Seventh annual Gather the Women event brings together all ages

ST. JOSEPH — Every woman has a story to tell.



At the seventh annual Gather the Women celebration at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, they can share their stories to better understand themselves and one another.

“It is through the sharing of stories that barriers have a tendency of coming down, or at least lessen, and people can talk to each other more on a one-on-one basis,” Sue Smith-Grier said.

Smith-Grier, a Minneapolis storyteller, will be featured at the free event March 21 with her portrayal of Harriet Tubman’s role in the Underground Railroad, bringing slaves to the North.

“It’s a story of hardship, difficult times and slavery, and coming into freedom — a journey of gathering inner strength to overcome obstacles and helping people along the way,” she said.

Power

Gather the Women is a global organization honoring International Women’s Day that awakens and celebrates the collective power of women, according to organizers.

“When we get together, we are providing self-sufficiency to women, so in the future they can be new leaders in the community,” said Brianda Cediel, executive director and co-founder of Hands Across the World, a resource for immigrants and refugees in Central Minnesota.

Cediel is a co-organizer of the Gather the Women celebration in St. Joseph, which is the largest in the nation. Her mother hails from Colombia and her father is of Italian descent.

“For me, the most exciting thing about Gather the Women is it’s an opportunity for women from various cultures to get to know one another,” said Linda Hutchinson, a co-organizer of the event.

Omeka! program brings cultures together

This is a woman's world. At least it is during Omeka!



It is a world where guests greet each other with a hug and a smile. It is a world where the welcoming feeling is immediate when these African and African-American women walk into a hostess' home on a Sunday.

As Central Minnesota has become increasingly diverse, programs have risen to help newcomers adapt to the nuances of American culture. But fewer opportunities have existed for social interaction between cultures.

With monthly gatherings in local homes, Omeka!, launched in November, is making those connections for African and African-American women in Central Minnesota.

"Omeka!" is a Swahili word meaning to display; to speak out; to spread out.

In an atmosphere complete with food, music and storytelling, the women share their journeys, cultures and ideas, and they learn from one another.

Debra Leigh, an Omeka! organizer and professor at St. Cloud State University, recognized the division that was developing between African and African-American women in the St. Cloud area. Working with Sister Chrispina Lekule, a student at St. Cloud State University, she traveled to Zanzibar, Tanzania and began researching resources for African women in terms of survival skills, leadership skills and building community.

"We wanted to see what it takes for women to succeed," Leigh said.

Lekule said they also visited different women's groups to see what they were doing to empower themselves economically. Their findings, coupled with the observed cultural division in St. Cloud, led to Omeka!