Introduction

Happy Ever After is the brainchild of writers Naa Otua Cudjoe Swayne and Siobhan Curham. Building on the work that Siobhan has pioneered as part of her writing coaching practise www.findingtheplot.co.uk  Happy Ever After seeks to help people use writing to unlock their futures and create their own happy endings.

Naa Otua and Siobhan brainstorming

Whether it be through workshops, literacy programmes, coaching sessions or talks, Happy Ever After wants to help the most vulnerable sections of society through the power of the written word.

Current Projects

• Happy Ever After – Help is Now – a project to help Ghanaians out of poverty through a series of literacy courses and training programmes. Now piloting in two Ghanaian villages, Happy Ever After is providing people with the life skills necessary for them to be able to support themselves and look to the future with hope. For more information please click here to go to our Projects page.

• Caring for the Carers – a unique blend of life coaching and creative writing exercises tailored to meet the specific needs of carers. As more and more people are finding themselves caring for elderly partners or parents and all of the issues this entails they are in desperate need of support. Our course helps by giving carers the tools they need to deal with issues such as loss of identity and self esteem, frustration, lack of confidence dealing with authorities/doctors etc, anger and guilt. Our course was so successful when it was pioneered by the London Borough of Hillingdon it was extended way beyond its initial one term duration and is still running over two years later. “This course has been very beneficial on a personal level. The writing has really helped to bring me out of myself and Siobhan creates an atmosphere of safety and support.’” Former participant on the Caring for the Carers Course.

• Finding the Plot Workshops – two hour sessions in positive thinking designed to give participants a real insight into how to manage their moods. Again using a combination of life coaching techniques and basic writing exercises.   “I had never done much writing before but these exercises have shown me that I am capable of a lot more than I ever could have dreamed.”  Participant on a Finding the Plot workshop for World Mental Health Day.                                                                        

• The Write Stuff – workshops for children who struggle academically. We make writing fun again and see even the most reluctant of students transformed as they write about what really matters to them and then bring their work to life through role plays. “English was my worst subject till I came on this course. I’m really glad I didn’t do the martial arts club now. Doing the play at the end was wicked.” Participant on Easter holiday club at Wealdstone Youth Club.

• Page 2 Stage – a yearly project giving people who would never normally get the opportunity, the chance to see their work staged at a London theatre and become involved in the entire process from page to stage. Previous theatres to host the showcase include The Lyric, The Riverside Studios and The Bush. Profits from Page 2 Stage go towards funding the Happy Ever After projects in Ghana such as the Literacy Programme in Kwasi Nyarko Village.

Happy Ever After Launch in Kwasi Nyarko Village in Ghana

Future projects

• Linking African countries via their Writers’ Associations to provide similar projects to Help is Now in Ghana.
• Expanding the Caring for the Carers course
• A series of workshops for cancer sufferers and their families
• A series of fund-raising initiatives encouraging writers in the UK to raise money for our literacy programme in Ghana.

About the Founders

  Siobhan Curham

Siobhan Curham, Author & Writing Coach

London writer Siobhan is author of five books, the non-fiction ‘Antenatal & Postnatal Depression’ and four novels. She is also a columnist and freelance journalist, and runs a writing coaching and editing practise called Finding the Plot. Since becoming a published author, Siobhan has run weekly writing workshops for two London councils and is Writer in Residence for a group of 13 London schools. She is a firm believer in the ability of writing to transform people’s lives and helping empower people through writing is a cause very close to her heart. ‘For years now I have seen how writing can help people – not just in a career or educational sense but as a therapeutic tool. To set up an organisation like Happy Ever After and help people in real need, is a long held dream of mine. I really believe that writing can help people regain control of their lives and shape their own destiny – even in the poorest of countries.’

Naa Otua Cudjoe Swayne

Naa Otua Cudjoe Swayne

Ghanaian author Naa Otua won the American Valco Trust Award and the Ghana’s Book Award for her first novel, ‘The Dancing Tortoise’ when it was published in 1995. Re-published in 2008, it is the story of an extremely intelligent Ghanaian girl whose education is cut short when her poverty-stricken parents give her away in an arranged marriage. It is witnessing real life stories such as this that inspired Naa Otua to set up Happy Ever After. ‘The level of illiteracy amongst Ghanaian people is shocking. And if adults are unable to read and write they are unable to help their children and so the cycle continues. Writing my first novel really set me free, but I had very little education so I feel as if I have been blessed. Now I want to help other people the way I have been helped. By helping the people of Ghana to learn to read and write it will increase their earning potential, which will in turn have a positive effect on their entire families.’

Dancing at the Happy Ever After Launch in Kwasi Nyarko

For more information on Happy Ever After, please click here to visit the Background page.

For up to the minute, warts and all, details of our progress please click here to visit the Happy Ever After Blog.

For details of upcoming projects and fund-raising events please click here visit the Projects page.

And for details of our press coverage please click here to visit the Articles page.

Naa Otua speaking at the Ghanaian Launch of Happy Ever After

Naa Otua Launching Happy Ever After in Kwasi Nyarko Village

Happy Ever After is a non-profit making organisation.

To find out more about the services we offer or for details of how you can help, please email: admin@happyeverafter.org.uk