Meliny Swartz co-leads the Dwars River Valley Community Advice Office, in Dwarsrivier Valley, South Africa, where she aims to support vulnerable community members, including alcoholics.
In a region with a staggering 60% unemployment rate, her work provides a lifeline for farmworkers and residents facing legal and social challenges. For the first time in the area, the community hub offers free legal advice, helping those who cannot afford representation and advocating for their rights. Meliny leads projects addressing critical needs like water, sanitation, and housing, while also managing an onsite organic community food garden.
Meliny is one of our Aura Fellows, having completed our holistic nine-module programme designed to nurture and empower female leaders to drive the change they wish to see in their communities. In this Aura Spotlight interview, we delve into Meliny’s experience of the programme.
How has Aura transformed your relationship with yourself?
I've been part of Aura for three years — when I joined, my life was chaotic. Aura gave me the space to structure my life, to be softer with myself, to really look at where the pain was coming from and how to deal with it. It helped me ask, “How do I grow from this?” It's been amazing.
I remember times I've cried, but I also remember times when I felt totally healed. We deal with trauma every day — but now I know how to shift it. I understand it has a purpose. Before Aura, I was lost in the darkness without knowing what it meant or the lessons behind it. I didn’t understand its seasons.
I joined Aura because I felt broken, and now I work with broken people, including alcoholics. I’m an alcoholic myself — a grateful one. I've been sober for over two years now. When I joined Aura, I wasn’t sober, and Aura played a big part in helping me through that.
Now — in the midst of all the chaos, all the trauma — I can see there's so much beauty.
I'm blessed to have had this radical shift in my life. I’ve learned to trust the universe, trust God, and let go when I don’t have control. Yes, let go… That’s something I couldn’t do before.
Has your perspective on leadership changed during your time with Aura?
Yes, it has. I’ve always had a very strong personality and thought my ideas were the best. When people didn’t follow my lead or my ideas weren’t chosen, I’d feel bad. But that’s changed. I’ve learned to listen more deeply and to give others a chance, and that leadership isn’t about being the boss — it’s about guiding, but also letting myself be guided.
I tend to trust the universe. I can only do what God allows me to do, hoping it’s the right thing. I feel soft as a person now, and when I lead with that softness, it allows others to soften too.
Could you share an experience from Aura that felt transformative?
There was one session where we used clay to make something that represented ourselves. I remember I made a hand, thinking of my family, who have always loved to work in the vineyards and in the soil. They also love to give to others — even though they don't have much — they have enough to share with love. That’s something I realised when making that hand: the generosity and love in my family.
In the same session, I also made a beer bottle. I struggled so much with alcohol back then, and I moulded this bottle to symbolise how alcohol had ruled over me and my family for so long. It controlled us. No matter how good we were at what we did — alcohol was the centre of our lives.
That moment was huge for me. I realised I was going to be the one to break that curse. Seeing it so clearly in the clay made me understand: I have control.
Now, I’ve been sober for over two years, one day at a time, of course, and I’m doing really well.
I'd love to know something you now know to be true, which you didn't know before Aura?
I now know that the universe brought me back to the Lanquedoc valley, back to my origins, for a reason. After being away for so long, I returned, and God broke me down in this valley to build me back up. I see that clearly now.
When I came back, I had nothing. My two daughters and I had two pencils, two t-shirts, two pairs of trousers each — that was it. I had to start over; find a place to live, look for furniture, find a job, everything. It was humiliating, but it became my pride.
I’ve reconnected with my ancestors here. I believe the work I’m doing is the same work that my grandmothers did. One of them was a fortune teller, loved and respected in this valley. I don’t think I’m a fortune teller, but I have a lot of wisdom and intuition. I believe my grandmother left her work unfinished, and I’ve returned to finish it for her.
Looking back, I was never happy where I lived before. I couldn't find my feet, and I never liked my job. Then I came back to where my mother and grandmother were born, and all these beautiful things happened to me. It must mean something.
I’ve been back home seven years now. It’s gone from dark, to great, to the most beautiful rainbow.
One piece of advice you would give to another woman starting her Aura journey?
Your pain can become your power — mine has been so beautiful. I use it now to be the best that I can. Trust that your pain will do the same for you.
And one last thing: back when I was in school, I remember our teacher would make us write letters to our pen friends in other countries — but I never imagined I’d have real pen friends! Now through Aura, I do — it’s pure joy!