After our last attempt at a gathering of our Unearthed Community Leaders programme was scampered by last-minute Covid-19 lockdowns in South Africa, we were really pleased to finally get our group together for an epic few days with Futhi Sibiya, the inspirational founder of the X-Factored Youth Programme.
The X-factored Youth started as a small project for Futhi, an HR specialist with a rare passion for helping youth. X-Factored youth has now become more than a project, it’s an entire community of youth that aspires to Xcellence, Xtraordinariness, Xceptionality and are pursuing it daily. And we’re so grateful to have been able to give our Unearthed Participants this experience.
The gathering was hosted at Ezwini Lodge and Durban Green Corridor’s eNanda Adventures site on the shores of the beautiful eNanda Dam. Futhi organised a packed program, riddled with carefully crafted opportunities for self-exploration and personal development.
I was aware that were definitely going to have a more formal session for training/education at this Unearthed Gathering but I was not aware that our sessions with Futhi were going to be quite as fascinating as it happened.
A highlight was a strenuous morning hike to the magical Mzinyathi Falls and Rastafarian Caves. It was not an ordinary hike as our Unearthed Participants would soon find out. The hike was a reflection of their day to day lives, what about the people who were lagging behind, what about rationing the small amount of water they had, questions around leadership and taking different paths and overcoming obstacles. The same important life lessons from the Wilderness Trail experience were amplified by Futhi’s skilled facilitation and experience in working with rural youth. Another brilliant example of using experiences in nature as a tool for learning and growing.
The essence of that hike is that life in general is not easy, but as you stop crying and do something to make it better, you actually begin the journey to your destiny, in this case with our businesses being successful. Obviously, along the journey, there will be obstacles like slippery river rocks, and branches that will make it difficult for you to proceed. But you must push on.
If you ask about Futhi I just don't know where to start. All I can say is "thanks Unearthed for allowing us to meet such an experienced champ". The guy conducted all sessions in the most particular way. Very professional, and someone who sets a good example for all of us on how to handle different situations effectively. We are so impressed with this training and we are committed and ready to play our PART.
For me the sessions were very inspiring and motivational, the whole experience was splendid.......the practicality of everything makes a person to want to strive even more to be better, to be great.........
From the entire Unearthed Team a massive shout out to Futhi and his X-Factored Youth team for an epic few days. Find out more about Futhi’s work and X-Factored Youth Here and Ezwini Lodge here.