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passing the knowledge and light on to others - is the most reward- ing way to find inner peace, heal- ing, love and harmony in one’s life.


This is exactly what Xoli Fuyani and the ladies from the Earthchild Proj- ect are creating.


The Earthchild Project is a Non- Profit Organization in the Western Cape of South Africa, which fo- cuses on the holistic development of children, teachers, schools and communities. Working in 11 un- derprivileged schools in the Cape, their aim is to create meaningful and sustainable change by provid- ing practical skills in how to live a more balanced and fulfilling life. They focus on self-awareness, health, wellness and the environ- ment.


Xoli is a 27-year-old inspired, spir- ited and caring woman who has been working at the Earthchild Project for two and a half years. She was born and bred in Gugule- thu, one of the main township areas in Cape Town, so she has personal experience of what it is like to grow up in an area where the focus is on survival and gaining external power rather than self-empowerment.


As a young woman growing up in the Cape Flats, life can be ex- tremely challenging. No emphasis is made on showing your emo- tions or sharing your feelings. No- body discusses the changes that are happening in your body as a teenager, nobody talks about sex, about health, about encouraging self-confidence, self-esteem or about what you want to be when you grow up. In the townships there are still many myths around HIV/aids and one’s own health and many girls in their teens don’t even know what menstruation is.


“Our strategy is to create a safe- space once a month for the adolescent girls, where they are taught skills on personal growth and development.”


Life is different. Life is about teen- age pregnancy, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, drug abuse, lack of education, gangs, family problems, crime and the challenges of peer pressure.


Often girls are neglected and have few tools with which to help them achieve their goals and inspirations in life.


Xoli, in collaboration with Hannah Loewenthal, has set up a Young Women’s Group with 12 teenage girls (age 12-16yrs) whom have been involved in the Earthchild Project for some years now. These underprivileged


girls come from Khayelitsha – Cape Town’s larg- 50 INSPIRATIONAL WOMAN MAGAZINE


est township – and gather once a month where they can find support and discover new pathways to self- empowerment and visualize how to achieve their goals.


Xoli shares: ‘Our strategy is to cre- ate a safe-space once a month for the adolescent girls, where they are taught skills on personal growth and development, as well as to in- spire them to make better decisions for themselves and show them dif- ferent ways in which to explore their world. We believe each one of these young women is special, with unique gifts and potential to succeed, no matter what circum-


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