05 Dec Welcome at Wayout
One of the things I have learned through the legacy of Sobonfu Somé’s teachings, is the importance of a warm welcome. Being welcomed in may have been rare in someone’s life, and the simple experience of being unconditionally welcomed can be powerful for those who come to tend grief with us.
WAYout Arts Worldwide, is a small charity dedicated to providing creative skills and opportunities to disadvantaged young people in Sierra Leone.Tony and I have been volunteering at WAYout in Sierra Leone and online throughout the year. You can donate to this brilliant, small but important charity via their Just Giving page here.
When we arrived to begin our work teaching creative skills at the project, we were greeted by a throng of young people singing and dancing. There was even a full drum-kit providing the beat. This was my first proper African welcome, WAYout style. It was the first of three extraordinary, intense (and overwhelming) welcomes we would experience on our trip, followed by two more when we visited their other outposts – WAYout Women’s Media projects.
As a tourist in Sierra Leone, I experienced the inconveniences of intermittent power, dry taps, pollution and limited food choices. I became increasingly aware of the wealth and resources I have access to. My time there has taught me much about the resilience of people who face the daily hardships of homelessness, hunger, unavailability of water on-tap, unemployment, heat and social exclusion.
For many of the people I met, being exiled from families, school, homes and work brings shame. The absence of basic needs being met, as well as trauma histories, often leaves young people with complex issues. However, the students are hungry to learn. Despite being caught in desperate circumstances, they are motivated to seek new opportunities.
Our Grief Tending approach blends African indigenous practices with contemporary understandings of trauma and neuroscience. It is informed by the work of Sobonfu and Malidoma Somé of the Dagara Tribe in Burkina Faso.
We believe in giving something back. With gratitude for the African teachings that Tony, Bilal, Aamasade and I have benefitted from, we offer a percentage of the income from our Grief Tending events to support WAYout, as well as giving our time to encourage their creative education projects and dynamic students.
We’d love to invite you to give back too, especially if you have benefitted from our work. You can donate to the project through their Just Giving page here.
Sarah Pletts is a Grief Tender and Artist who offers workshops in London and online, sharing rituals where grief on all themes is welcome. For more information about Grief Tending events see here.
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