Power of community - International Women’s Day 2025
This year, International Women’s Day showed me the power of community. I often suggest that global leaders and even TCKs should make connections in their contexts in their attempts to adapt into the new community. Of course, it is always easier said than done. Since we moved to Wenatchee, we have made connections with some awesome people, and it has helped us tremendously to settle into the town and call it home. We met a couple of these welcoming individuals by frequenting a local bar and befriending the owners. Over time, they have become close friends to us here in Wenatchee.
Over cocktails a week before IWD, they told me that there appeared to be no march or rally, or any activist event organised in Wenatchee. The rage-filled advocate in me unleashed and together, we created an event. I was excited and nervous to host such an event. I was a project manager back in New Zealand and had organised plenty of events but nothing as public and cause-worthy. Moreover, I felt like a stranger trying to gather community support in a community that did not know who I was or that I even existed. However, I have always said that I wanted to be a more vocal activist and try to make change in people's lives. Despite the state of the nation, I knew that there had to be good people and a fiercely courageous community in Wenatchee, and I wanted to surround myself with their bravery.
Before publishing the event online, I went through a gamut of emotions. I was afraid that no one would be interested because no one knew me. I was afraid that I would be hated because I spoke out. I was afraid that I would be ignored by the community because I might be breaking traditions and protocols. I had fears and imposter syndrome. Tomas reminded me that my passion is giving voice to the voiceless and this could be my first step in doing that in Wenatchee. I know, irony. The white man telling me what to do for other minorities… *cue eye roll*. So, I bravely published the event, and we spread the word to our networks. My friend, of course, had a wider network than me and we agreed that even if no one turned up, we had each other and that was enough. This was another appreciation of community in Wenatchee - being here for almost a year, we have connected with people who shared similar beliefs and were willing to stand courageously with us.
To our extreme surprise, almost 300 people turned up! The only reason why I do not have the exact number is because we lost count! And that is when I learnt the true power of community. We created a space for us to joyfully rage and demonstrate that we are courageously unshakeable in these tumultuous troubling times. People of all ages, genders, sexualities, backgrounds, generations, areas in Wenatchee all came together in Memorial Park to raise our voices and find our people. I learnt about the importance of impact. Seeing that there are other people who have similar feelings, fears, and hopes brought communal joy and comfort. It was empowering to not only have been one of the instigators but to see the courage of members of our community.
I was immensely proud to introduce Wahine Toa (woman warrior) to the community and share my Aotearoa pride. Everyone embraced their warriorhood and raised their voices. I truly believe that being a woman, being of colour, being a minority, being discriminated against means we have strength. We must, and the beauty of being who we are is that we can choose to express our strength our way, and we will always be stronger when we are together. This was exactly the emotion of the rally on Saturday. I was awed by everyone’s courage and inclusion, especially of me, an outsider in a town who did not even know my name.
Saturday, 08 March 2025 will go down in my history books because I took a brave step into being part of the Wenatchee community and they courageously opened their arms and welcomed me. We were rabble rousers and caused hearty mischief, like the wāhine toa before us.
