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We are immensely proud of and grateful for SETH Level 2 healing activists. They are stepping out into the world with confidence, courage and purpose, standing up as activists on behalf of trauma survivors and raising funds for global trauma healing projects.
Last January, Level 2 trainee, Sarah Taylor, and filmmaker, Jess Lowe Chaverri, held a fundraiser to bring trauma healing and counseling skills to grassroots women leaders throughout rural Nepal. Sarah reflected on the experience of stepping forward and activating her local community: "Last night was great. Incredible. I felt so much love, it was one of those experiences where I paused several times throughout the night and thought 'wow, I am so lucky, we are so lucky.' This experience filled me with so much gratitude, so much hope, and so much love for the people in my life who I realize I often take for granted... I felt whole and I felt blessed and I felt hopeful." She also gave a speech during the event, which beautifully explained her motivation and the purpose of SETH: "When I first become involved with the GGA/Seth Program Amy, the founder of the GGA, would ask me: What is your medicine? Meaning, what drives you forward, what propels you in this work?" "Initially I brushed it off. But since then, I've dug a bit. I've learned a lot about my family, my own lineage of intergenerational trauma, and it does fuel me forward. It's a valuable question and I encourage you to ask yourselves, as well. But, when it truly comes down to it, this is my medicine... It's connectedness, it's recognizing our shared humanity, and it's standing together for such a meaningful, real, and raw purpose." "Trauma is something we hear about all the time, whether it being in casual conversation or in the news, and it's something that is universal. We all suffer from trauma, small or large. It's part of being alive and it's something that unites us all. What doesn't get as much attention however is the healing from trauma, and this is even less addressed in marginalized, vulnerable, and underdeveloped communities." "…there was little to no attention being directed to addressing the effects of traumatic experience, most crucial in communities with high rates of HIV/AIDS, sexual violence, or children being raised in orphan care. These experiences inevitably create countless roadblocks to physical and emotional health, academic achievement, ability to feel safe in the world, ability to sustain a job, ability to parent." "Amy and Elayne have created this training program, which we all support tonight and which Jess and I will help to put in action in Nepal this summer. Safe Embrace Trauma Healing is a program that educates and empowers, it can be replicated across communities, regardless of religion, cultural norms, or education level. The funds we raise tonight will support current and future programming, they'll fuse pain and suffering with joy and healing, so THANK YOU." Thank you so much to Sarah and Jess. We look forward to you joining us in June 2016 to work with 30 women leaders in Nepal, whose impact expands to over 40,000 other women in their communities. |
