I'm snowed under (no puns) with work.

And then I found out that a friend desperately needs an operation that she can't afford.

So, I've decided that I will do two autumn/winter photo sessions and the proceeds will cover a large chunk of her medical bill. (It's not that my rates are high - the bill just isn't too crazy. She has a lovely doctor who is accommodating her.)

This isn't for me, it's for a friend. Whatsapp me on 082 302 3886 if you'd like to book a shoot. Full proceeds will go towards her op.

So here's the deal:

- One hour of your time
- R1 700
- 25 images for you

Love,
Sonya

16/05/2018

TELLING STORIES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

One of my great joys in life has always been storytelling - through word and images. One of my teachers once told me that "one cannot make a living writing essays". Perhaps not. But I do believe that it can make a small - and sometimes a big - difference.

I'm spending more and more time nowadays capturing stories of the real heroes in our communities - doing wonderful work to uplift, bring hope, transform, care and inspire. Through my work for Ranyaka Community Transformation and blogging for Valcare, I am blessed to meet some of these people!

Here is one of these stories :)