Today, twelve refugee and asylum-seeking women completed our ‘Storytelling with a purpose’ course run by Rona and JoJo at Ginger Public Speaking!

At their graduation, the women bravely told their stories to over 60 women in our network. Rona opened the meeting with words of inspiration for all of the women in the room: “Your stories can be a force for change in the world. You can change how people feel, what people think and what they go on to do.”

The women told moving stories of the violence they fled and the challenges they’ve faced while trying to build a new life for themselves and their children in the UK. Each story finished with a powerful message for change, either to inspire the other women in the group to be strong throughout their asylum claims or to call for political change.

We want to say a huge ‘Thank you’ to Rona and JoJo for running this confidence-building and encouraging course for a third year! The course has a remarkable impact on women’s self-esteem and ability to tell their story in an impactful way. In their feedback, women said, “The sessions gave me boldness and self-confidence to talk in public” and “[The sessions] bring out the ME in ME!”

‘Rebecca’, who attended the course three years ago, closed the presentations with the words, “With our stories, we’re going to change this world and make it a better place!”