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GranteE of the month

Women's Empowerment Group

We started a small Women’s Empowerment group and had an initial face to face meeting in November 2020.  Then we created a WhatsApp group from there.  In our first meeting we spent time getting to know each other, talking about food and family and places we’re from.  I had prepared some written questions to keep conversation going and to support English Language Learning, but nothing too formal.  Then we talked about times when we were proud of ourselves and goals we have made or want to make.  I wanted to make sure there was a blend of a safe natural place to share thoughts and ideas but also some structure for ELL to follow and understand.  We read a quote together: Girls with dreams become women with vision and then discussed what it meant.  One woman did not know the English word “vision” but felt comfortable asking and clarifying what she didn’t understand.  We had 3 different languages in the group. At the end of our first meeting we gave out flowers and discussed the symbolism of different flowers and colors and how they reflected each of us.  In our WhatsApp group we began to discuss the concepts of short-term and long-term goals.

When everything went online and moms were trying to support their kids’ learning at home, things waned a bit.  But it turned out that 2 of our WE women came in regularly to the IRCNOCO, so I was able to strengthen the relationships with both of them and support their specific short-term goals on a more individual basis.  Maysaa in particular was working towards enrolling in classes at AIMS when, for family reasons, she had to urgently relocate to Louisiana.  Before she left, I also had the opportunity to accompany her to her Naturalization Ceremony in Centennial.  My parents, who are immigrants as well, hosted a little brunch in her honor and my father even pulled out his naturalization certificate from 1965 and they swapped swearing in stories.  Maysaa’s flower choice in our first meeting was the lily, because she liked the symbolism of transformation, which is what she aspired for herself and her children as a new citizen in a new country with new opportunities.  When she had to move suddenly, sending her off with a bunch of lilies seemed like just the encouragement she needed to keep making goals and holding on to vision for her and her family.

The next step is to spend some time with Nisa, the other WE woman who regularly comes into the center.  As a Rohingya woman, she is passionate and heartbroken over the current unrest in Myanmar, where much of her extended family lives. Nisa was recently interviewed for the IRCNOCO annual report, where she talked about the joy of becoming a citizen for the first time—anywhere in the world, and being able to vote, making her voice count.  When I approached her about a meeting to discuss her views on Myanmar, she said, “Like the interview I did before?”  There was understanding and resolve and courage in her tone and in her eyes.  She is eager to share her views with others and we are eager to gain from her a better understanding of the situation in Myanmar and help amplify her voice and perspective.