Strength TogetHER 10- Session 10

20 June 2021

Strength TogetHER is a safe virtual space where girls from different backgrounds come together and share their stories. We believe in raising ourselves by lifting up others. We walk with the motto of “girls supporting girls”. We do a total of ten sessions per cohort. 

After the completion of nine successful sessions, the final session of the tenth cohort celebrated with ‘Farewell and Memories’. This session was a journey sharing session wherein we all talked and shared about our cohort and in overall Strength TogetHER memories. The hour-long session started with each one of us sharing how we came to know about the sessions and what happened along the line and watching the memories we created together. The stories were so insightful even as a lesson as each participant had something to give as they took away some learning. 

The participants shared that they were grateful for the safe, non-judgmental space for sharing stories along with learning. They also shared about the positive changes they have had after taking up the sessions. Not only that, they talked about how along the learning process, they were able to find out so many negative aspects and acknowledge them as a part of the unlearning process. Someone talked about their positive changes in attitude and communication skills. We had learnt so many things as we conducted sessions of various topics. Be it while we talked about menstrual taboos or mental health, there were always some stories different from others and we could always have different perspectives. That really allowed everyone to see the other side of the stories as well. We talked about how we have come to end ten sessions that were so interactive and were such a beautiful journey. 

After the story sharing session, we moved towards the other interesting half of the session. Everyone was provided with a certificate of participation as a memory. We had earlier collected pictures and a short message from participants which I had turned into a sweet memory video. It was an emotional part as well since it indicated the closure of the sessions for this cohort. We all watched it together and cherished how far we have come as a group.

I, being the coordinator, have had so much fun in doing every session. However it wasn’t always easy to manage everything but with a great team and supportive participants, we made it. We concluded our session by taking a screenshot as usual but this time it’d be the one for all the times we’ve spent together. The memories we have made here are so precious, it feels warm in our hearts.  

This blog is written by Samikshya Aryal, an undergraduate student of Bachelors in Development Studies who identifies as a feminist. She has developed a keen interest in literature and is an aspiring poet. Besides an avid reader and enthusiastic learner, she wants to travel as much. 

Written by - Samikshya Aryal (Cohort Coordinator)

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