Thanks to funding from We Love MCR, we have been able to deliver Friday dance sessions for women in the WAST (Women Seeking Asylum Together) network. Mia is a network member and has been joining the sessions, she told us about the difference the sessions have made.
"The Friday dancing sessions have been amazing so far. As I indicated a while ago Dancing boosts me up emotionally, physically and mentally.
"Ever since I came to the UK, I haven’t gotten a chance to see a professional psychologist or therapist to help me go through what I went through but the dancing has been my therapy session so far and I feel the difference with it.
"Back then I only used to do this therapy on Fridays when I am at the session but now I also do it on my own in my room when I get to know the steps. So every time I get sad, I just stand up and start dancing the steps we dance during the sessions on Fridays.
"It is more fun practising new steps because you tend to make mistakes and start laughing at yourself then people think I am crazy but then I’m just happy. And when I don’t get the steps on my own I just motivate myself to wait for Friday to go master the steps again.
"In addition, dancing has been my fitness centre too, being an asylum seeker is so difficult to access a fitness centre because of my financial situation but since I dance it doesn’t stress me at all because when I’m dancing I am also exercising.
"When I was in the hotel I used to be so lazy and I used to get tired too quickly which was an indication of unfitness but now I am back to my activeness, now I can be active from 06:30 in the morning to 23:00 in the evening without complaining of tiredness.
"Finally I love the fact that we learn different kinds of dancing from all over the world so I can actually entertain internationally in one the future days which is really amazing.
"Apart from health, the dance has actually connected me to the right people. The Afrocats team have supported me throughout my life in the UK. They encouraged me to keep going and lifted me up when I was down.
"They also supported me through my education journey by providing me with a support letter and connected me to an organisation that will support me when I start my studies in September.
"Afrocats have also given me an opportunity to volunteer with them which is something I really love doing helping and feeling useful in the community. Volunteering also helped me to blend in well with Manchester city's cultural diversity and helped me meet new people and make new friends."
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