Pauline Juma is from Kajido, Kenya. She is a mother, a storyteller and the Director and Founder of Rebirth of A Queen.
In this episode, Pauline discusses founding Rebirth of A Queen, a safe-house that works to empower teenage survivors of sexual violence by giving them the opportunity to heal, to learn, and to pursue their dreams… being labeled a “rebel” as a girl…intergenerational trauma… growing up in poverty… her seven years of silence after surviving sexual violence and being threatened to tell no one about the assault… the process of healing, and how writing poetry helped her… mental health and resilience… her mother’s lessons about forgiveness, and her own understanding that forgiveness is a journey and a process… disconnecting forgiveness from religion… the healing power of writing encouraging letters to herself, especially to the former girl that she was at 16 and to the young woman she was at 23… learning to say “No” without feeling guilty when someone asks for help, and saying “Let me think about it” instead…and the importance of telling one’s own story. (Kenya)
