Chioma | Communications strategist | Active citizen | Founder of TechHer NG a community that teaches women and girls to embrace simple technologies and amplifies their voices to solve societal problems that affect them | Happiest when in a pool with friends, taking walks, or being by myself listening to John Legend | Abuja, Nigeria
Instagram: @chiomachuka and @techherng
1) THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS?
Building the team at TechHer ! We just completed reviews for team members and it is beautiful to me to see how much we've grown, even to the point of helping other organisations grow. Our collaborations are stronger, our impact is deeper, and the team are happy. What more could I ask for?
2) THE WORST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS?
Having to deal with deaths around me occasioned by the pandemic and ill health. I have never been okay with the finality of death, and so even for people I don't know, 2020 (and 2021 too) have hit the earth with such a wave of death and sorrow that torments me from time to time. Also, fuck cancer. I pray every day for a cure, a lasting, accessible cure.
3) YOUR BIGGEST WISH FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?
A cure for cancer, and a world in which sexual and gender-based violence is something we refer to as "this ugly thing used to happen a long, long, long time ago."
4) YOUR BIGGEST WORRY FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?
The continued, maybe even structured uneven application of justice across the world, whether it is occasioned by colour, gender, wealth, religion, and especially ethnicity.
5) A CONTEMPORARY WOMXN YOU CURRENTLY ADMIRE? Every woman, including myself, who is grinding every day, prioritising their mental health and peace, and spreading joy. Women are top tier everywhere!
6) A ONE-SENTENCE MESSAGE TO OTHER WOMEN?
"You're doing great baby, look at how you continue to grow, to expand, to explore; you're doing great and I'm proud of you!"
THE WORLD HAS BEEN CHANGING DRAMATICALLY IN RECENT MONTHS:
7) HOW ARE YOU COPING?
I've coped with the pandemic and its aftermath by leaning very deeply into my friendships and my family, by freeing myself to seek and receive grace and pleasure, exiting situations that do not serve me, and allowing myself space to grieve the disaster that COVID brought our way. I'm making my peace with the fact that our world has changed and will never be the same again. I am concerned however with the inequalities across a number of fronts that have been exacerbated by the pandemic - poverty, vaccine access and distribution, rights for women, girls, and people living with disabilities, and travel.
Comments