Frauen* Gesundheit Gerechtigket
Women*, and women* of color in particular, face structural forms of discrimination within the health sector in Germany. Based on their own experiences, advocates for health justice and refugee rights address questions of health, care and healing by means of information, education, accompaniment and self-empowerment in refugee camps and beyond. During 2025 (and beyond) Spore partnered up with some of these organizations, namely Space2Grow, Women * in Exile, International Women* Space, that have done this work for many years, to create diverse spaces for encounter and peer-to-peer exchange between them and their networks. around women* health justice prevention and popular medicine, access to healthcare, the entanglements. As such this project aimed to strengthen the capacities of the caretakers as well as women* in camps, and to collaborate in the creation of tools that might support their important work.
During the year we jointly organized a series of peer-to-peer workshops together with the partner organisations. The workshops were conceptualized and held by their team members and allies from their networks, sharing their different practices, expertise and methodologies with the rest of the group and their networks.
The three guidelines that structured and accompanied the topics and workshop/encounter formats were:
Understanding the entanglements between climate change, migration and well-being
Knowledge production and sharing from within and for the community (languages etc) as well as making existing resources and information accessible for the communities
Create spaces of “socio-cultural” exchange of practices and activities for self-care (community care) and well-being
Workshop Series on Reproductive Justice
Speaking about Reproductive Justice means more than the right to have or not to have children. it is about political, social, racial and economic justice. It means for women* to have the power and resourcesto make informed decisions about their bodies, families and futures. It is also about having spaces where concerns are taken seriously, where experiences can be shared without taboos, and where women* can accompany each other in processes of joy and grief.
Workshops:
Menopause and its effects on our bodies, life and souls,
with Griselda Enciso
Reproductive Justice, our bodies, our choices, our rights,
with Doris Dede and Madeleine Mawamba
Experiencing infertility - causes, treatment and grief support,
with Lucy Nganga
How to access abortion care in Berlin
with Laïla Dhimane
A right to sexual health, pleasure and sensuality
with Other Nature/Violet
Reproductive Health Justice & Accessibility for adolescent girls and young women*
with Caroline Njeri Kungu and Laveria Wanja Mwai
Awareness and prevention of common cancers in women
with Ilknur Argibas and Nuren Gündüz
Healing through Movement
Connect to yourself, release tension with dance and movement, and find collective joy!
In the four workshops facilitated by Jacky Njoki & guests (Fariba Fazeli and Zeky) the participants explored together how dance and movement can support women* to reconnect with themselves and their bodies, to release tensions and to find healing in self-expresssion. Together they created a space for well-being, resilience and the spirit of collective liberation.
"I believe in dance as medicine - a tol for reclaiming space and joy, grounding ourselves and expressing what wordsa cannot always hold."
Jacky Njoki
Healing Plants, popular medicine and storytelling
Medicinal plants and their use for self-healing
Do you use medicinal herbs in your everyday life? What tea do you make when you have stomach-ache or menstrual cramps? Are there any medicinal herbs that your grandmother used? Has your relationship with medicinal herbs changed over the course of your life?
This workshop invites you to delve deeper into the meaning and effects of medicinal plants-where to find them, how to prepare them, and what healing properties they have. Learn about the history and tradition of various plants and exchange ideas with other women* about medicinal herbs and your own recipes and knowledges.
Facilitated by Madeleine Mawamba.
Telling our stories with plants
Sharing stories about plants can give us strength by connecting us to ancestral knowledge, to our places of origin, and to our migratory journeys. Plants embody stories of extractivism and displacement, but also of resistance, adaption and healing. As they travel and find their way in new environments – much like many of us – they carry fragments of our homelands through their smells, colors and tastes. This workshop invites us to explore how to tell our stories through and with plants, reflecting on our relationship with them and how they accompany us in the process of decolonizing our ways of living and knowing. It is a call to recognize and reclaim the value of our own knowledge and that of our ancestors, especially within contexts where such wisdom is often marginalized.
Facilitated by Verónica Troncoso, Haboon Jabril and Nuran Gündüz.
In Our Own Words
Storytelling for climate justice and migration justice
Roots & Routes
How do our stories carry us through change?
Migration, climate change, and wellbeing are deeply connected: in our bodies, our histories, and our futures. Through shared narratives, artistic methods, and cultural practices, we will create space for dialogue, healing, and imagining futures of resilience, while exploring how climate change and migration shape our lives.
We bring you a mix of storytelling, collective writing, oral narratives, and artistic exercises. Together, we will weave personal and cultural experiences into powerful reflections on climate justice, migration, and wellbeing. No previous writing or artistic experience is needed, just bring yourself, your memories, and your imagination.
Facilitated by Ann (SaviNoir) and Rose Wanjyku from IW*S/Resilient Voices.
On Pleasure and Sexuality
How do we put desire into words? How do we honor our pleasure, our boundaries, our fantasies, and the silences in between?
This peer-to peer writing and sharing circle is a space for women* to explore sexuality and pleasure through storytelling, poetry, and creative prompts. Together, we will purge, play, and weave our experiences into a collective literary mosaic. You don’t need to be a “writer” to join us, just curious and open to expressing yourself. Anonymity is welcome, and all voices are valued. Selected pieces may later be performed or published as part of ongoing feminist creative projects.
Come ready to listen, share, and write yourself free.
This workshop is for BIPOC FLINTA. Facilitated by Ann (SaviNoir) from IW*S/Resilient Voices.
Kwa Ndimi Zetu / In Our Own Tongues
Open Mic
This open mic evening, moderated by Ann Savoir brought together poet, storyteller, musician, and stringers of words in an open and caring space where everyone could grab the mic and share their reflections, writings and songs. Some of the stories we have gathered in the workshops before - exploring themes such as sexual health, pleasure, nature and belonging, climate and migration - were presented during this evening, alomgside the wonderful presentations of XXX and spontaneous contributions from the public.
A selection of tools, articles and informative material produced by our partners throughout the years:
IWS Radio. Listen to it here: https://iwspace.de/radio/
In our own words. Refugee women in Germany tell their stories