Roads ahead

Four years on from winning the InStyle and
Audi Style scholarship, Rosie O’Halloran updates
Audi Magazine on her journey.

Since humanitarian and charity CEO Rosie O’Halloran was awarded the InStyle and Audi Style scholarship, her journey has taken her beyond the green hills of Nyakisru Uganda and onto a new tack.

Story Felicity Bonello

Photography Bayleigh Vedelago (lead image), Ken Butti and courtesy Rosie O'Halloran

8 May, 2018

In 2014 Rosie O’Halloran was honoured with the InStyle and Audi Style Scholarship for her extraordinary humanitarian efforts in the Kabale region of Uganda, and for her work with the Institute for Global Women Leaders (IGWL). She had, at the time, ventured to Uganda to develop a children’s home called ‘Our Place’; and co-founded the IGWL, an Australian based non-profit organisation with a mission to support, connect and empower young women from around the world as agents of change.

Since then Rosie has worked with a local team and the community in Nyakisru to integrate the children from Our Place back into local care arrangements which was a major initiative and a significant victory for the organisation. With the house no longer in operation, Rosie now maintains support of the children’s education through philanthropic donations. She explains, “We’re just a very small collection of individuals that provide that financial support and encouragement to the kids. When I started the project I always had that Margaret Reed quote in my mind ‘never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world’. I think that’s the essence of what the organisation has become now.”

Fiercely compassionate, it’s easy to see why Rosie O’Halloran is fervent in her work with people. Naturally, she’s faced challenges yet along the way she’s discovered the importance of listening to herself amongst the resounding non-profit sector.

"When I started the project I always had that Margaret Reed quote in my mind ‘never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world’."

"There’s a real power in knowing who you are because ultimately girls who know who they are, become women who know who they are, and I think when you’re a woman who knows yourself and knows the value you have and your purpose for being here, that’s a very powerful positive force in the world."

“One of the biggest challenges for me is continuing to come back to hearing my own voice. There’s a real power in knowing who you are because ultimately girls who know who they are, become women who know who they are, and I think when you’re a woman who knows yourself and knows the value you have and your purpose for being here, that’s a very powerful positive force in the world.” Certainly, in the four years since garnering the grant, Rosie has been positively sewing her works in the world and acknowledges the InStyle and Audi endowment for that.

“There were three main things the bursary enabled me to do. The first was not necessarily a financial benefit but an affirmation that what I was doing had a purpose and was needed in the world. Having that validation from Audi and InStyle really just shifted my belief in the work that I was doing. It also enabled me to further my professional development; I was able to study with an American based organisation called the Institute of Heartmath that in essence is all about individual and collective well being; and finally the bursary helped in officially launching the Institute for Global Women Leaders in 2014 alongside the 5th Girls20 summit. For the first year of the institute we were able to invest some of that money into our events and programs and we worked with a number of leading young women social entrepreneurs in Australia to co-design workshops and collate information through a large survey.”

More recently Rosie has been running group workshops and women’s retreats, a ripple effect from the work she was doing in 2014. “At the end of 2014, I teamed up with the League of Extraordinary Women and ran a global event for students, which showcased women in business and social entrepreneurs. In 2015 I continued to do small talks and that transitioned into the workshops and retreats, which I’m doing now.”

As with many non-profits, there are considerable challenges around funding and securing consistent streams of income to support initiatives. With IGWL now on hold, Rosie has shifted directions with her career, however her work with the institute is influencing the work she’s doing today. “I think it’s important to have a global perspective even if you’re working on local initiatives. For example last year I created an e-book and an e-course called Reflections, which is a collection of 365 journaling prompts to inspire you to speak your truth, share your heart and change the world. I was working on that book while I was in Sri Lanka and then when I left the floods devastated hundreds of thousands of people in Sri Lanka and I thought well how could I use this product to have an impact? Now a percentage of the sales from my e-book and e-course go to the Red Cross in Sri Lanka,” she explains.

For Rosie, the past year or two has seen her on a wellness journey, which has become a pillar for her current work. “What I’ve really come to learn is that real and lasting change comes from the inside out. As you start to be the change, I think the collective starts to change with you. Look after yourself, build a team around you that has a range of skill sets and don’t try to be everything to everyone but yourself. There are people that are brilliant in areas that you’re perhaps not; invite them in on the journey with you and you’ll have a much greater impact. It’s important that you do you, because the world needs what you’ve got.”

For more information on Rosie O’Halloran’s workshops and retreats visit www.rosieohalloran.com or connect via instagram @rosies.heart

"There are people that are brilliant in areas that you’re perhaps not; invite them in on the journey with you and you’ll have a much greater impact."

Roads ahead

Four years on from winning the InStyle and Audi Style scholarship, Rosie O’Halloran updates Audi Magazine on her journey.

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Four years on from winning the InStyle and
Audi Style scholarship, Rosie O’Halloran updates
Audi Magazine on her journey.