Douglasdale police’s GBV Brigade attends wellness session hosted by US doctor
The Ramakrishna Centre South Africa hosted Dr Usha Vasthare from the United States and local gender-based violence volunteers from Douglasdale.
Members of Douglasdale police’s GBV Brigade had a session with a wellness coach that expanded their view of different cultures in Northriding on August 19.
Ramakrishna Centre South Africa collaborated with the Douglasdale CPF and police to organise the wellness session for brigade volunteers.
The session was facilitated and headed by Dr Usha Vasthare from the United States of America. Vasthare is the co-founder of the YogaKshema Rehabilitation and Wellness Centre in the United States and has facilitated over 400 support group meetings at YogaKshema and conducted several workshops on mind training, mindful living, healthy living, overcoming automatic negative thoughts and various other topics.
The morning’s session consisted of conversations surrounding why members of the brigade get involved with their community, different breathing and grounding exercises and ways they can continue to inspire themselves and the clients they encounter.
Ahalya Ramdhani said they have worked with the station before, but this was the first time they had partnered with the brigade. The organisation was due to have an event like this but was delayed due to Covid regulations. “A family member has been working with the police station and hosted a few yoga sessions at Fourways Action Sports Arena. We’re trying to have something similar, so we were able to have some of the volunteers here today and empower them and grow the social work,” she said.
Member of the GBV Brigade, Juliet Moima emphasised the importance of training sessions such as the one the group attended. “I think it was a really great session. We as a team will benefit more from sessions like this as we will be learning more from other cultures. We can sometimes meet people from a different culture, and then we would know how to communicate with them,” she said.
“We had earlier discussed with the organisers as a team to maybe have something like this twice a month. Elements that we learnt today can also benefit victims and people who we meet all the time.”
The session concluded with a light lunch and recap of the morning’s events.
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