In today’s blog post, we are thrilled to share insights from Terysia Herbert-Browne, our Consultant Project Officer for the EmpowHer project. Terysia offers her unique perspective on the project’s impact thus far. Join us as we explore the journey of EmpowHer and how it’s empowering women to reach their full potential.
EmpowHer is a woman-led initiative that hopes to equip women living with chronic diseases with the tools needed to achieve success in their personal and professional lives. The project taking off during Women’s History month 2023 is quite fitting. So far we have had a cohort of dope, ambitious, women partake in our workshops. Our participants have engaged in workshops around budgeting and financial wellness; how to embark on successful entrepreneurial ventures; best practices for navigating success within their career as well as tools for self-management of chronic diseases in the workplace. I am proud to seeing the participants actively taking part and getting the most of out of the workshops. I am especially impressed by our facilitators most of whom are local women in various career fields, each at the top of their games in their respective careers while also actively working to improve the lives of women around them. The saying “Empowered women, empower women’ comes to mind, and I think our facilitators are fantastic examples for our providing another invaluable aspect of the initiative.
While I do wish to see more women in the federation take advantage of this powerful workshop series, I am very proud of our current cohort; I mean we have a wide range of awesomeness! From PhD candidates to veteran entrepreneurs to women involved in multiple business ventures. These ladies are already doing the work to ensure that they and their families are well taken care of. Being a part of this initiative has left me both humbled and inspired. I think one of the most powerful results of Empowher is the networking opportunities it brought about. We have women from all walks of life discussing their goals and realizing the potential for collaboration. I also think being surrounded by like-minded, go-getter women has given a lot of us the validation we didn’t know we needed to go forth and conquer our dreams. Women of St. Kitts/Nevis have always been hard workers, so that’s nothing new, what I am seeing recently is a shift in the power dynamic. We are being more intentional in our pursuits, we are working smarter, identifying ways to support our families while still being present, we know our worth and are charging accordingly.
The EmpowHer project set out to ensure women had the tools needed to live the best version of their lives, and while I think it is accomplishing that task, I think we also got to see “iron sharpen iron” an outcome we didn’t fully expect, but absolutely welcome. I’m excited to see how the ideas and collaborations birthed during the EmpowHer workshops translate into new jobs and business ventures and ultimately future success for our participants.
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