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By Joyce Mukucha
The Young Feminist Fund (FRIDA) has highlighted that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to describe the year 2020 as ‘challenging’ would be an understatement.
FRIDA pointed out that feminist communities across the world bore the brunt of a tumultuous year, which almost felt like an expansive desert with little flora, fauna and water in sight.
“Yet, deserts have their own unique ecosystem, supporting a parallel life, a different habitat and a varied way of living. In a similar fashion, we persevered and the fact that we are here now, almost 2 years since the pandemic was first recognized, is nothing short of a miracle. To use a desert terminology, we are looking at an oasis,” said FRIDA.
In many ways, FRIDA indicated, everyone was still navigating this: a landscape of crisis and isolation; a rough desert terrain that challenged our limits, yet has been rife with oases of mutual aid, solidarity, and collective resilience.
“We are so proud of the FRIDA community resounding with these challenges and shifts and finding moments of intense growth and reflection within.
“With this perseverance in the horizon, we are thrilled to end this year with a final piece of brilliance, creativity and beauty. ‘Caravaning towards a feminist oasis’, is FRIDA’s affirmation of the year that 2020 was: challenging, never ending, reflective, intense, flourishing and transformative.The past year and the documentation of it all was particularly daunting as it required us to really put words to feelings of clueless-ness, despair and ill health.
“It was also a much needed cathartic exercise and really pushed us to find the silver lining in the cloud, the oasis in the desert. We have especially taken time to release this annual report as we steered moments of difficulty and chaos. FRIDA centers and prioritizes care in everything it does and it is a deliberate act on our part to not adhere to the “business as usual expectation” when it comes to releasing this annual report.”
FRIDA recognized and collectively decided on the speed and pace at which we move with this and we are grateful to its ever expanding community for their unwavering trust in us as they waited for this to come out.
“We hope we have done justice to your patience as you browse through this report.”
FRIDA said in strangely myriad ways, 2020 was still ongoing and as the journey continues, the organisation emphasised the need to remain focused on nourishing the feminist oases of hope, transformation, collective care and resilience that support us to traverse what rough terrain may come ahead.
“With this annual report, we celebrate it all: learning to pause and replenish our energy, recognizing that deserts are also fertile grounds, staying hydrated, resting and journeying along.”