Keedo News

Positively optimistic

When Jonathan Kathrein paddled out on his surfboard under the Californian sun, 9 years ago, he never thought that his life would change so radically. He found himself alone in the waters and with it a great white shark. The shark attacked him, leaving not only a scar from knee to hip, but also a realization that life is fragile. Should the bite have been 1cm lower, he would have bled to death and not be able to tell his story today. Nelia Schutte went on a ski holiday, 2 years after the birth of her twin daughter and son. When she went down an icy slope she lost control and connected head first with a concrete bridge leaving her in a critical condition with heart failure, six facial and skull fractures. Nine months of facial operations and positive thinking followed. She too walked away with a realization that life is fragile. Today, Jonathan is spreading his positive message to young people throughout America with a programme called Future Leaders for Peace. Says Jonathan: “At Future Leaders for Peace, we work with young people (age 4-18) to develop conflict resolution and leadership skills. Our workshops address the subjects of honesty, good communication and listening skills, objective and empathetic decision making, and goal setting. Young people are the leaders of the future and through them we change the world”, he adds. Nelia is the founder of a company called Keedo International – one of the leading children’s clothing manufacturers in South Africa. The inspiration of Keedo has always been Nelia’s love for children and nature and it is this passion that steered Nelia and Jonathan’s paths to cross eventually. When Keedo heard about the Future Leaders for Peace programme, it was almost unthinkable not to become involved and they did so by sponsoring Jonathan to visit South Africa and share his positive message to the youth of South Africa. Says Nelia Schutte, Founder of Keedo: “For as long as I can remember I have experienced an overwhelming compulsion to serve the children of the world. I believe that we must invest in them as they will, to a large degree, fashion our future”. She added that with this project Keedo aims to bring happiness into the lives of children and that they will continue to look for ways to give back to society. Jonathan who is only in South Africa for a short while has visited 12 schools (around 3800 learners) in the Western Cape and the reaction of learners has been overwhelming. All principals were excited about the project including Mrs. Shirley Harding (principal of Wynberg Girls High) who said that the talk has changed their (the learners) way of thinking. She added: ”A couple of learners mentioned having felt angry the previous week and that they had been challenged by Jonathan’s visit to approach life more positively”. J.P. Andrew and Craig Bovim, two of South Africa’s great white shark attack victims, added their vote of confidence to the project and pledged to assist in establishing a division of Future Leaders for Peace in South Africa. If you would like to find out more about this positive programme, visit http://www.futureleadersforpeace.org/ or contact Jonathan directly on jkathrein@flfp.org