This will be our last post of 2020, we’re shutting up shop to rest and recharge our batteries because after all, we did just survive the 27 months of 2020 and a global pandemic.
Last year, we met thousands of girls at our workshops and reached hundreds of thousands through our website. This year looked a whole lot different. We still got to see smiling faces, just not as many. Many of those faces were seen on a computer screen too! We learned a lot about ourselves this year though. We realised how important it is to look after yourself and how to communicate better with our friends and families.
We’re going to be real with you for a minute. 2020 threw a massive spanner in the works for The Shona Project. Our 4 sold-out conferences and 99% of our workshops got cancelled. We were worried. But, with the amazing team of girls and women that have been behind us every step of the way, we changed, adapted, learned, and grew. So, we aren’t going to give much away but by god, 2021 better watch out because The Shona Project is going to hit the ground running (and who knows, it could be the year we take over the world? ).
2020 wasn’t a complete downer though. We still got to deliver our handbooks to some schools around Ireland, launched our very first Summer School where we met the most incredible group of girls, launched the First Season of our podcast “Tell Me About It” (*cough* season 2 is on its way to you *cough*) and even got to be a part of an amazing TV show “Changing Ireland: My Big Idea” where we shared our story. Check out one of the promos below!
All of the team here at Shona have continued to be 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. These are just some of the smiling faces of our ambassadors and management team and we are forever grateful for having these ladies in our lives.
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. You can see some of the amazing girls we got to know at our Summer Schools below.
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 2021 stronger than ever, with love in our hearts and fire in our bellies.
Nollaig SHONA Duit
From all of us x
If you would like to support us and the work that we do, you can donate below ❤
