About

Phinius
Sebatsane

South African writer, speaker, missionary and trauma-informed social-justice practitioner. Bringing faith, practical care and human dignity into the same conversation.

Available for speaking and training engagements in South Africa and internationally.

Missions. Discipleship. Justice.

Invite Phinius to Speak Rea Thusana Foundation

A life
shaped by
relationship.

The story behind the work

At twelve, Phinius witnessed his stepfather attack his mother. That experience shaped how he understands trauma, the responsibility men carry towards women and one another, and the importance of helping people heal with dignity.

Faith, friendship and community remain central to that calling. They shape how he writes, speaks and works alongside people too often overlooked.

Phinius in the Beautiful News film about his work addressing gender-based violence. — Beautiful News The responsibility to respond

Founder. Rea Thusana Foundation.

Phinius founded Rea Thusana to serve people facing homelessness and vulnerability, with a particular focus on women affected by violence, trauma and exploitation.

Author. Friend of the Unhoused.

His first book grew from years beside people facing homelessness and recovery. It asks readers to look beyond circumstance and see the person and story within.

Practitioner. Trauma, justice and dignity.

Frontline work shaped his trauma-informed approach to homelessness, gender-based violence and addiction, linking personal healing with social change.

Speaker. Training and public advocacy.

Phinius speaks and trains on homelessness, trauma, faith, justice, masculinity and belonging, helping churches, organisations and leaders respond with dignity, understanding and responsibility.

The person behind the work

From experience
to a life of presence.

Phinius Sebatsane’s work begins with a conviction: people should never be reduced to the worst thing that has happened to them. After witnessing domestic violence as a child, he became aware of how trauma can shape a life, and of the responsibility men carry to confront their own wounds and protect others.

That conviction became practical through years of working alongside people experiencing homelessness in Cape Town. As founder of Rea Thusana Foundation, Phinius has helped build responses around outreach, rehabilitation, housing, employment and family support. At the centre is relationship: knowing names, listening to stories and building trust.

For Phinius, homelessness is never only about the absence of a roof. People can also lose safety, identity, family, purpose and belonging. His work asks what it takes not only to house someone, but to restore dignity, connection and the possibility of rebuilding a life.

His Christian faith gives that work its direction. Missions, discipleship and justice are one vocation: choosing presence over distance, relationship over judgment, restoration over punishment and dignity over charity.

That worldview became his first book, Friend of the Unhoused, published by Shofar Books in 2026. Drawing from years of relationships and advocacy, it challenges readers to look beyond homelessness as a social problem and encounter the person behind the circumstance.

Today, Phinius carries that conversation into writing, speaking, training and his Master’s studies in Peace and Justice. His work brings together trauma-informed practice, restorative justice, peacebuilding, faith and human dignity, inviting churches, organisations and leaders to see differently and help create communities where people can heal and belong.

Phinius smiling, with his hand resting near his chin.

Phinius sharing a joyful moment with a group of children outdoors.

Phinius standing alongside a church leader.

Phinius with a companion in front of a City of Cape Town banner.

Phinius and a fellow attendee smiling at a gathering.

In conversation. In community. In life.

My philosophy

“See the person
before the problem.”

Phinius Sebatsane

Phinius standing beside a statue of Nelson Mandela, with a raised fist.

Purpose & possibility

The mission.
The way forward.

Phinius’s mission is to help build communities where dignity is restored, belonging is possible and people have a path towards healing and hope.

His work moves beyond relief, bringing together trauma-informed practice, faith, storytelling and peacebuilding to address personal wounds and the systems that keep people excluded.

His long-term vision is to write, teach, speak internationally, mentor leaders and work with organisations and governments on models of restoration.

At the centre is a challenge: stop defining people by poverty, addiction, trauma or homelessness, and create conditions in which they can rebuild their lives.

Invite Phinius to Speak

Phinius and Victoria Sebatsane smiling together, with Victoria’s arm around his shoulder.

Life, partnership & shared purpose

A shared commitment to truth, purpose
and people.

Behind Phinius’s public work is a partnership shaped by love, faith and shared purpose. His wife, Victoria Sebatsane, is a broadcast journalist with Next Media in Uganda, where she anchors NBS Live at 9.

Her work spans television, radio and live events, including conversations with leaders across government, business and civil society. Yet what connects their paths is deeper than profession: both believe influence should serve people.

Alongside broadcasting, Victoria has spent more than fourteen years serving in ministry across Africa and Eastern Europe. Together, they share a commitment to faith, dignity, truth and investing in people, values that shape their work and the life they are building together.