On the evening of 28th January, mentors and mentees from our 2020-21 programme came together to connect and celebrate one another. Routes’ Mentoring Programme Producer, Wieke, wrote and performed this beautiful poem for the cohort, which we are proud to share with you!
Scroll down beneath the video to read the poem
Four months ago
Twenty journeys started
Forty women
Mentors and mentees
Had training
Met
While the leaves were falling
As captured by Mutiat’s camera
We never met in real life
But you met
On your screens
On your phones
Having meeting after meeting
Getting to know each other
Getting to know yourself
You worked on
Setting goals
Making a plan
Taking it forwards
University applications
English
Confidence
And getting to know the job market
While London was in lockdown
It wasn’t always easy -
There was fear about Corona
Loved ones to look after
Bad internet connections
But you kept going
Week after week
You had your meetings
Attended our sessions
Some of you read a book together
Some practised their make-up
Some joined a workshop
Some worked on CVs
You discussed your weekends and wellbeing
Talked about your homes, your hopes
Dreamt big
Learning from the skills of others
Discovering the strengths in yourself
You showed resilience
Creativity
Patience
Perseverance
Joy
As you talked about what may come next
And reached out to Routes if you needed it
And here we are
January 2021
Snow has fallen over the weekend
And it is sunny again
It is celebration time
Forty women
Coming together to celebrate
The achievements
Big and small
The lessons learned
The relationships built
We feel fulfilled
Satisfied that we could walk this journey with you
Grateful
That while we have never met
We have seen you reach out your hands to each other
And we will keep going
One step after the other
Into a London that will see spring again
Outside
Do you hear the birds sing?
They are cheering us on
They are welcoming a new season
They are celebrating
Because they know
That with support
Women empowering women
We are learning
We are growing
We are strong
By Wieke Vink, for our fifth cohort of mentors and mentees