Sharing a Seat at My Table of Healing
Aug 2, 2024
First story
Seeking
Visibility
Tanatswa Chingwe
Zimbabwe
Jul 8
Joined Jul 3, 2024
Tafara Wellness Initiative Logo
Hi everyone! I hope you’re well. 🌸
I’m Tanatswa Chingwe and I was introduced to this platform by Kirthi Jayakumar. In the short time I’ve been on World Pulse, I’ve received tremendous support and I’m beyond grateful for it. I’d like to share my story to hopefully support more women on their journey.
I believe that I was put on this earth to help others in their journey of healing and I aim to do that by providing a safe and warm space for everyone who takes a seat on the healing table. For me, the work I do as a Wellness Counsellor means a lot to me. From a young age, I knew that something wasn’t right within, I didn’t have the language I have now but I could tell that I needed help. Because most of the trauma and suffering I went through wasn’t physical, it was easy to dismiss it. If I didn’t have scars, how could the suffering be real? Visible or not, the experiences I went through shaped me and it was only a couple of years ago that I was diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). In that moment, I felt like I could acknowledge my pain, the diagnosis is what validated my experience, not my body or soul telling me that something was wrong.
A huge part of my healing journey has occurred in the presence of women. I’ve felt seen, validated and accepted for how I show up. Even if some days all I can show up as is broken, that’s enough. That’s the kind of support I want to pour into a community that’s poured into me and has continued to do so with so much warmth.
I know that as women, regardless of our backgrounds or the communities we come from, we’re all taught how to suffer well. It’s easy to ignore our pain because we know that there’s someone who has it worse. It might be difficult to reach out for help because we feel like we need to earn our right to support. But that doesn’t have to be the case, and on my healing table, whatever you’re going through is valid. You don’t have to meet a criteria to receive support. If you feel you need support, that’s what you’ll receive.
Because of my passion for counselling and partaking in communal healing work, I recently founded my own organisation, Tafara Wellness Initiative. Tafara in ChiShona means “we are joyful”. I’m committed to doing the work with women and children who are the most vulnerable but often don’t receive the support they need. Through counselling, I hope to feed their souls so they have the opportunity to thrive in joy. My organisation provides free online counselling to anyone who wants it. I hope to expand the work in the future to cater to communities because healing can never happen in isolation, it truly takes a village.
If you want the support, you’re more than welcome to make a booking (https://calendly.com/counselling-tafarawellnessinitiative/counselling). If not, please share the offering with others who might need it or follow our social media accounts so we can continue to reach more African women and children.
Our social media account links are:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tafara-wellness-initiative/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561976207367
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tafarawellnessinitiative/
Thank you all for giving me a safe space to share. I hope I’m also able to show up for you all in the same way.💕