TO WHOEVER IS LISTENING
To Whoever is Listening is a podcast that shares stories that were submitted anonymously. The podcast began as a safe space for victims and survivors of gender-based violence to share their stories. The podcast has grown to include stories of happiness, sisterhood, mental health and whatever the writer wants to tell whoever is listening.
Overview
Since Wona’s inception in 2019, we have learnt a lot about what it means to be a feminist, woman-led organisation in the development sector. Working in this sector has highlighted to us the intensity and the importance of the causes we fight for (documentation of women’s stories and using media and arts to communicate the needs of women and marginalised groups in all fields, namely: health, justice, SRHR, etc.). On top of that, we have learnt the importance of healing, that is why, in 2021, we launched the To Whoever is Listening project. We wanted to create spaces that would allow people, with a special emphasis on women and marginalised communities, to speak about their experiences and therefore begin healing from them.
Letters from Daisy & Sunflower: Read by Mphatso Makamo and Sarai Chisala-Tempelhoff
Letters from Heather, Poppy & Jasmine: Read by Dark Shadow, Singalilwe Chilemba and Sharmila Elias
Letter from Orchid: Read by Sarah Lindeire
Letters from Daisy & Sunflower: Read by Mphatso Makamo and Sarai Chisala-Tempelhoff
Goals
In November of 2021, we held our first sharing session with survivors of gender-based violence. The participants of the session wrote letters addressed to Whoever is Listening and those who were comfortable submitted them to be shared anonymously on our podcast.
In 2022, with support from We Are Family Foundation, we conducted sharing sessions with Malawians on different topics and to produce the second season of TWL. Going into the second season our goals were:
- To create safe spaces of sharing and healing amongst Malawians.
- To develop a writing for healing guide that could allow other people to create these spaces for themselves.
- To share the stories from participants in the most honest and
sensitive ways. - To use the sharing sessions as an opportunity to bring about social change in terms of:
- Attitudes towards mental health
- Attitudes towards gender-based violence
- Attitudes towards therapy and counselling
The Process
Since beginning this project in 2021, one thing we have tried to do is to place more importance on the in person sharing sessions than on the production of the podcast episodes. When we first begun we were working specifically with the podcast in mind, and though that is important, the sharing sessions have shown us the importance of community and creating spaces that allow people to be vulnerable, to begin healing and changing their mindsets takes time, grace and patience.
To date we have:
- Conducted 4 sharing sessions on the following topics:
- Gender-based violence
- Mental health
- Displacement and being a refugee in Malawi
- Reached a total 57 participants
- Produced 1 season, with 8 episodes
- Developed a comprehensive writing for healing guide
- Received and recorded letters for season 2
- Produced two promos for season 2