Over the past few months, our women-to-women program, structured like the Mahila Mandals in Himachal Pradesh through CORD, has grown very much. We now have monthly meetings in partnership with the Community Action Network at Bryant Community Center. Each month, we have a different topic chosen by the women in the community based on what they feel is beneficial to them.
The first few months of the program, we talked about employment, and in the early winter months, we covered stress relief and mental health with the highlight of a woman in the community leading January’s discussion. After the meeting, she said, “I was so proud doing the presentation. It gave me confidence. It was such a great feeling when everyone clapped and stood up. I appreciate all of the positivity.” It was her first time public speaking.
We had our February meeting yesterday in which the Tappan Middle School principal, Dr. Tyese Parnell, and Montessori teacher, Padma Anupindi, spoke on helping children succeed in school. It was wonderful to see so much engagement among the women, with one woman saying, “It was a beautiful meeting and informative.”
It’s so lovely to see how there are such deep bonds forming in the community. Women were telling each other that this is such a loving group where everyone supports each other and they were very grateful. One woman said that she marks this down on her calendar and makes it a priority to attend.
We are so thrilled to see how this is blooming and are looking forward to the journey.
Written by Tejasvi and Satvika