Testimonies of graduates show that TFT trainings impact participants’ lives and professions at three levels: the personal, the organizational and the community level. At the personal level the training prioritises self reflection and self awareness, represented in the wisdom of the saying “change begins with me”. The training addresses individual’s internal struggles, as they grow to more deeply understand who they are, their purpose in life, and the areas for further self development. This leads to shifts in the their perceptions of themselves and their capabilities, which in turn changes how they then interpret situations confronting them and the way in which they have habitually done things. Healing is also part of the introspection journey and with a new level of awareness of self, low self–esteem, bitterness, anger, purposelessness, confusion, and related barriers gradually recede. Participants’ personal values and sets of skills change for the better, forming a foundation on which they build their community development efforts, which become more effective than before their participation in the training. TFT deepens one’s understanding of the realities that confront other people around them, thereby transforming organizations and communities. (Impact Study, 2015)

The methodology of TFT has long been one that draws on the motif of head, heart and hand signifying a balance in intellectual interrogation of theory, emotional exploration in taking feelings as facts, and action for liberation.
 
Training for Transformation is based on a number of approaches to change. The core of this work is the development of critical consciousness and creativity. It was developed from Paulo Freire’s radically different approach to adult education which helped people “to read their reality and write their own history”, and motivates them to action that transforms their life situation. The uniqueness of Freire’s approach challenges the traditional educational mould. The implementation of this theory is very practical with well-trained teams analysing the macro and micro realities of each area, finding generative themes and developing programmes that aim to develop critical consciousness and action.