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When Mbali Pfeiffer Shongwe began sharing her own mental health journey openly, she didn’t yet know it would grow into a movement. What started as eight students gathering on a campus lawn has evolved into Mindful(l) — a community-rooted mental wellness network supporting Black youth across South Africa. Today, Mindful(l) creates spaces for healing, connection, and mental health literacy that feel culturally relevant, affirming, and grounded in community.
For Mbali, courage is not the absence of fear — it is the choice to speak, act, and create change despite it. “I choose to transform vulnerability into strength. Courage means claiming my story and using it to create space for others,” she says.
As the founder of Mindful(l), Mbali is working to break the silence and stigma surrounding mental health for young people navigating the intersections of identity, trauma, inequality, and belonging. Through the Global Fellows in Courage community, she’s gained a support system of leaders, tools to scale impact, and renewed confidence in the power of youth-led healing.
GFiC has expanded my network, strengthened my skills, and connected me with peers who are deeply committed to creating impact. The tools and approaches I’ve learned are directly applicable to our programs at Mindful(l), and the fellowship has reinforced the importance of meeting challenges with creativity, curiosity, and courage.
Courage, to me, is transforming personal hardship into possibility. I speak openly about my own mental health journey and create spaces where others feel safe to do the same. Courage is choosing honesty over silence and turning vulnerability into collective strength.
I am working to address the silence, stigma, and systemic neglect surrounding mental health among Black youth in South Africa. Young people are facing poverty, violence, discrimination, and generational trauma — often without tools or support. Our work focuses on prevention, mental health literacy, and building community around healing.
We work closely with youth across South Africa, including LGBTQ+ young people and young people in schools, cultural spaces, and creative environments. Our model is rooted in co-creation: we listen, collaborate, and develop mental health resources alongside the communities we serve.
Sustainable funding and access to technical support are ongoing challenges for grassroots mental health work. We are addressing this by building partnerships, expanding our capacity, and demonstrating our impact through storytelling, participation, and community-led evidence.
I am inspired by the cultural shift happening among young people — more of us are speaking openly, supporting one another, and choosing healing. Mindful(l) has grown because young people are choosing each other.
Mbali’s leadership embodies the spirit of Global Fellows in Courage — rooted, relational, and transformative. Her work is reshaping how mental health is understood in South Africa, reminding young people that wellness is not a luxury — it is a collective right. As Mindful(l) grows, Mbali is building a future where no young person has to navigate hardship alone.
