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Hundreds of people attended Shamsaha’s family-friendly fitness fun day to help raise funds to empower and protect women across the kingdom.
The Bahrain-based women’s support group staged a sports and wellness ‘Shamsa’thon’ event at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club (BRFC), in a bid to create awareness on the importance of caring for our minds and bodies.
“The event also aimed to celebrate women and families in a healthy environment,” said Adriana Martínez, the 47-year-old director of Shamsaha’s Entrepreneurial Empowerment Programme. The scheme offers training and hands-on experience to support women in their journey to become entrepreneurs, as part of the Shamsaha Collective.
“All the funds that we raised will go towards this programme with the aim of supporting women to thrive,” Adriana added. “Our current entrepreneurs come from different backgrounds and nationalities. Many of the women who participated in the programme have earned an income for the first time in their lives as they learn power skills that could be beneficial in any path they may follow.”
More than 200 people attended the event, which was managed by Adriana and her partner Elizabeth Botha as part of their Purple Papaya Events Company, and emceed by BTV presenter and local personality Baraa Abdulla.
Fourteen instructors hosted a range of classes such as body combat, yoga, body rock, HiiT, Zumba, tai chi and boxing, among others, with some very enthusiastic displays of sportsmanship.
There were also more than 40 vendors participating in the pop-up market.
“The entire day was a success and everyone felt connected to the cause and the importance of raising awareness,” said Adriana.
Shamsaha is celebrating women throughout this month, in line with International Women’s Day, and this event was a special collaboration with BRFC.
“In the last seven years, Shamsaha has been proud to support women of all backgrounds who seek empowerment and protection,” stated Adriana. “We do this through our crisis advocacy programme, our casework programme, our entrepreneurial empowerment programme and our community awareness initiatives.
“Shamsaha is in the process of expanding its crisis advocacy programme across the GCC region and it is in the final stages of launching its mobile application. We cannot wait to share details of our exciting upcoming projects soon.”
She added that as Shamsaha’s support services are free for all female victims of domestic abuse, they accept all kinds of sponsorships via their website, shamsaha.org, to continue to empower women in Bahrain and across the region.
“Together we believe we can support women to achieve their potential,” she said.
Follow @shamsaha_me on Instagram for details.
