In this bonus episode of Critical Reads, I am inviting you to listen to an interview conducted by my good friend Rosette Mamboleo. Rosette is a law student, a religious educator, and a mental health first aid instructor who is the founder of Elpida. Elpida is a faith-based low-profit limited liability company whose primary purpose is to spread hope and fight to see the total eradication of poverty. Through her organization, Rosette created a web series entitled Safari with Elpida, where she interviews people who are doing very dynamic and empowering work. In this episode, Rosette is joined by Christabel Yeboah to talk about ways to celebrate, train, empower and educate femmes - with special emphasis on black femmes who are survivors of sexual violence.

Christabel is a Women's Rights Lawyer, Activist, and Founder of the leading National Gender-based Violence Support Service for Black femmes - HERSANA CIC. HERSANA CIC (formerly known as The ASKFirst Campaign) was founded in 2016 by survivor and Black feminist Christabel to raise awareness around rape culture and advocate for survivors of sexual violence. Their mission is to create holistic, gender-specialist, culturally specific, and trauma-informed safe spaces for Black femmes affected by or at risk of gender-based violence across England and Wales, as well as campaign to eradicate violence against women and girls in all its forms. They aim to center Black women in every narrative and provide these services in a safe, Black femme-only environment.

For more information about HERSANA CIC, please visit: https://www.hersana.org/

• Instagram: @christabelkyeboah / @hersanacic

• Twitter: @hersana_cic

• Email: info@hersana.org

For more information about Elpida, please visit: https://www.elpidahope.com/  

• Instagram: @e.l.p.i.d.a_ / @a_rosette_mamboleo

• Email: contactelpidae@gmail.com

Other sources mentioned in this episode include:

• Femme by LGBTQIA+ Wiki

• Femme by Nonbinary Wiki

• LGBTQIA+ Dictionary by UCONN Rainbow Center