To the women of Watipa – as always, we salute you! Every day – and particularly 8 March – is day to note and honour the women special to us, and to those working tirelessly to progress women’s equality.
International Women’s Day has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women’s advancement. Since 1911, this day belongs to all who care about women’s equality.
For me personally this year, it’s a day and weekend of unpredictability. Tropical cyclone Alfred is set to make landfall on the east coast of Australia tonight, not far from where we live, and bring wet and wild weather with it. Hopefully the destruction will be limited, but there are warnings about flash flooding and gale-force winds in our area.
I had planned to run a trail ultra marathon tomorrow – the iconic 6 foot tack marathon – as a fundraiser funds for Watipa, as a celebration of a few things
– My physical and mental health and well-being,
– setting goals and seeking to achieve them, and
– being a mum who also has time to do the things she loves away from home and outside of family responsibilities.
However, the best laid plans have definitely gone astray. The event has been cancelled, and the cyclone also would have made travelling to and from the race a little precarious. It is for the best that I will remain home this weekend, and available to help out with support efforts in my local community.
All the same, it is with excitement that we can also announce a new initiative Watipa is developing, that specifically aims to support women’s and family health, and keep girls engaged in sports and activities past the age of eight. Our vision for the ‘Switched On Collective‘ – our new initiative – is to work with partners in our ‘place’, the Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia, to ‘switch on’ ideas for women in our community through informed conversations, convene fun, inclusive, activities by, with and for diverse communities. We will provide bite sized information about things people need to know (e.g. on parenting, puberty, intimacy and relationships, menopause, sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, physiology and lifestyle).
We imagine a world where every woman, every girl, and every family thrives—where health isn’t determined by your postcode, race, or gender. Amongst our Watipa community, and those local to us here in NSW Australia, we aim to be and inspire women to be all that they can with good physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being. Role models – including those closer to home as well as those on the public stage – can encourage women and girls to play sport, become more physically active, and to strengthen connections across communities.
Get in touch if you would like to be involved – or even better, challenge yourself to be active and well in your own way and be a role model for young women and girls in your community.
We would love to hear about your challenge – and can support your fundraising efforts if you would like to turn it into your own fundraiser for Watipa.
Every storm can have a silver lining.
#hope #theskyisthelimit #silverlining
