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SHE-Society for Help & Empowerment
This workshop is designed to allow the simultaneous participation of blind and sighted women, targeting the attainment of social cohesion and the elimination of discrimination against vulnerable groups, via communication, empathy and cooperation of the participating women, leading to self-awareness and empowerment.
The workshop is aimed at women aged between 20-60 years old, both with visual impairments and without.
The workshop is scheduled to be completed in 6 meetings, each 3 hours long, taking place monthly. Each meeting has a different theme. Each of the meetings is an essential part of reaching the workshop's goal. However, participants could still achieve good results despite not attending all 6 meetings
The concept is to support people with visual impairments in communicating and cooperating with those without, while at the same time enabling people without visual impairments to recognise and understand the difficulties faced by the visually impaired. The aim is to reach peaceful coexistence and cooperation within the community, without discrimination.
Each and every one of us can achieve the same goal, regardless of our starting point and individual difficulties.
The activities selected for the workshop are based on the performing arts (theatre, music, dance) and have been specifically designed to reinforce the message of the workshop.
Our desire is to help women communicate, to empathise with one another, to be aware that everyone faces difficulties, to find the means to help ourselves and the people around us, and to achieve cooperation. The innovation of this workshop is that it gives women the opportunity to become the "eyes" of another, allowing them to see things from a new perspective and be empowered by their interaction.
Additionally, due to our activities being inspired by the arts, we are able to create a positive environment, which leads to the improvement of the participant's wellbeing and positive energy, alongside the goals of the workshop. Our workshop includes all the social elements for the promotion of the social integration of the marginalised groups of people with disabilities, and forms the foundation for their future financial integration. Last but not least, we are taking all the required steps to ensure the minimum environmental impact of our workshop. This workshop is presented in businesswoman magazine and parallaximag
https://www.businesswoman.gr/she-society-for-help-empowerment/
To provide this workshop we are collaborating with the Volunteering Team for Civil Protection "USAR HELLAS", who have kindly granted us the use of their offices and the organisation SIZOI, which is created by parents whose children are dealing with vision problems
The workshop is provided entirely by volunteers, including a theatre director, a choir conductor, a life coach and a choreographer, who participate as empowerment guides. In addition, members of SHE are volunteering to support the workshop, and help with its publicity.
The workshop takes place in Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, in a bright and welcoming space by the sea. The sunlight is felt by all the participants, regardless of visual impairments, and it fills everyone with positive energy. The space is on the ground floor, open plan, approximately 50 metres squared, and it is kindly provided to us by the Volunteering Team for Civil Protection "USAR HELLAS"
The impact of the workshop's activities is extremely important to the women who participate. During the first meeting, we explored aspects of their personality and individual self-knowledge, and also created trust amongst the participants. The feedback was very positive. The participants reported increased self-confidence and belief in their own abilities due to the self-knowledge and self-awareness activities. Moreover, through interaction, intimacy and recognition that the things that happen to us are neither unique nor unsolvable, everyone who takes part reaches a feeling of balance and peace of mind.
We gain satisfaction from the acceptance and the positive impact of this workshop, and that makes us optimistic and gives us the strength to continue our volunteering activities. Another great benefit is the recognition of our team, SHE, as a volunteering team that contributes to creating a sense of belonging in the community, and eliminating racism and discrimination of vulnerable groups.