Routes Mentoring Programme Producer, Wieke, shared this beautiful spoken word piece with our 2021 cohort of mentors and mentees at their end of programme celebration last month.
You can watch and hear the poem (performed by Wieke) and find the transcript below!
Some call this the ‘summer of love’
Some call it ‘summer of chaos’
We call it ‘summer of solidarity’
Knowing that there are other women like you
Keeping an eye out
Cheering you on
Rooting for your wellbeing
Having each other’s backs
Face-to-face in video calls
In pairs of two
You
Added understanding
Divided the workload
Multiplied meaning
Sharing that genuine space with one another
Looking at the other
Looking at yourself
And seeing the strengths in both of you
Mentoring is
Learning together
Learning from each other
Seeing the hurdles along the way
And then exploring the options
It is
Acknowledging different experiences
The setbacks that can crumble our confidence
When some of us are told ‘no’ over and over again
The long wait
In the system
In the heat
Is just that much more bearable
With a friendly face on the other side of the screen
Waiting for those ‘yesses’
Celebrating your successes
Seeing you for who you are
And as we talked through
Non-directive communication and public speaking
Goals and aspirations and road maps
Values and opportunities and next steps
Confidence was victorious
You were all glorious
As you build your relationships
Moved through your meetings
Tuned in for trainings
And shared some of those things that matter the most
And as tonight’s hosts:
this is your party
The long journeys that got you here
The wisdom that you carry with you
And this sense of
Self
Integrity
Care
Community
To take with you
Until we meet again
Meet in real life
To share some more
Laughter, joy and support
Applications are now open for our October 2021 mentoring programme. To find out more click here.
