Being a World Pulse Ambassador

Most of the time I have no idea how many people I reach. Anyone who meets me who does not know about World Pulse already, knows it at the first chance I can describe it, usually within the first minutes if I am asked about my life. I love the pure joy on faces as I describe what we have going on here. I have known from an early age that I am here in this life to end violence against women. I imagine the global society that so many World Pulse sisters are building individually and with each other. I have flyers in my bag with some of the beautiful faces of sisters, and it is obvious to everyone who sees one, that there is joy in finding out that this even exists, and jumping in. Everyone loves that World Pulse is built on stories. Each November and March, and in other parts of the year, these past few years I have teamed up with Maria Mbanga-Mazivami to get as many sisters' voices heard as possible during the 16 Days Against Violence Against Women and also IWD Month. So many bonds grew stronger. We love collaborating, as I do with so many World Pulse sisters now. When I attend women's events I try to both hold workshops and speak from the stage. Recently I spoke to 500 women, and another 150 the next week. I speak about World Pulse to every group I am in, and to strangers whenever possible. Two memorable events of 2021 are Caroline creating  a series of zooms with her girls for me to bring information about early women’s movement days, and making possible some online self defence practice with the woman who taught me in the 1970’s and Busayo inviting me to be part of an event with a hall full of girls on IWD. So many of these collaborations are possible now that we have a way of reaching each other online.

I live to do everything I can to see women strong and treated with respect. If I have a moment in a day that I can stop and help another woman feel stronger in herself and not alone, every discussion strengthens our connections. I live to see women heal, and know that the healing that I and many sisters give continually, has helped us stay strong, develop these skills and be able to offer them. 

The meetings I arrange are about the existence of World Pulse, with whatever herstorical information I can add. Often recently because of covid meetings have been online these past years, bringing news I have read from stories in World Pulse into the conversations. I am in regular contact with a number of World Pulse sisters as we all coordinate together, a tremendous gift to have this. Because I am deep in this sisterhood and have information to give, I get invited to speak. Most of the meetings I am in hold the end of all violence against women and girls unapologetically central. Because of all of our connections a beautiful web of support exists and has been growing, and so many of us are working very closely. I make sure women I meet have the image of what we have within World Pulse, so that at the very least they can hold this in their hearts, and trust we are moving in a direction together to end all of the violence. I continually bring forward information about this work for freedom for women, that it is real, it has existed and exists, and that women's voices despite continuing to be silenced, rise with women’s ideas that are needed. I love reporting that we are well aware of and continue to work to undo the resistance. Whenever possible when I am with or have gathered together a group of women, I hope to encourage their stories, form new connections and help deal with emergencies.

I also always continue to speak out about how so much of what women have accomplished has been and continues to be hidden or stolen, that for years women have been researching and gathering fragments of the real story, and that because of women who have spent their lives researching, we have the stories that were hidden from us, passed from generation to generation, carved into, painted onto walls of stone, sides of pottery, sent down to us through stories through the ages. Imagine our ancestresses, making sure through their art that we know that these ceremonies existed, that women have always drummed, that women were and are respected leaders.

I live and breathe to see the joy on women's faces when they realize that World Pulse exists, that it is easy to join, built on our stories and that we are all connecting now to work together. Even the women who might not have time to join are emboldened just knowing this exists. 

This is one story about being a World Pulse Ambassador. Our power is in the interconnections we are making with each other here and within our communities.