What is Consolation?The word “consolation” signifies the act and acceptance of healing.We as an organization, seek to challenge the pressures rooted in patriarchal ideology for African women to ignore our trauma, and instead we aim to create space and time to heal.
Our Goals
01 / BECOMING WHOLEEnsure every woman who experiences violence their right to heal, become whole, and thrive in place in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Build Access to Safety and Care: We believe that every woman who experiences violence has the right to become whole. This first starts with ensuring that every woman who has experienced violence has their basic needs met including healthy food, safe housing, and physical and mental health support.
We also acknowledge the crucial role of frontline workers in the movement, including shelter workers and mental health providers. We seek to support these providers through unrestricted funding to cover expenses such as mental health resources for those experiencing secondary trauma; increased days of paid time off; and on-site childcare services.
02 / RECOVERY IN OUR ROOTSDesign, implement, and scale solutions that deconstruct colonial approaches to healing and space in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Healing starts by being at home and returning to your roots. We co-create spaces and activities with and for women to feel at peace and at home – in whatever shape or fashion this may be.
We believe consoling or healing starts with being comfortable in our bodies and in space by amplifying our heritage, culture, and tradition. We encourage women to reclaim agency over their spaces, places, and experiences in community – whether it’s braiding our hair, cooking fufu together, eating saka saka, or dancing to the rumba.
03 / SHINING AS YOU ARESpotlight our stories authentically.
We aim to afford women an opportunity to claim and share their stories and experiences as they wish. We shine light on women’s stories while protecting their rights and agency.
Too often- women’s stories of violence are twisted or misconstrued. We offer women creative ways to capture their stories in the way they desire, and in doing that – they write their story’s ending.
What is a safe space?CONSOLATION does not confine the definition of “safe space” to one single definition.
Instead, we allow women to define it for themselves. We encourage women to dream about what a safe space could mean for them. And we help their dreams become realities.
Team
Celine Apollon
Norah Stone BilalCOMMUNITY PARTNERSMen’s Story Project
Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children
Botswana Gender-Based Violence Prevention Centre (BGBVC)
National Shelter Movement of South Africa
The Imperative Fund
OurWave
We The Diaspora
Refined Creative
PILOT FUNDERSThe Levinson Foundation
