My First Raised-Poor Workshop
I am a raised-poor woman. I attended the August 2020 Raised-Poor Leaders’ Workshop [see previous article]. It was my first raised-poor workshop. Over two hundred people from several different countries participated. It was so good to be part of this workshop. We are part of the raised-poor liberation movement.
We looked at and discharged shame, humiliation, brokenheartedness, and terror from having experienced violence. Poor people get blamed for how their lives aren’t going well. However, it is not their fault.
I have worked at a university for over eight years as casual staff and have not been given a permanent job because I don’t know someone who knows someone. It is tiring and frustrating. Ima mmadu (who you know) takes a toll on [negatively impacts] raised-poor people.
It is important to remember that no matter how we feel—and we all feel horrible—we always have the capability to discharge. It doesn’t change what happened, but it changes the effect it has on our minds. It’s a natural process, and we can get better at it. We can reach for the full humanness we began life with. Our resources have been limited but not our minds.
There can be an early decision that we “won’t forget this injustice until it’s rectified.” We all have confusion and harsh feelings pulling at us. But we have the ability to think in spite of this. The feelings may not change quickly, but we can get better at stepping away from them.
I never thought about being happy. It wasn’t a relevant question. I realize I haven’t been a happy person. I don’t feel happy. But I know how to function anyway. The ability to function even though we got hurt is important. I don’t think there is any reason to wait before deciding anything.
Chadwick Aaron Boseman, an actor in the movie Black Panther, died from colon cancer. He cried when he was told that two children with terminal cancer had been hoping they would stay alive long enough to see Black Panther. You may think that some things you have done don’t matter, but there are people somewhere who are admiring you for what you have done.
My support group was amazing. There were a lot of mini-sessions at the workshop. I had lots of discharge. I have emerged! Thank you to all who made this wonderful workshop possible. I am grateful to have met each and every one of you.
Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list for RC Community members
(Present Time 202, January 2021)