Chrissy, SP staff in South Africa, shares how she has been blessed by supporting a women's health club in their community.
This last year, I started out with excitement and many unknowns as I took over to be a support for Kaofela Retlakgona Ladies Health Club (KRLHC). But it has been a real gift to me as I've gotten to know the ladies more and to see how they have grown in leadership, knowledge, and friendship.
The ladies meet Monday through Thursday evenings. We exercise for 45 minutes each day, and the activities range from kick-boxing to yoga. In the last 20-30 minutes, the ladies are led in a lesson about an aspect of health (physical, emotional, spiritual, relational). Each of these aspects of health have a fifteen-week lesson plan. Our club now has a small property in the informal settlement where we meet for the daily exercise and lessons. Every month, we have events planned that pertain to what the ladies want to learn about or experience. For example, we have organized a cooking demo at a local restaurant, taken the women on hikes, and participated in 5-8k runs/walks being held in the area. Recently, we participated in the local Neon Run.
With one of the aspects of health being spiritual health we do have conversations about spirituality and how we can support and encourage each other to be spiritually healthy. On more than one occasion I was encouraged by how the ladies were supporting one another. Recently one of the members was sexually assaulted at work and the ladies visited her and kept visiting, checking in on her until she felt safe to return to the gym. They have truly shown me that kaofela retlakgona - together we can do it!