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Nicole Freese, Durban (2026)

30/03/2026

MONDAY MOMENTS || "Take the road,” the sign says.

I saw that today while getting my tyre replaced and thought…....I’d love to....but it doesn’t feel that simple.

Last week I responded to a call about an abandoned baby. I got in my car and went, no hesitation. But I remember how tense the drive felt. Not just because of the situation, but because of the roads. You’re constantly scanning. Potholes. Drivers. Truck drivers. Forceful "beggars" at the traffic lights. The unexpected.

Last week, it was a pothole that caught me. A sharp one that should have done real damage. Somehow it didn’t, and I made it home safely, which I’m very grateful for.

But it made me realise… it’s not just about a tyre. It’s that constant state of alertness. The way your body never fully settles. Even something as ordinary as driving has started to feel heavy. I’ve noticed a quiet anxiety before I even leave home, wondering what the drive might cost this time.

Somewhere in all of this, a thought has been sitting with me…

If I’m going to keep showing up for this work, driving into difficult areas, sometimes carrying the most vulnerable little lives, then I need to trust that I’ll also be equipped for it. That I’ll have what I need to get there safely and back again.

Maybe that’s less a plan and more a quiet prayer. For provision. For protection. Today, I’m just grateful I made it home that day and got that little one to safety.

🤍 Nics

15/03/2026

I’m grateful to share that I have officially completed my Master of Social Work through North-West University.

This journey challenged me in many ways and stretched both my thinking and my heart. My research explored the experiences of youth and community leaders living with gun violence in Wentworth. The stories shared by participants will stay with me for a long time.

Completing this degree is such an important milestone for me, but it also strengthens my commitment to the work I care so much about – supporting children and families, working alongside communities, and contributing to trauma-informed responses to violence and trauma.

Thank you to the mentors, colleagues, friends and participants who walked this journey with me. It is my hope that the findings will be used to help create safe communities where our children can truly thrive.

12/03/2026

This week has been an intense one spent in training and professional development, unpacking some of the recent amendments to the Children’s Act and exploring the role of the social worker within guardianship matters.

Sometimes stepping back into learning spaces reminds me just how complex and important our work is. The law continues to evolve, and with it our responsibility to understand how these changes shape the decisions we make for children and families.

There were quite a few moments this week where something just clicked — those moments where theory, legislation, and practice suddenly start aligning.

Now comes the part I always value most: taking a little time to process it all and thinking about how these insights translate into everyday practice.

09/03/2026

𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄

Some of the most loving decisions we make as adults are the ones we hope will never need to be used. Guardianship planning is one of those conversations many families quietly avoid. Yet it asks an important question:

𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥?

They are not easy questions, but loving ones.

This week I’m grateful to step back into a space of learning and growth. As social workers, caring for children means continually strengthening our knowledge so that we can support families in the best way possible.

I’ll be participating in training focused on guardianship planning, an area of practice that helps families think ahead and protect the stability of their children.

𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬.

09/03/2026

I can finally say it's a wonderful day and happy Monday!

What a rough three weeks it's been as my immune system needed time to say every germ and virus is not a threat.

I am so proud of my body for how it carried the pressure, stress and change of the last year. Goals were reached and a dream wrapped up.

Today I am healed, happy and ready to serve our children again.

Have a beautiful week ahead 🌈🌟🦋

07/03/2026

𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯

This morning I spent time with a couple beginning to explore adoption. One of the quiet fears that often sits beneath the surface in these conversations is this:

𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦?

It’s a very human question. At its heart is something we all carry. The fear of opening our hearts and being rejected in return.

Later today I unexpectedly crossed paths with a chapter from my own past. In that season of my life, I loved children who were not biologically mine. The relationship itself did not last, but the love I felt for those children was real, and in many ways it still is.

It reminded me of something simple. Love is not defined by biology. Love is defined by what we do.

My dad always told me "Love is a verb". It is the act of opening your heart, stepping forward despite uncertainty, and choosing to care for someone as they are.

In this space I see people wrestling with the courage it takes to do that, and in days like today, I am reminded that the capacity to love a child does not come from DNA. It comes from the internal decision to say:

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
..and that is where families begin.

03/03/2026

This one really touched something in me.

“You’ve grown into someone who would have protected you as a child.”

I think many of us in helping professions don’t always realise that this is part of our story. Somewhere along the way, we decided:

I will be safe.
I will be steady.
I will be the adult who shows up.

In my work I get to sit with hard stories. I'm reminded again and again how much children need just one consistent, protective presence.

Becoming that person is not about perfection.
It’s about choice to:

Not harden your heart.
Not be reactive but steady.
Be protective, ethical and kind.

It's a daily choice.

27/02/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁.

A brave expectant mom recently reached out to me for pregnancy support and adoption counselling. She wanted space to explore her options, and we had been connecting mostly through phone calls and WhatsApp while trying to find time to meet in person.

Time felt short, and I knew how important it was that we sit together properly. We were meant to meet yesterday morning, but I had to cancel because I had broken out in a rash and the doctor raised concerns that it could possibly be something contagious. I could not take the risk of being around a pregnant mother until I knew what was going on, even though every part of me wanted to show up for her.

When I explained this to her, she replied with words I will not forget:

“Nicole, I really need you to be okay. I’ve got R50 in my account. I can send it to you to help you get to a doctor.”

I sat with that message for a long time. Here is a woman facing one of the biggest decisions of her life, carrying uncertainty about her pregnancy and her future, and yet her instinct was to care for me. It humbled me. As much as I felt responsible to be there for her, she was reminding me that she needed me well, and in that moment the support felt mutual.

This evening she went into early labour, and she has been on my heart. Work like this is often described in terms of guidance and support, but sometimes it is simply two people meeting each other in vulnerability and courage.

Again I am reminded that the women who reach out for help are not passive recipients of care. They are strong, generous, and human….and tonight, R50 became my reminder of that as I pause in gratitude at the close of this week.

26/02/2026

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

I did not expect this season of my career to involve writing funding proposals. Yet, here I am and loving it. Shipping programmes to meet funding criteria and thinking carefully about scale, safeguarding, infrastructure and impact. What has surprised me most is how natural it feels.

In some strange way social work prepares you for more than you realise. We are trained to ask why. To look at systems. To notice barriers others overlook. To sit with difficult realities. To think creatively and carefully about solutions.

At its best, proposal writing is not about chasing money, it’s is about stewardship. It is about understanding a real need and responding in a way that allows something good to grow.

It is funny how the skills you build early on show up again when you least expect them. It turns out that every season of learning becomes the soil for the next one.

24/02/2026

This journey was never just about a qualification. It was about returning to a dream I once held when I first became a social worker, and choosing not to let it stay unfinished despite the persal challenges I had face.

This season has stretched, refined, and reshaped me in the most unimaginable ways. The degree is the product; the growth that took place in between is where the real impact was.

I am so happy to share that I have officially passed and will graduate later this year.o

Nicole Freese

30/03/2026

15/03/2026

12/03/2026

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

07/03/2026

03/03/2026

27/02/2026

26/02/2026

24/02/2026

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