If you've browsed through my website, you would have gotten a basic idea of my background as a professional. In this first post, I'd like to share a tad more about myself and why I have chosen to embark on this journey of starting Mind & Heart Consulting.
I believe we all have gifts, talents and a calling. Mine is quite simple: children. Helping and connecting with children. I have been given the gift of connecting with children instantaneously. 'How does that work?' you might ask. I think it is because of my sense of wonder about who they are as beings - their imagination, intelligence and their capacity to be resilient, kind and caring. Also, I am a bit of a drama queen! I like to pull funny faces and over-exaggerate when I explain things and some kids seem to enjoy that.
Seeing a child connect the dots in understanding who they are and what they truly are capable of, truly fuels my fire. Additionally, working with parents who hold hands with me as the team who supports their child is also a key element of my work that brings me so much joy and satisfaction.
Having been an expat in the Netherlands for the past 4 years has been challenging. With all due respect to the Dutch, it has often been an alienating experience living in a country with people who are (in so many ways) very different from me. (Small talk- what's that?) Coming from a collectivist, community-oriented culture in South Africa, I have never felt so alone in my life when I moved to the Netherlands. I felt disconnected from the world around me and felt entirely unnoticed.
You and your child's experience need not be the same. There are thousands of other (South African) expats (and "Dutchies") living in the Netherlands who are eager to connect, share, support and form communities! This is why I started Mind & Heart Consulting: I am here to help you with exactly that- to feel supported, heard and connected.
Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have about my current services on offer. I hope you'll allow me to join your family's journey of building a home in the Netherlands.
Best,