What is Women’s Koru Group?
Nandita answers that Women’s Koru Group is a space that is available for women living and working in Tāmaki to come together and talk about how things are going for them and to get support from others and give others a listening ear. Tara adds that it’s a space where we can gather as women, have time to relax, be ourselves, and share our experiences of life. Sirikit shared a beautiful description of Koru Group that she gives to women new to the group – she tells them that Koru Group is women talking about their life journey with no judgement. Finding answers within themselves and self-healing. Tracey reflects that it’s a place for women to support each other, share stories and gain encouragement. That Koru Group is about learning we are not alone and that other women share our struggles and challenges in the weaving together of our stories.
What do you appreciate most about Koru Group?
Tara says that she appreciates the sense ofbeing acceptedat Koru Group, no matter what she’s wearing, how she looks or what her needs are. That she can say anything and feels that shewon’t be judged.Tracey reflects that at Koru Group there is a sense that women are meeting on anequal leveland she appreciates being able to allow herself to be vulnerable in the space,knowing that others ‘get it’. Koru Group is asafe and confidential space, Nandita reminds us, anda space that women can take hope out of. Reflecting on these comments, Julia shares that she thinks that key to creating a space that can be and provide all of this, is that Koru Group is not a space where we give each other advice. When giving advice is not part of a conversation it leaves room for self-reflection and discovery. For a group of women to come together and hold that kind of space for each other, it’s a rare and incredible experience to be part of!
What kind of things are talked about at Koru Group?
Nandita, Tara, and Tracey reflect on Koru Group conversations and answer that a lot of Koru Group conversations are about us as women and self-love, about what it’s like to be a mum, how our partner’s parenting journey is going, what our relationships are like, dealing with stress, feelings of loss, sharing our excitement, the struggles of balancing demands, grief, regrets, hopes– they are conversations about everything and anything really! Julia says that she really likes that there is no set topic for conversations at Koru Group, so once the conversation gets going it’s like we’re all around a big soup pot, each adding ingredients in the form of our thoughts, stories, and reflections, so we don’t know what kind of soup it’s going to turn out to be – is it pea and ham or is it going to be vegetable soup? And in the end, it’s a soup bursting with so much flavour, that we could not have made it individually on our own.
What are our hopes or visions for Women’s Koru Group?
A shared hope and vision for all of us is that Koru Group will grow and be available to more and more women to be able to benefit from the space. We want the group to be a stable gathering of women from our community who know each other and who strengthen and support each other to be confident and happy. We hope that the space will become known as a space that allows women who have experiences in common to come together, share their knowledge and skills around dealing with these common experiences, and walk away inspired with new ideas that have been generated through that sharing. We have a vision that the group will strengthen the community, by empowering women community leaders, giving women the courage to stand up, know that they are leaders, and be able to say and do what the community needs.