About | The Fourth Space

The fourth space

Most of us move between three: home, school or work, and a community space (a mosque, a sports team, a centre) where we gather.

What's missing for many is a fourth: a space of connection, creativity, and care. Where adults remember how to play. Where youth are met with attention rather than expectation. Where the work of being human is the only work that needs doing.

That's the space we build, in whatever form a community needs: a workshop, a residency, a rink, a stage, a circle. Our mediums and locations change, but the intention is the same: a new kind of fourth space.

Our approach

How we work, always

Trauma-informed

We welcome the range of experiences and comfort levels people bring. The goal is a space where everyone can come as they are and feel understood.

Community-driven

Our work responds to what we see and what we're told by community members. We take the time to listen to what a community actually needs, and look for gaps to fill collaboratively, rather than replicating what already exists.

Globally rooted

Our work is shaped by perspectives from beyond the Western frame. We've worked across continents, learned from communities outside the cultural defaults of Canadian or North American practice, and bring that lens to every project.

Team

The people behind the work

Sara-Maya Kaba

Co-founder

A Canadian-Pakistani educator, multidisciplinary artist (dance, poetry, spoken word, singing), and TEDx speaker. Pathy Foundation Fellowship alumna and former University of Central Asia Dushanbe fellow. Currently Artist Changemaker in Residence (2025–2026) at Mount Royal University's Institute for Community Prosperity. Over a decade of experience in youth development and mental health across Canada, the UK, Mexico, and Pakistan.

Aly Jafferani

Co-founder

An educational developer with over a decade of work across South Asia, Central Asia, and East Africa. Specializes in program design, curriculum development, and educator capacity building, with deep experience designing learning experiences for under-resourced contexts.

Sophie McCafferty

Board Member

Passionate about food, community and ecology, Sophie McCafferty (she/her) can usually be found with her hands in the ground. She brings her experience in agroecological, community-driven initiatives, locally and globally, grounded in decolonial feminist training and gender-based violence policy. As a board member, Sophie supports play-based outdoor learning, sustainability, and government relations. She is honoured to be part of the team, and continually inspired by how the Fourth Space continues to flourish.

Laila Alfadhli

Board Member

Laila Alfadhli is an advocate for women and marginalized communities. She co-developed Canada's first culturally responsive, trauma-informed rehabilitation program for Muslim survivors of human trafficking. She leads workshops for high school students, families, and Toronto Metropolitan University's Executive Program in Combating Child Sex Trafficking & Child Sexual Exploitation. As a board member, she will support trauma-informed educational content, organizational development, and fundraising.