Testimonials
In this section you will find testimonies from the activists of the three organizations about their personal and collective processes with the care and well-being program. Their statements emphasize how they were before, how they felt during and after the process.
"A warm office atmosphere with people that are open, pets, and a lot of greenery is very exciting. It's a reminder for us that everything needs to be cared for and loved so that it grows and benefits one another. The same goes true with the organization. To develop and grow, that is our collective dream."
Mutiara Ika Pratiwi
“(...) participating in this well-being program enhances our sensitivity toward others, because we learn to listen to each other and share our experiences.”
Suri Aslamiyah
Mutiara Ika Pratiwi
"The practice of well-being allows us a better understanding of each other's background and creates space for the interpretation of feminist principles, especially regarding working pattern and division of labor in a feminist organization."
Mutiara Ika Pratiwi
“Personally, I have also become aware of when I need counseling, when I need rest, etc. (...) I have transformed into an individual who looks “within myself” so I understand how creativity is superior to productivity. I have become healthier as an individual.”
Jihan Faatihah
"Well-being, comfortable working conditions, and mutual care among the staff members of Perempuan Mahardhika as well as all activists is certainly the main foundation for a strong organization."
Mutiara Ika Pratiwi
"When well-being becomes a shared awareness and value, and its implementation integrated into organizational mechanisms, it will contribute to organizational vision and mission."
Mutiara Ika Pratiwi
"Now I'm more relaxed, I'm very relaxed. I realize that this is not my personal responsibility, this is a collective responsibility. I've tried, I've put in work, if it hasn't worked then be it. In the past, I would chase it hard. Now, my job feels so much better.”
Vivi Widyawati
Lathiefah Widuri
"[The understanding of] well-being helped me overcome my difficulties. It made me more aware of my own needs and it helped me redefine activism. I now believe that taking a break does not mean abandoning the struggle. Taking a break is instead, one of the productive steps in this long-term resistance, that prevents me from getting too tired or burnout intensely."
Nurul Anissa (Nisyu)
“Working in the communication department is where you listen to a lot of stories that at some point breaks you down. I enjoyed this project because at the end of everything you have the time to sit down, rewind and think about what is going on.”
Stanley Tamunoseimieibi
“The project has worked and transformed my understanding of human interconnectivity, being able to understand how to work with people, you have to understand the minds, the empathy of people, how it impacts the system (...). Something very important to me is the existence of awareness that we are not alone in this journey.”
Blessing Nwaofor
“Our predecessors have told us that we shouldn't go on leave. Our predecessors have told us a lot of things that personally I am trying to unlearn now, and part of that is being really conscious about myself, taking care of myself and ensuring that the people around me do the same as much as I can.”
Akudo
“[The project’s activities] includes singing and dancing, it includes climbing the wall, and going to natural water. It includes doing things collectively because once you do things individually it feels like you are cheating your brother. And to do things with your brother it feels like home, it feels satisfying that we are doing this, which is why we put collective into the self, so we are doing self and collective care. I think this is a strategy, a methodology that should be replicated, especially in our African countries.”
Akudo
Benedicta Oyedayo
“We are one family, we are friends and if we can all come together we just seek the goals to move the community forward especially in countries like Nigeria and other African countries where the laws and policies are really draining mentally and physically. Of course we have to unlearn every bad thing and take care of ourselves mentally, and our mental health which is really important… So I believe that if we work together as a family, as we are, we would achieve these goals.”
Giwa-Osagie
“I experienced occasional anxiety and stress amounting from a lack of fitness and mindfulness. As a human rights defender, it's not easy to prioritize self-care and wellness. (...) However since we got the zen room, my anxiety has reduced significantly and I now know ways of deescalating my anxiety. (...). I have found a work/ fitness balance because we have those facilities in the office. (...). It is easy to make a commitment to self care when the services are made available.”
Joy Omirigwe
Emanuella
Akudo
Samuel Omigie
“Through this project, I have found liberatory practices and I have given myself the permission to freedom. Through this project, I have felt joy like never before, I have moved my body in ways I have been told I wouldn't be able to, and I have stopped running from myself. Through this project I defined self-care as having found a community to communion with and most importantly, deep abiding friendship; a place where I have found lasting love.”
Oyedayo
Maria
“Eses espacios son fundamentales porque por un lado nos permite seguir haciendo este activismo transformador de lucha, de confluir con muchas más colectivas feministas de diferentes ciudades, de diferentes regiones, pero también nos permite ir sembrando semillas de esperanza en donde podemos ir generando estos cambios pequeños que, si los hacemos en muchas comunidades, indígenas, afroamericanas, pueden ir generando los cambios a los cuales nos aspiramos: una sociedad que nos incluya.”
Angelica Ayala Ortiz
“Ha sido un gran aprendizaje estar y conocer cada una de las áreas en las cuales GESMujer ha ido brindando capacitación, brindando servicios, brindando charlas, brindando apoyo a mujeres en situación de violencia, porque GESMujer ha sido muy importante en la vida de las mujeres que se encuentran en situación de violencia.”
Josefina Salazar Martínez
Claudia
“Yo nunca había conocido el autocuidado, ya lo estoy implementando donde afortunadamente también ha tomado en cuenta los límites que tengo. Tengo que estar bien yo, para dar lo mejor hacía muchas mujeres. Ese amor, cariño que tengo que tener yo primero también para poder entregar ese ánimo, esa buena actitud y para que muchas usuarias lleguen con esa confianza y me cuenten su realidad y yo estar preparada y para que ellas también salían y den un paso afuera GESMujer con esa tranquilidad. Para eso me ha ayudado incluso como madre, como parte de la sociedad, me ha marcado para que yo pueda tener esos límites para mi persona, para mi familia.”
Maria Monserrat Rosario Avendaño
“El mundo ideal pensó que es un mundo donde aprendemos incluso nosotras, nosotros, nosotres a identificar que existen diferentes mundos y que cada vida tiene derecho a vivirla como quiere vivirla y cuando nos piden nuestro acompañamiento poderlo dar sin restricción en el sentido de ayudar a transformar y que también sume para nuestro crecimiento. Un proceso de no discriminación es un proceso de aceptación, es un proceso también de amor, no? Porque entendemos que somos diversas las personas en este mundo y como tal diversos los pensamientos.”
Soledad Venega Nava
Soledad
“Les puedo decir que más de treinta años que yo trabajo en esos temas con la sociedad civil nunca me había atravesado con una experiencia como esta. Sí, puedo observar y podido ver con las compañeras ha sido que el ambiente de la organización de trabajo, la atmósfera es diferente. Ha cambiado muchísimo.”
Ximena
“Dedicar mucho tiempo para este proyecto me enseñó a mirarme a mí primero, a ponerme en el centro como persona y a dejar de sentir culpa por atenderme a mí y no dar le prioridad a las usuarias. Y este proyecto nos da la oportunidad de mirarnos a nosotras de manera individual pero también mirarnos en el colectivo y cuidarnos entre nosotras.”
Maria Monserrat Rosario Avendaño
“Nos aventamos al vacío con esa certeza de que somos un grupo de gente valiosa y de gente sorora que estamos ahí para sostener a las otras. Creo que eso fue muy valioso. Eso ha sido muy valioso. (...) Ahora en los dos últimos talleres que hemos tenido ha sido maravilloso ver la cara de estas mujeres. A mí me gustó mucho ver el crecimiento que tenemos nosotras y también la honestidad con la que compartimos. Eso me ha gustado muchísimo porque llegamos y nos plantamos frente al grupo y hacemos las actividades desde esta parte de humildad de ser nosotras hemos aprendido esto pero estamos en el camino y poder compartir lo que nos ha funcionado y lo que no ha funcionado y todavía los retos que tenemos.”
Tania Aurora Melchior Gomez