What is the EQ Charitable Trust?

The Emotional Intelligence Charitable Trust was registered and received its NPO status in 2012.

We are in the process of arranging an annual benefits event as a means of developing funding and awareness. This would allow us to run the courses in some of the schools that we have identified as needy. We want to create awareness on a national level as we feel it is imperative that EQ is taught to all children, allowing them a better chance at success, and in so creating a nation that can learn to work together.

Course Information

EQ makes up approximately 80% of your success factor, while IQ makes up approximately 20%.

Throughout the course, the participants become familiar with, through participation rather than passive learning, the following topics:

Communication
Friendship
Empathy
False-beliefs
Identifying feelings
Self-esteem
Nutritional awareness
Positive thinking
Anger management
Emotional awareness
Self-relaxation (and many more)

Each week, each child is encouraged to practise these skills in their daily lives and routines and will be rehearsed in them at the start of each new session. There will be a limit on the amount of children per group per session, to provide more quality interaction and knowledge development in each lesson. For every 10 children/teenagers sponsored, we are willing to sponsor 2 more children/teenagers ourselves.

As part of their course materials, each child will receive:

Sessions that are presented by facilitators who come from the field of psychology
One-on-one as well as group facilitation
A self-esteem building, guided relaxation CD with worksheets and instructions
A booklet on nutritional information (more for the parents)
A certificate of completion at the end

The EQ courses have been designed in order to equip children with some of the advantages necessary to successfully navigate an ever-more changing and challenging world! For us at Advant-Edge, it is paramount to create the opportunity for our future leaders to get a running start in this area!

Using interactive, engaging, fun and most of all, educational styles of delivery, the EQ courses are designed to promote emotional well-being, socially appropriate behaviour, better understanding of selves and others, greater self-esteem as well as physical wellness. This is achieved through various lessons designed around these topics, delivered by knowledgeable facilitators with a background in the field of Psychological studies. Our facilitators are trained to make use of sound social and psychological theory and practice, to make each lesson not only enjoyable, but practical too!

Participants are encouraged to interact through various play-therapy, role-play and hands-on experiences, in order to maximise understanding and absorption of the material! They will have the opportunity to act-out difficult-to-resolve issues, in a safe and facilitated environment and engage the various senses, to amplify their comprehension in any given lesson. Each participant will be allowed and encouraged to put any questions or scenarios to their peers, promoting social-learning and acceptance of self and others, in an environment which is supportive and non-judgmental. The nutritional sessions are designed to help children understand what is healthy and good for them and why. Fun and interactive exercises and illustrations help them to make better decisions regarding healthy eating choices. Through visualisation and relaxation exercises, they will be taught how to take control of their emotions and self-esteem, giving them the tools to develop greater well-being and exercise equanimity, calmness and self-composure!

Our Supporters

Bianca Warren
Durban Designer

"Our emotions need to be as educated as our intellect. It is important to know how to feel, how to respond, and how to let life in so that it can touch you." - Jim Rohn

Chia Kougianos
Editor of Vice South

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." - Aristotle

Stafford Masie
Former CEO of Google Africa and developer of Pebble Payment Device

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." - Albert Einstein

Sharlene McGilvary
UCI BMX World Champion Women's World Title

"IQ gets you though school, but EQ gets you through life." - Daniel Goleman

Simone Botha
Miss Deaf South Africa

"Surround yourself with people who believe in your dreams no matter how absurd or impossible they may look."

Warren Duffield
Current All Star World Champion In Line Dancing

"Emotional Intelligence is when you finally realise its not all about you." - Peter Stark

Bradley Tandy
SA's next Fastest 50 Free Swimmer

"We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of life. But we can decide what happens in us - how we can take it, what we do with it - and that is what really counts in the end." - Joseph Fort Newton

Delron Buckley
Former Bafana Bafana Player

"Learning how to become emotionally literate is one of the best investments that human beings can make for themselves, their children, and the future." - Ayman Sawaf

John Ellis
Former SA Swimmer

"There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving... and that's your own self." - Aldous Huxley

Lisa Raleigh
Fitness, Wellness and Media Expert

"What really matters for success, character, happiness and lifelong achievements is a definite set of emotional skills - your EQ - not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests." - Daniel Goleman, Ph.D

Lourens Adriaanse
Sharks Rugby Player

"True compassion means not only feeling another’s pain, but also being moved to help relieve it." - Daniel Goleman

Marco Wenzel
Sharks Rugby Player

"Emotions are the untapped resource of every organisation." - Timothy Warneka

Nedene Cahill
Gold Medal winner UCI MTB Masters World Championships 2013 and 2015

"We think too much and feel too little." - Charlie Chaplin

Scott Pitman
MD of Rainbow Chicken

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." - Aristotle

Tim Noakes
Professor in Sport Science Author of Real Meal Revolution Book

"When a person has access to both the intuitive, creative, and visual right brain, and the analytical, local, verbal left brain, the whole brain is working … and this tool is best suited to the reality of what life is, because life is not just logical – it is also emotional." - Stephen Covey

Till Schenk
Germany, International 70.3 Triathlon Commentator and IronMan

"It is about education through sport. EQ-Advant-Edge are successfully helping South African kids to develop emotional intelligence - a must have tool to break out of the circle of poverty and aggression. The coloured hand is the symbol for the project. Help spread the word."

Austin Smith
SA Hockey Captain

"Improving the general emotional intelligence of people in our country would have a profound affect with how we manage our emotions and stress levels. Imagine the impact on society if we were all able to recognise our emotional state and control? While life is only becoming more demanding we need the tools to deal with it effectively"

Adrien Niyonshuti
Rwanda, 2012 London Olympian for MTB

Valens Ndayisenga
Rwanda, National Road Cycling Champion

Rutendo Nyahora
Zimbabian Proffessional Athelete

"Our past and background does not determine our future. We all fall but we rise again. Failure is only when one quits trying. Everything looks beautiful when we remove the flaws. You're not alone in this world. We love you"

Caroline Wostmann
Comrades Winner 2015

"Self-belief and an awareness that one is entitled to one’s own views is vital to individual success. Children need to be taught that they have voice and can achieve their dreams and goals through discipline and hard work. Being mentally strong and having emotional intelligence is key to their future success."

Ravi R
DJ at Megazone Radio

Testimonials

"Bethany enjoyed her EQ Advant-Edge experience! She particularly valued the session on bullying and dealing with difficult days at school! Thank you for an empowering experience!" – Cindy

"I just want to thank the staff, doing the training, for a pleasant environment they gave the children that Charlie enjoyed and looked forward going back to every morning. I can see already a change in Charlie's communication skills and how he handles problem situations. He also tells his friends every afternoon when he gets home what he has learned and what the "teacher" taught him to with bullies at school." – Pieter Blatt

"Kevin has always been a happy and friendly person; and managed to project an outer show of confidence, but being the youngest in a large family is not always easy. During this course I have seen an inner confidence emerging in the way he is able to show his feelings and why others might react in certain ways. He has learnt to view situations from a different perspective and to communicate his ideas with confidence in himself." – Clair Dyer

"Zowe has thoroughly loved the course. She looks forward to attending the class each day and comes home with interesting info, which she shares with us, from explaining emotions, identifying feelings and even teaching us calming and relaxing exercises" – Craig

"I sent my son to this holiday club to help him learn to deal with his emotions – mainly fear and anxiety. After just a week, I could see how he's grown in confidence, understands his emotions and can now deal with them all." – Johanna

"I would recommend this to my friends. I had fun, enjoyed myself and learned a lot! I learned how to be responsible for myself, how to make friends, learned how to deal with my problems and understand my emotions." – Brinley

"Sean enjoyed the course and surprisingly didn't complain or resist going daily, even though it meant waking up earlier in the holidays. He enjoyed the material and made a few friends in the process." – Lin