In a world in which we live where the media is constantly spewing out all that is mostly negative, it’s very easy that the many that are doing so good can slip in-between the cracks.

I was recently booked by the Winnie Mabaso Foundation.  A Foundation that is doing so much good it makes one question one’s own purpose. They booked me to workshop some of the orphaned teenagers followed by  20 of their staff the next day.

Lisa Ashton heads up the foundation. She was first introduced to Winnie Mabaso as a BBC Producer doing a documentary about Winnie.  Lisa was so taken by what Winnie Mabaso was doing that she decided to juggle her job with the BBC so that she could spend time working with the Foundation. 3 years ago she left the BBC to work on the foundation full time.

Lisa helped Winnie start and Orphanage which now houses 26 children from the age of 2 upwards.  They have a feeding scheme, every Friday night in the neighbouring squatter camp. They raise funds for new shacks, permaculture gardens and chickens to help make the  community of the camp more self-sustainable. They also arrange a homework club, granny club, mobile library and vocational training for the community.

Over the weekend The Foundation teenagers and staff attended a workshop I facilitated about goal-setting and self-belief development.

This is what Lisa said……

“I arranged for a group of my teenage children and staff to attend Gary Hirson’s of Clam In Storm’s Goal Setting workshop in Johannesburg last week.  I decided to attend too.

On Friday,  six of the children spent the day with Gary.  I thought it only fair to ask them their opinion of the workshop. Without exception they all found the day to be both interesting and inspiring. It gave them a focus and has encouraged them to pursue their dreams.  For example, one of our 15-year-old boys decided that he would like to become a football coach … since the workshop he has set up a girl’s soccer team and is coaching them each day.  His passion and self-belief are exciting to see and I can’t wait to see how these small seeds that Gary planted will begin to grow.  

 On Saturday myself and 17 members of staff attended Gary’s Goal Setting workshop.  To be to perfectly honest, I initially thought that I would attend more as an observer but found myself hooked by what Gary was saying from the outset.  His natural charisma and ease as a facilitator is a gift and I could see how well all of my staff responded to him – from cleaners through to managers…myself included. Nobody felt excluded and all were captivated by Gary’s workshop.  The course has had quite an impact already with staff encouraged and enthusiastic about pursuing their goals and I have seen that this renewed self-belief has had a knock on effect on their attitude at work too.  I cannot recommend this course enough.  It is quite literally a course that everyone should attend to re-evaluate their lives, to renew their self-belief and to enable them to have a focus in life. I cannot enthuse enough about how great the day was. Whilst the course was aimed at individual goals, we have also discussed as a team how we can use this technique to fulfill joint goals too.”