Virtual Bi monthly Wellness Spaces; Navigating the New Year Complexities.
As we kicked off the year 2026, we experienced a uniquely unstable landscape, between a high-stake election cycle and the mental toll of digital isolation, recognizing that the intersection of political instability and digital isolation poses a unique threat to the mental wellbeing of the womxn communities and leaders. Finding space for wellness was both a radical act and a necessity, and its from this backbone, that we recently hosted our first bi monthly wellness virtual safe spaces for womxn members and the Virtual Support circle for womxn leaders, activists and peers, providing a critical haven. These virtual sessions served as grounding and a collective debrief following the intense political and digital climate surrounding the January 2026 General Elections. The sessions drew heavily from the Dare to Do January wellness Journal https://faruganda.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/January-Dare-to-Do-wellness-journal-2026.pdf, which encouraged womxn members to move beyond surviving and towards intentional radical self-care.
The conversations were framed from two major hurdles that defined the start of the year, The election experiences which reflected on heightened anxiety, surveillance and shrinking safe spaces for advocacy during the election periods, hence allowing for honest dialogue on the burnout associated with maintaining community resilience while navigating systematic hostility.
On the other hand, the Internet Shutdown, got many womxn members and womxn leaders sharing the mental and emotional toll of the national wide digital blackout. For a community that relies on virtual safe spaces for safety and connection, the shutdown caused profound isolation, disrupted safety networks, businesses and hindered access to real time information. However, the spaces reinforced offline resilience, teaching the womxn members how to maintain mental grounding when disconnected from global support systems. While for the womxn leaders, they were equipped with protocols to check on their community members via secure, nondigital means reducing the information vacuum that often leads to panic and anxiety.
As we move forward into the post-election phase, we continue to evolve our mobile and virtual support models. Our safe spaces have proven that while the internet can be shut down and the offices can be closed, the Freedom to Roam remains alive in the collective resilience of our Womxn community.
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