A weaving workshop in Cleveland provides a sense of belonging and therapeutic benefits to Afghan refugee women as they adjust to their new lives.
You have the most amount of nerve endings in your fingertips. That's why we clap when we're happy-- because it ignites all of those nerve endings and it sends all those positive signals to the brain,' said Jessica Pinsky, executive director at Praxis Fiber Workshop. 'Touching soft things (weaving) does the same thing.
'bright and colorful studio in the Waterloo Arts District on a cloudy November morning, a group of Afghan refugee women gathers around looms to learn and practice weaving for three hours. The class isn’t about crafting a table runner, a pillow or a piece of art. Its purpose runs deeper: to create a sense of belonging and help them adjust to their new lives in Cleveland. “In the many months it takes for their paperwork and everything else to go through, there’s a lot of sitting and waiting, along with mental health and other problems that come with being disoriented and displaced,” said their instructor, Jessica Pinsky, the executive director at Praxis. “We wanted to provide a program that would be about feeling good and community.” The five-week workshop is now in its third round. The first class consisted of Congolese refugee women, while Afghan women have attended the last two. The program is a collaboration between Praxis and the(USCRI), a nonprofit that advocates for the rights and needs of refugees and immigrants. A member of the Praxis community, who also volunteers at USCRI, connected the two organizations. Both immediately recognized the benefits. “Weaving has these therapeutic qualities,” Pinsky explained. “It involves repetition, and it’s also very tactile. You’re touching soft things, and that makes your brain feel good.” The repetitive nature of weaving can calm the mind, too, she said. “There’s something about that action that makes it hard to think about other things. It’s incredibly meditative
Refugees Afghan Cleveland Therapeutic Weaving
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