I have been wanting to read ‘What’s the Point of the Revolution If We Can’t Dance’ since I got my copy at the African Feminist Forum in September. However, it has taken me until today the 6th of December to finish the book (whilst queuing for 6 hours to vote). For me the most interesting thing is that the book began to influence me even before I delved into its pages…At the recent Association of Women in Development (AWID) Forum, I attended a session on ‘What’s the Point of the Revolution If We Can’t Dance’ and afterwards made up my mind to write a list of personal self-care principles which are:

• Have a manicure every 2 weeks
• Have a pedicure every month
• Have a facial every month
• Exercise at least 4 times a week
• Drink at least a litre of water a day
• Read a fantastic book at least once a month
• Have a weekend break every 3 months
• Take a fun holiday at least once a year
• Have a massage once a month

The great thing for me is that although my list may appear very indulgent (and why not?) it actually will not cost me much money. I am fortunate that my favourite Auntie owns a beauty studio so I get to have free manicures, pedicures and facials. All I really need to do is tip the staff that provides the treatments, and from time to time I bring my Auntie a small gift. However I have realized that my self care routine only works when I am actually in my home country Ghana. I am quite fortunate that the organization I work for, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has a flexible working policy…I am a night owl so tend to go to bed very late and accordingly rise late so it is a real boon to be able to start work at 9am, 9.30am or 10am. In Ghana that’s a real luxury, many people I know have to fight through hours of traffic to start work at 8am.

By now you are probably thinking I have it good when it comes to self-care, but I have realized a pattern. Whenever I travel for work (and recently that has been up to twice a month) I fall sick. I usually get a cold which in the case of my trip to San Francisco for the ‘Women Raising Millions’ training was somewhere between my 16 hour flight time from Accra – San Francisco. In Uganda, during the entire African Feminist Forum I had a cold and a racking cough, my poor room mate Sophie would wake up in a panic wondering if I was okay and very recently in Dakar I reacted very badly to the dusty conditions and sneezed for three days continuously. So what am I going to do about this? These short term illnesses have given me a clear message. I need to take even better care of myself. I need to start taking some good vitamin and mineral supplements, I need to go to the clinic to run some tests to ensure there is not an underlying reason for these persistent coughs and colds, when I am outside Ghana attending conferences or convenings I need to try as much as possible to emulate some of the healthy eating practices I maintain at home and not indulge in lavish hotel breakfasts or the pastries and biscuits that are sometimes present at conferences and convenings. I also need to ensure that I find ways of taking a break whilst traveling for work…So what do you do to take care of yourself? Let’s share some ideas and strategies. Any recommendations

Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications