Little Lions Child Coaching
Again I had the privilege to meet and work with a very special NGO that as passionate about the mental health of children in poor communities. Little Lions Child coaching is a non profit based in Cape Town and their goal is to help children from under-resourced communities to become mentally stronger by creating an ‘army’ of mental health coaches.
The idea is not only to step in as an outsider and give advice but to train local role models in the community so that every child can enter adulthood with an understanding of their own mental health and a resilient mind. And this education by someone who has walked through life in their shoes has the biggest impact on these young people.
Little Lions was founded in 2018 by Stijn de Leeuw who relocated from Amsterdam to start his PhD in child psychology at the University of Cape Town. In his research it became evident that mental support was lacking in townships and was seen as something that was not needed or essential.
Communication was one of the struggles, in a community where the spoken language (isiXhosa) does not have words for emotions, how do you start the conversation. This is where Nicko stepped in, a local role model from Langa. He showed the children the importance about metal health and within a year there was more children on the waiting list than there was space for in the workshops.
In 2021 the Little Lions launched the Academy and stated education local role models who in turn are employed as metal health coaches. Currently Little Lions have a team of 8 mental health coaches, is active in 4 townships and have given over 1100 free workshops.
In my opinion the work they’re doing is invaluable. The children is the future of our country and we have to help to set them up for success.
If you want to find out more about this amazing NGO or if you would like to donate your resources, time or skills, please get into contact: