IN EVERY CHILD THERE IS A GIFT

“In every baby there is a gift. At the end of your life, you should ask, what did I do with this gift? Mothers have an important role to awaken this latent potential within. The work at La Maison Rose is aimed at helping to manifest this gift inside each woman and girl who stays there.”  

When I first arrived in Dakar in 2013 I offered  yoga classes alongside my day job, mainly to expats. I enjoyed it, but at the same time a feeling had been growing inside me. I wanted to share yoga more widely, with people who may never have heard of it or be able to afford a regular class.

So I went in search of an organisation I had heard of through the grapevine: La Maison Rose (The Pink House), located in Guediawaye, one of the poorest neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Dakar. The founder, Mona Chasserio, is a striking French lady in her 60s, who exudes resilience and a conviction for her lifelong work: she spent 20 years living and supporting women on the streets of Paris, including several years of living on the streets of Paris herself. For Mona, however, this is not so much of a job but a calling. She underwent her own personal transformation in 1988, an ‘awakening’ which has shaped her life’s journey ever since.

Six years ago as part of her ‘retirement’, Mona established the only home for vulnerable women and young girls in Senegal. La Maison Rose provides a safe space for women who have been sexually abused, raped, experienced domestic violence and abandonment by their families. Whilst the Senegalese constitution provides that men and women are equal under the law and prohibits discrimination, rape is widespread as a means of violence against women in Senegal. According to a study by UN Women in 2012, 50% of cases of violence against women reported to the police are rapes. In hospitals and courts, rape constitutes a third of all recorded violence against women. Yet, many cases go unreported and of those which are, 47% of those rapists charged are released without trial. What Mona and her team have observed over the years is that the watchful eye of society exerts a powerful grip: instead of recognising the trauma that comes with being raped or having an unwanted pregnancy, families often prefer to ‘save face,’ (especially when the father is unknown or uninterested in the child), casting their daughters out at a time when they need the most support.

The philosophy guiding Mona’s work is Unies-vers-elles, both universal in its approach and united in action towards the inner and outer transformation of the women and girls that come under her wing. Unlike the few other organisations offering support for women and girls in Senegal, La Maison Rose has space for up to 30 women and girls to live, where they can stay until they get back on their feet. With basic needs for food and shelter provided for, the focus is primarily on inner transformation, supported by practical social care, family mediation and professional employment opportunities. In addition, daily workshops include theatre, yoga, art and circus, aimed at awakening the sub-conscious and bringing women face to face with themselves and their emotions.

Staying at La Maison Rose enables women and girls to take time to reflect on their lives. With support, each woman is encouraged to find solutions for herself and to not be afraid. However, this work is far from easy; it is often a long process of transforming suffering into light, or in Mona’s view, of being reborn:

“ I feel like a warrior, as you need to cast your spear right where the wound is deep in order to be able to transform their suffering.”

The transformation of suffering at La Maison Rose is a practical example of a well-known story in Hindu mythology, the ‘Samudra Manthan’, where the Gods and the Demons churned an ocean of milk in order to draw out the nectar of immortality. However the process of churning itself releases a lethal poison powerful enough to destroy all of creation. This poison is symbolic of the challenges that may arise on the spiritual path or in life more generally. It is only through dealing with and understanding these challenges that we can learn and grow. La Maison Rose helps to facilitate this churning in each and every woman and girl who walks through the door.

“In every baby there is a gift. At the end of your life, you should ask, what did I do with this gift? Mothers have an important role to awaken this latent potential within. The work at La Maison Rose is aimed at helping to manifest this gift inside each woman and girl who stays there.”  

In class, we sit quietly, we breathe, we laugh and we move through different postures together. I may only see some women for a couple of weeks, others I have known for two years. For some, the yoga classes kindle a genuine interest, for others this develops over time or not at all. Every class is different, as is every woman’s story. Sometimes it can be challenging for Mona and her team to bear these heavy stories. But through them they too learn and grow.

As they shared with me:

“It is important to provide compassion, not pity; to suffer with someone but not for them; and above all to have an open but solid heart and to see yourself reflected in and united with each person.”  

  It has been over nine years now since I offered my first yoga class at La Maison Rose. The weekly classes are still continuing today with support from a number of different yoga teachers. La Maison Rose is always in need of additional funding to support their work. Please give generously!