“My name is Karen Sameuls; I live in Lanquedoc, Cape Town, South Africa, a community with a lot of violence and drug abuse towards women and children. My goal is to provide a safe haven for women and children of all races to find inner peace and learn how to discover their own self and strength.”
Karen is one of our Aura Fellows, having completed our holistic nine-module programme designed to nurture and empower female leaders. In this Aura Spotlight interview, we delve into her experience.
I'd love to hear about your day-to-day work, and what resonates most with your heart?
I’m a teacher at Excelsior Preschool, at Boschendal, where we focus on a Montessori approach to guide the children. Every day is different, every day we learn something new from the children. I often find myself wondering, “Was I like this once? Did I also question everything with such curiosity?!” I don’t remember…but that’s exactly what the children do! It’s beautiful to witness their wonder.
How has Aura transformed your relationship with yourself?
I've been part of Aura for three years now. When I joined, my life felt empty — I didn’t have much beyond my children and my work. But Aura gave me a safe space where I could begin to find my purpose and discover who I really am.
One time, we were all sitting outside, sharing our life stories, crying together. I remember being so moved, heartbroken by what the other women shared. I opened up to them about how, when I’m at school, I feel alive, but as soon as I come home, it’s like I disappear. I told them, “At home, I feel like nothing exists — that I don’t exist. I’m alone, and I cry alone.” But this time, I could say it without lots of tears. Together, in our circle, I felt like things were changing.
And I remember thinking, “Why did Aura choose me? I don’t understand. Why me?” They told me they saw potential in me. That gave me strength.
When I joined, I was in a really dark space, but Aura helped me gather the pieces of my life and reminded me that I am something, that I am important — even if others try to make me feel otherwise. Aura drew me out of my shell, and I started interacting more. Every time we gathered, my mentor would say, “You were once the quiet one, but now, you’re the one who speaks sense and wisdom, because of the life you’ve lived.”
Aura helped me see that my passion is helping others, especially women who’ve been broken, abused, or mistreated. Women who question, “Why am I here? Why am I in this relationship? Why is life treating me like this?” I want to be a safe space for them, to let them know they’re loved and that someone is there to listen, day or night. Now, I can be that safe space for other women.
I’ve also learnt to become much calmer and to listen with my whole heart — even if I can’t offer advice immediately, I trust that something meaningful will come in time.
Can you share one experience from Aura that felt particularly transformative?
There was this one session where we had to draw a boat that represented our lives. Inside the boat, we had to write about our family, goals, and achievements. The boat had a sail, where we wrote all the positive forces that keep us moving forward, and at the bottom of the boat, we had to write the negative things that drag us down.
In the bottom of my boat, I wrote words like “hurt” and “disappointed”; I found myself writing a lot of sad things in my boat. But when I wrote in the sail, I put down my children’s names, because they are my biggest source of strength and always make me see life more positively.
Thinking of my children who make me happy, who make me feel worthwhile, who make me want to live — that was a real turning point for me. Rather than breaking down and questioning, “Why did my husband leave? What’s the point of all this?” I found myself focusing on what truly mattered.
That session helped me notice the positives in my life that I’d often overlook. Since joining Aura, there’s been so much more sunshine, smiles, and flowers in my days. I now feel proud — seeing how my family and I are flourishing in life.
One piece of advice you would give to a woman starting her Aura journey?
My humility has become my strength. I’ve faced a lot of humiliation in life, but through it, I found the strength to keep moving forward.
So, what I would say to a woman starting her Aura journey is this: know your worth. It doesn’t matter what others think or say about you. Know your inner beauty and your inner strength — because when you truly know yourself, you can face any challenge in the world.
Embrace this experience wholeheartedly. It will transform and change you forever.