07/08/2026
💜 August is the Month of Compassion.
Take a moment to discover the inspiring story behind Badisa's Artist of the Month, Monica van Vuuren, and learn more about the meaning behind her beautiful artwork.
Colour Your World with Compassion 💜 Where compassion blooms: Monica van Vuuren’s story of healing through art.
August is Women’s Month in South Africa, a time to celebrate the strength, courage and compassion of women who continue to shape our communities. It is also the month Badisa colours the world with Purple, celebrating compassion. For artist and breast cancer survivor Monica van Vuuren, the colour carries an even deeper meaning. In her work, shades of purple and lavender have become personal symbols of healing, resilience and gentle compassion born from her own journey.
Walking into Monica van Vuuren’s home feels like taking a deep breath after a long day. Sunlight streams into the double-volume living space where family photographs sit comfortably alongside vibrant canvases. Nothing feels elaborate or staged. Instead, there is a quiet warmth that immediately puts visitors at ease.
The home reflects its owner.
Soft-spoken and welcoming, Monica greets visitors with freshly brewed coffee and homemade vanilla and chocolate biscuits before settling into conversation around the dining room table. There is no rush. Like her paintings, she creates space for people to simply pause, breathe and be present.
Before becoming a full-time artist, Monica spent nearly 20 years in architecture after qualifying as an architectural designer at Nelson Mandela University in 1997. She later moved into project management, building a successful career while creativity quietly waited in the background.
Eventually, life nudged her in a different direction.
“Taking the leap into art full-time was both exciting and daunting,” she says. “While I certainly miss the security of a stable income, I have never regretted the decision. Today, painting is no longer an occasional pastime. It is a daily celebration of creativity, purpose and joy.”
That sense of purpose became even deeper through one of life’s greatest challenges.
As a breast cancer survivor, Monica describes herself as a “cancer thriver” rather than simply a survivor. The experience transformed not only how she sees life, but also how she paints it.
“Vulnerability became a teacher,” she explains. “It revealed a deeper understanding of strength, not as endurance alone, but as presence, gratitude and compassion.”
Those lessons come to life in her featured artwork for August. At its centre sits a young woman dressed in white, her eyes gently closed as she wraps her arms around herself in an embrace of peace rather than pain. She is surrounded by a sea of lavender stretching towards distant purple mountains, while the soft glow of the rising sun bathes the landscape in warmth. Behind her, seven women walk hand in hand across the hillside, a quiet reminder that healing is rarely a journey we take alone. Nestled in the valley below, a small church gently reflects the faith that has carried Monica through life’s most difficult seasons.
Every detail tells a story.
The central figure represents the self-compassion Monica discovered during her own healing journey. Her white dress speaks of openness, peace and the willingness to receive healing, while the lavender becomes more than a beautiful landscape. It is a place of calm, resilience and hope. The seven women, linked hand in hand, celebrate the strength found in women supporting one another, a fitting tribute during Women’s Month. Together, the church on the horizon and the light breaking over the mountains quietly point to faith, renewal and the promise of new beginnings.
For Monica, purple is far more than a beautiful colour palette.
🪻“I chose lavender and purple to reflect quiet strength and healing,” she says. “They honour vulnerability, resilience and the gentle compassion learned through survival, while inviting empathy and connection among women.”
For Monica, compassion is not about having all the answers.
“It is the ability to meet suffering, our own or someone else’s, with presence, understanding and kindness rather than judgement. Compassion begins inward through self-acceptance and naturally extends outward.”
It is a message that resonates deeply with the work of Badisa.
Every day, Badisa’s social workers, caregivers, volunteers and support staff walk alongside individuals and families facing trauma, uncertainty, grief and change. Often, the greatest gift they can offer is not a solution, but a listening ear, a welcoming smile or someone willing to simply remain present.
Monica believes organisations like Badisa create exactly those spaces.
“When organisations are paired with truly compassionate people, whether staff, volunteers or community leaders, compassion becomes more than a personal value. It becomes a social force that strengthens the emotional well-being of entire communities.”
Family remains at the heart of Monica’s world. Together with her husband, Charl, who has discovered his own creative passion through woodworking, she is raising her two children in Cape Town. Originally from Upington and having spent many years in Gqeberha, she continues to draw inspiration from South Africa’s landscapes, indigenous flora and the quiet beauty found in everyday moments.
These days, slowing down has become a conscious choice.
She finds peace in conversations with her Heavenly Father, listening to classical music while painting and noticing the beauty that so often goes unseen in the busyness of life.
Cancer changed her perspective.
“It reminded me that every moment is precious. Today, every brushstroke celebrates not only beauty, but also strength, renewal and the quiet courage found in embracing each new day.”
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons her journey has taught is the importance of extending compassion to ourselves.
“Self-compassion isn’t a sign of weakness,” she says. “It’s an act of courage. I’ve learned to let go of perfection, to rest without guilt and to remember that some days simply showing up is enough.”
As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month and Badisa colours August with Compassion, Monica’s story reminds us that kindness is rarely loud. It is found in quiet conversations, gentle encouragement, a helping hand or the courage to be kind to ourselves.
If she could paint one message for South Africa, it would simply be this:
“Let compassion flow through our nation like a river, nourishing every heart it touches and allowing kindness to bloom like wildflowers across our communities.”
Sometimes changing the world does not begin with grand gestures.
Sometimes it begins with one woman, one brushstroke, one act of compassion and one life coloured with hope.
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Monica van Vuuren
