About
My name is Rachel de Franca, and I am the proud owner of OK! Begin. I am a South African living in the Netherlands. I have a degree in Communication and Psychology, with many years’ experience in teaching, coaching, training and facilitating workshops.
In 2008 my family and I immigrated to the Netherlands. During my time when I was staying at home taking care of my two beautiful children, I completed various Dutch language courses, as well as a course in teaching English as a second language. I saw an opportunity to use my skills by providing a service, teaching English in a fun and exciting manner. I started volunteering as an English teacher at a local school. While there, and after talking to parents, I discovered many parents would love to give their children an opportunity to learn English, so I began offering basic English courses for children after school.
Concurrently, while teaching English, I was studying for my diploma at the Academy for Coaching & Counselling, Netherlands, which I completed in 2015. This course, and my experience, coupled with my English teaching, gave me the confidence to open my own company. OK! Begin started in January 2015, initially offering a beginners' English course for children. From there it grew, offering high school tutoring lessons, it has since expanded to offering Business English, with the focus on English as a second language for corporate clients and individuals.
During my years of training and teaching, I grew deeply passionate about the transfer and sharing of information and knowledge. Further to my teaching skills I also help people by offering coaching and counselling services to individuals and families going through personal difficulties.
One of my main focus areas of coaching is with Expats. I coach them through the job seeking process, as well as helping them adjust to a new culture and settle down. Having been through this experience myself, I understood the obstacles faced by expats. To date, I have helped many clients through this process.
I recently completed the Sanity School® Trainer Course. This stemmed as a result of my personal journey. Having a child diagnosed with ADD, I found there to be a huge lack of support for parents who have children with complex issues. I am now licensed to provide families with training and the skills required to assist their families. I have successfully implemented the skills, acquired through Sanity School®, in my own home.