This will be our last post of 2019, we’re shutting up shop to rest and recharge our batteries after what has been a really amazing year for all of us here at The Shona Project.
We have met thousands of girls at our workshops, and reached hundreds of thousands through our website. At our conference we laughed, cried and danced with 1000 girls, and we distributed 30,000 handbooks to schools all over Ireland. We have won awards, and shared the story of Shona through radio, TV and newspapers. And we’re only getting started.
All of the team here at Shona have been inspired to come together by our own personal stories, some of which we’ve shared, and we are passionate about helping others, and building communities so every single girl in Ireland can be happy and content in her own skin, and appreciate everything about herself that makes her special and unique. We have come to realise that sometimes our struggles are what make us so special, and that we are not broken, just a little bruised, but we come back fighting regardless.
We are so grateful for every single girl each of us have met, Those who have waited to talk to us at workshops, those who have shared their stories on the website, those who have taken our pledge, and those who have made a conscious effort to become a positive force in the world, and to be kind to others, and to themselves. We have been met with warm hearts and open minds every step of the way.
We know that there are many of us who will find Christmas tough, who might feel unseen and alone. There are some who find school really difficult for many reasons, who are exhausted, and just need a break to recharge. There are some who have difficult relationships with food, and find Christmas dinner and parties really stressful. There are some who are stressed, worried, lonely, sad or scared.
To those girls we would say, please reach out, ask someone for help, talk to someone. You are important, and your voice needs to be heard. Our wish for you is that you find peace next year, that you are able to look back on these challenges and feel proud that you managed to overcome them, or that you’ve found ways to cope. We hope that you find people who make you feel safe and loved, and that you truly believe that you deserve it… because you do.
We hope you all have a really lovely Christmas, we’ll be back in 2019 stronger than ever, with love in our hearts and fire in our bellies.
Nollaig SHONA Duit
From all of us x
