#152 Helping Young Girls Cope with The Shona Project Founder, Tammy Darcy

Tammy Darcy is the Founder and CEO of The Shona Project: who have impacted: 20,000 young girls through their school workshops and events, 30,000 through their survival handbook, 40,000 at Shine Festival, 300,000 through their website & 350,000 through social media views each month. The year Tammy turned 14 everything changed. Her parents went through a messy separation, and her older sister, Shona was diagnosed with an acquired brain injury that rendered her physically and mentally disabled, and left her requiring full time nursing care. It was also the year she was bullied so badly in school that she spent break times in a toilet cubicle and climbing over the back wall to go home. Tammy feels that if she had the right support, information and guidance, she may have been better able to overcome the challenges she encountered as a teen. She now sees that her experience is not unusual, and that many girls find their teenage years to be negative, distressing and traumatic. It is during these years that the internal barriers which prevent young women from achieving their potential are often formed. Tammy is passionate about eradicating bullying and rivalry amongst girls and promoting the fact that our differences are what make us special and our challenges are what teach us  understanding, resilience and determination. www.shona.ie