Young Women Are Medicine
Young Women Are Medicine... One more big and beautiful experience that Kufunda brought me.
It was in March 2015. So almost two years ago already, I can't believe it !
I can't believe it because the insights I got during those three weeks (I joined at the second of the 4 weeks as I arrived late in Zimbabwe) are still very present in my life.
I was 20 years old at this time.
The first thing that comes in my mind is power. I met my own power thanks Young Women Are Medicine, and I admired other women meeting their inner strength too.
From my time in YWAM. I learned that we are all powerful, and we don't have to be afraid of it !
The second thing is identity. At the time of the programme, the driving question of my life was "who am I?" YWAM supported me to find some ways to answer this question. And one answer is: I am a woman! Not in the sense that I fit in the gender role that society affiliate to women. It's deeper than that. It's about a feminine energy that is alive in me. It's about a flow that passes through me and connects me to a beautiful web of sisterhood. It's about some qualities that I share with other women and take me further in my life.
The third word is gate. I remember a beautiful ceremony we've made (I think a picture of it is on the flyer of this year of YWAM) when we all passed a gate, saying a statement, and being hugged by all the others after that. I said "I'm becoming an adult".
I was feeling so shy to say it, thinking it was such a unimportant thing compared to the others. But today, I still feel the vibration of passing the gate, and the joy of doing it. And I think the whole programme can be seen as a gate, as a 4 week ritual:
First, know where you are from and where you are now. Second, get release the old and unnecessary elements of your past that no longer serve. When the river has washed it away, pass through the gate, go into the unpredicable and shining power of the fire. Now, you've passed it, you've done it! You're a new person and in the same time you are still you, even more than before. Celebrate the passage by dancing with the air.
The fourth aspect came by itself: it is the nature, whom we are connected to thanks to the 4 elements.
The structure of the programme based on the succession earth, water, fire and air, is really meaningful. I've felt all along the way that I was really missing something as I didn't attend the earth week.
The fifth gift of YWAM is community and safe space. Undeniably, some things happen in group made only of women, that won't happen in a mixed group. I remember the dances and how beautiful it was to see the women dancing with no men watching them.
To end, of course, my last word will be DANCE! Dance, because you're free. Dance, because you're a beautiful woman and you must be proud of it. Dance, you're not alone. Dance, all the creativity inside you is waking up. Dance, dance out your tears. Dance, be you, we love you. Don't be shy, dance. Dance, mother earth carries you. Dance my daughter, mother, sister. Dance, you're alive.
Hey, it is actually nice to write this. Apparently, YWAM is still inspiring me !
Now that I've reflected on it, I think this is an experience I wish every young woman to have. It brings so much ! It's a springboard to jump into life !
And Kufunda is such an amazing place where to be.
