‘I can experience the pressure that I want to do everything right’
Photography: Mark Groeneveld
Yolanthe Cabau lives with son Xess (7) in Los Angeles. In this column she shares her experiences as a single mother and career woman.
If you asked me as an 18-year-old girl what my life would look like now, I would certainly have told you about my dreams and ambitions to live in Los Angeles and star in American films. I never thought that I would also have my own lifestyle brand and that I would have founded a very special foundation. As you get older, you create new dreams and you have a different view of the world. My foundation Free a Girl has become more important to me than any other dream I ever had. I believe that you can largely create the life you dream of yourself, as long as you go for it one hundred percent and really believe in it, and above all, in yourself.
“I believe that you can largely create the life you dream of yourself”
To dream
My career has developed according to my own personal development, the lessons I learned or the situations that came my way. One of those situations took place in India where I was confronted with sexual abuse of underage girls. I couldn’t bear the images I saw there. Deep down I thought, this is mine call. I have to do something about this. In 2008 I founded Free a Girl on and now, 15 years later, we have rescued more than 7,000 thousand girls from situations of sexual exploitation. And 2000 dangerous pedophiles and traffickers locked up. To actually be able to mean something to these girls is one blessing.
Focus
I do a lot of things and therefore I can’t always fully focus on all projects at the same time. For example, I have now had a very busy period with filming and the focus was on this. My other work was on the back burner. Now that the film is done, there is a kind of pressure off my shoulders and I can focus on preparing for a big event for Free a Girl in Los Angeles where we want to raise a million euros to bring liberated girls to our School For Justice to become a lawyer.
Busy
As a mother, but also as a woman, I can experience the pressure that I want to do everything right. At work, for my family, in my social life. There are so many balls to keep up. Despite my busy life, I make sure that I am always there for the people who are dear to me.
Whenever. And I get that love in return from my girlfriends, my mother and my sisters who are always there for me and Xess. But also from people I don’t know at all. A sweet message or comment can mean so much. At the end of the day we are all searching and how nice if we can support each other. And that help and support is exactly the idea behind it Free a Girl.
Love Yo.
