Over 31 years working within the United Nations System, Scholastica held leadership positions where the political, social and economic stakes were high and where, therefore, the ability to promote public service governance and facilitate international cooperation & partnerships amongst various stakeholders were imperative.

Professional experiences include:

• Founder & CEO, Maadili Consulting & Lifestyle Coaching;

• UNDP’s Deputy Regional Director for Africa, responsible for 22 Countries in East & Southern Africa;
• UNDP Resident Representative & Coordinator of the United Nations System in Lesotho (2001 – 2004) as well as to South Africa (2005 – 2008);
• UNICEF Representative to South Africa (1993-1998) & Liberia (1998 – 2001); and

Scholastica possesses exceptional Communication, Diplomacy & International Development Skills & Competencies, honed through professional training & practice of Journalism. She holds, among others, an MSc in Social Policy, Planning & Participation in Developing Countries from the London School of Economics & Political Science (1990/91) as well as International Certification as an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Coach & Primordial Sound Meditation Instructor from the Chopra Centre University in California (Jan/Nov 2010).

Throughout her tenure of service in Development Journalism and later in the field of Diplomacy & International Development Co-operation, Scholastica’s passion has always been to strive for and thus contribute to sustainable human development, particularly through improvement of the well-being of the majority of the populations in Africa, most of whom happen to be children, the youth and women.

Besides having seen much goodwill, drive, initiative, money and effort expended from public, private sector, civil society and individuals/household, the degrees of success were mixed. It is for this reason that she has spent much of her own effort, intellectual and financial resources in search of an understanding of where the core challenges to Africa’s success may lie and what can, therefore, be done about it. Scholastica’s conclusion is that there is a pressing need to “unlock” the human potential of Africa’s people at individual and collective level; preferably starting with people in influential leadership positions; both to ensure their own success and effectiveness, with special focus on mind, body health & well-being.

In other words, it has become crystal clear to her that to become an effective leader, one must first and foremost be able to be effective in leading and managing their own selves: mind, body and spirit. It is for this reason that she has recently obtained international certification in lifestyle coaching and mentoring, with significant focus on how to understand and manage stress: their own, that of the people they lead as well as that of their families and loved ones.

Scholastica is an Inspirational Speaker who speaks to her audience directly and from the heart -- drawing on substantive scientific knowledge as well as personal life experiences -- often using power point presentation and at times other audio-visual props. The interactions provide for interactive dialogue as well as create opportunities for experiential learning; not least because of her commitment to ensure that those she works with come away from our interaction feeling and knowing that it is only they who actually have the power, skills, competencies & resourcefulness to phenomenally transform their lives.

Hunger for Success: Many Leaders in Africa are thrust into key leadership positions for various understandable reasons – including as reward for good performance. However, far too many leaders step into these positions with great trepidation because they believe they do not possess any specific training in becoming a successful leader. Even those who have been trained to lead, most have not had training in how to understand and manage their mind, body and spirit as a fundamental pre-requisite for enlightened leadership. Hence the high levels of stress, hypertension and other related ailments leading to many lost hours from sick leave at the work place. Many institutions in the world of work continue to invest large sums of money into Staff as well as Leadership Development & Welfare Programmes which could greatly benefit from making the Shift to focus on mind, body spirit health as a sure way to obtain best value for money.

Desire for Health and Longevity: The simplest way to observe the toll that leadership responsibilities exacts on the human body, mind and spirit, is to watch the speed with which the colour of the Leader’s hair greys and how often they look visibly exhausted. The world’s Presidents are a classic and most visible demonstration of this phenomenon. More common at the work place is the phenomenon of the difficulty for Management & Staff to align the “corridor talk” with the “conference room talk”. Equally telling is the phenomenon of how often leaders scream at their Staff and Managers, itself a classic “fight/flight” primitive brain response to stress.

The wonderful news is that all these phenomena can be very positively reversed – with Staff & Leaders actually growing healthier, living longer while also becoming far more productive! The day is coming when Staff and Management will actually look forward to going to the office every morning, as a result of mastering the skills and competencies for better mind, body, spirit balance. Such a result will, in good time, even reduce the visits to the Doctor and thus reduce Company/Employer expenditure on medical bills.

There are several options available for engaging on the mind, body spirit approach to good leadership, of self and of others:

One-day seminars, tailored for those who may be unable to make more time available in one go, e.g. Parliamentarians, Cabinet Ministers, Senior Public & Private Sector Executives, etc. Under these circumstances, we can stagger the training over a period of time;

Weekend retreats, preferably at a holiday/conference resort which offers body massages as well as opportunities for physical release of stress: e.g. swimming, nature walks, a well equipped gym, etc. This would mean starting the retreat on a Friday afternoon and finishing by Sunday lunch time, to enable participants to return home in time to enthusiastically resume work on the Monday;

Awareness Raising/Motivational Speeches, usually combined with Breakfast or Dinner. Lunch time not well suited for this;

Personal Lifestyle Coaching & Mentoring, for interested individuals.

That Success in life and at the work place is a journey and not a destination that involves, among others:

(a) the expansion of happiness & the progressive realisation of worthy goals, including material wealth;

(b) how to fulfil one’s desires with effortless easy, over time;

(c) how to attain creative freedom, emotional/ psychological stability and a sense of well-being;

(d) how to attain good health, energy & enthusiasm for life;

(e) how to manifest fulfilling relationships & peace of mind.

• Improved health and well-being;
• Increased efficiency and effectiveness;
• Increased self-awareness and empowerment through ability to re-establish intimacy with oneself and interactive with higher emotional intelligence.

• Increased productivity, creativity and accountability of workforce;
• Healthier workforce - lower medical costs & sick days;
• A more harmonious working environment;
• Contribution to the evolution of authentically empowered corporate citizens.