Hello!
I'm so excited to share with you an update on my work so far at Community House Damaris!
It has been an eye-opening and enjoyable experience all in the same. This month the key learning I have gained is these women in most cases did not live their full childhood or have the opportunity to go to elementary school to learn basic skills and literacy, which grows one's confidence.
It was quite humbling for me to assist a 40+ woman learn without fretting how to use a stamp to impress a design on clay. She went from "I can't do this" to "Wow, I did it!" What might seem quite elementary to us, is a little milestone for these women, and it takes a lot of patience and a safe space to allow them to grow, learn -- and develop these skills without shame.
Outside of their skills-development program with me (and other skills such as sewing) they are also partaking in a 12-step healing program, receiving 1:1 counselling and also literacy classes.
I learned this week that one of the ladies -- who does not speak Greek -- is doing therapy with a Greek counselor and an interpreter. She herself is a native French speaker. She shared this with me in confidence. I later went and asked the charity if a native French counsellor might be an option and then went to my network to see if anyone knew of a native French-speaking therapist who could take on one of these women as a pro-bono case. I learned that Damaris partners with another organization that offers the women their counselling. As always, these things are underfunded; there's still so much more we could do for these women!
Please ask around within your networks if you -- or someone you know -- might know a native French-speaking psychotherapist open to pro-bono remote work. If you find someone, please let me know and I could put it it forward to the right person (you never know)!
I also enjoyed connecting with another woman who is from Cameroon and who speaks fluent Spanish! I was so impressed that she learned Spanish all on her own with one great teacher in Cameroon.
The skills and talents vary in these women and though they may be advanced in one skill, they can lack very basic and elementary skills, too. I'm delighted to both learn and grow with them.