Hello, my name is Amanda Goncalves
Welcome to the story behind Honey badger
This organisation has been a long time coming. I have been working in schools and with children and teachers since I finished school. What was supposed to be a gap year doing adventure ministry turned into four years of working on a campsite and discovering my passions in life. Kids, teachers and helping find purpose.
the journey
After doing adventure ministry for four years and then working in a youth organisation for another four years, I became convinced that one of the most influential people in a child or teens life other than their parents, are their teachers. Knowing that I wanted to support and encourage teachers in their calling, I got my Bachelors in Education while my husband and I started our family. I completed my degree, taught Art at a government primary school and then moved to Wellington where I worked for a non profit.
the push that got it started
The non profit I was working for abruptly ran out of funding and let all the staff go, including myself. I have always had so much vision of how I wanted to bring change in the education sector and help learners decide what to do after school. My husband encouraged me to start my own non profit and pursue my dream.We officially started the non profit - Honey badger for Schools in the beginning of 2022. By the middle of the year we were really struggling with funding and after doing an entrepreneurship course decided to open a for profit company to generate funds - Honey badger Equip. And that is how Honey badger was born! With a gentle kick, many helping hands and a lot of faith! (interspersed with rational fear - which was mainly ignored and told to sit in a corner)
why the name honey badger?
Honey badgers are small, resilient creatures. Known for taking on animals much bigger than themselves and even sleeping off something like a snake bite, which should kill them. Our organisation is a small one, taking on big challenges, but believing that we can make a difference. We kept the Honey badger name for both the for profit and non profit company because after working with people for over 20 years we have realised that the situations may look different on the surface but all people are facing challenges, they all need love and support and whether you are working with the very rich or the very poor, both have big challenges. We need to be a honey badger no matter where we work and whether it is for profit or not.
Photo credit: Dirk Theron