A man picks up his brushes again. One of his paintings crosses continents and lands in an auction in Australia. It raises more than R20,000. He tries to give a big chunk of it back. And the people he wants to thank turn around and use it to give him something incredible!
Centurion, South Africa (08 September 2026) – Oom Douglas Snyman is turning 70 in October. He’s well into his golden years, but he has every reason to feel like something new is only just beginning for him.
A painting of his, showing a Karoo farmhouse, was recently included in a silent auction at a fundraiser held in Brisbane, Australia, in support of Moeggesukkel. The final bid came in at more than R20,000.
That was enough to leave Oom Douglas ‘struck without words’.
Art has been following him around for most of his life. He grew up in Springs, loved drawing faces and, at 17, started working for the South African Railways as a sign writer, when station names were still painted by hand. Later came spray painting, welding and more sign-writing work. He never had formal art training, but he kept finding his way back to paint.
Then life changed. Jobs came and went as the world moved towards computers and printed signage. At 66, after a difficult personal chapter, he found himself needing somewhere to start again.
Moeggesukkel helped him turn that page three years ago. The non-profit supports people who have landed in hard places with housing, food and opportunities. It became Oom Dougie’s place of sanctuary, but also where his art was noticed again.
The organisation has since helped open a few small doors for him through art, including painting opportunities that have allowed him to earn a little money along the way. They have also shared his work with their online community, where Oom Dougie has earned his own fans.
On Sunday, when he heard that his painting had fetched a high price at the auction in Australia, his very first thought was about giving back to the people who have helped him. He wanted to donate R12,000 of the R20,000 he had just earned back to Moeggesukkel.
“I want to give back to Moeggesukkel, because Moeggesukkel has done so much for me alread…” he said.
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Only, the team at the non-profit had already decided that money was not staying with them. They are going to use it to build Oom Dougie his own art room and studio!
The wholesome moment Oom Dougie finds out he’ll be getting a new art studio was captured on video. We’ve shared it below.
A man picks up his brushes again. One of his paintings crosses continents and lands in an auction in Australia. It raises more than R20,000. He tries to give a big chunk of it back. And the people he wants to thank turn around and use it to give him something incredible.
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