At Grapevine, we believe that people should be in the lead of improving their lives and their communities.
Over three decades we’ve been developing this approach, driven by good relationships, to empower and equip individuals, communities and wider systems to thrive.
We know the power this can hold in Coventry and Warwickshire and we want to help other areas of the UK do the same.
Around 50 Waka Waka members, their friends and families on an away day in the Peak District in September this year.
‘Population health’ is a term describing how a wide range of determinants of health and wellbeing – many out of reach of health and care services – determine the health of a population.
But what if we drill down to what population health means to the people in that population and explore how community organising, power-building and lived experience can help unstick some of the most persistent health inequalities from a starting point of simply looking out for one another?
This is Willenhall woman Dorothy’s story in her own words.
We’re sharing her story ahead of next Tuesday’s Health Inequalities webinar with Sir Michael Marmot for Turning Point’s 60th anniversary ‘Health and Care Futures’ event series. Our CEO Clare Wightman joins the panel on 22 October to share our shifting power work with Sir Michael and the audience.
Dorothy’s Waka Waka journey
Q. How long has your group been running?
We started in February 2023. Obviously, there was a lot of groundwork with Grapevine before we finally got things moving in February.
Dorothy pauses her climb for a quick photo in the Peak District.
Q. How did it begin?
Where can I start? Let me start with the name ‘Waka Waka’ because there’s so much to it.
When most people hear “Waka Waka”, they think about Shakira’s song but she stole the chorus of her song from a Cameroon military band. That’s a different story for another day.
A Waka Waka person in Pidgin is someone who moves up and down tirelessly and endlessly.
If you see me at the GP, then meet me at the refugee centre and again on arrival at the train station – then you can refer to me as a Waka Waka woman.
I became a Waka Waka woman during the most challenging period of my life.
I Waka Waka seeking help;
I Waka Waka seeking understanding of what was happening, looking for someone who could just listen;
And sometimes I was just Waka Waka not knowing or even thinking about where I was going.
I’ve had very difficult experiences in this country. I came here as a refugee and the process of immigration was not just distressing, it was depressing and I had to go on treatment.
Having my first baby wasn’t easy either. I had complications as an older mum and there also were lots of issues as I was relocated from Coventry to an empty building in Stoke-on-Trent where I didn’t know anyone and had a little baby.
But my real Waka Waka moment came when my daughter went through bullying in school, mental health issues followed and the whole household was affected.
I came from Africa and we have always seen education as the key to life, so when my daughter who was loving school and performing extremely well started talking about not wanting to go, that was hard to take.
And it got worse when this bubbly girl started curling up in her bed and not wanting to come out.
You start questioning yourself and wondering where you have gone wrong.
Things can change VERY FAST from the moment when you are there looking at an issue as a classroom issue, then having to deal with social services, the NHS and then you are there wondering whether you should be calling suicide help lines.
My Waka Waka experience with NHS. Experiences with the school system, local community, my ethnic groups and the church.
As Africans, we have very negative cultural attitudes towards mental health, self-harm and suicide. So there’s facing the problem, facing society and knowing that it is affecting your entire household.
I couldn’t think because my mind was cloudy;
I couldn’t see because I was in a very dark place;
and I couldn’t share what I was going through because:
1. I didn’t think that anyone would understand or that they even cared.
2. There were elements of pride, self worthiness and being judged.
3. I just did not know what to do.
COVID-19 made many things worse but it ended up as the light in the tunnel that we were praying for.
We did a lot of walking and I realised that walking was helpful for me, my daughter, her brother and dad. It united the family, revitalised our emotional health and practically uplifted us.
I paid to go to the gym for two years but made only five visits because of distance, the environment, the people etc. It just didn’t work with the gym and I gave up feeling more discouraged that I couldn’t keep up.
That’s where Grapevine comes in.
I first heard about Grapevine after a church service from Edwin (Grapevine community organiser). He talked about his work to three of us but none of us was really interested in getting involved.
Then he knocked on my door asking about the changes I’d like to see in Willenhall. I talked about my gym experience, the challenges I felt and wanting a gym in Willenhall. He told me I could start one and the rest, as they say, is history.
Then I Waka Waka looking for people to form a group with. I even tried hosting a house meeting in my house but only two people came. I felt like giving up because no one was interested.
But I didn’t give up because Edwin equally refused to give up on me.
He kept planning for the next meeting after what I thought would be the last meeting. We did the leaflets and started with just five of us – my household and him.
Then another lady joined. Then another one. And we now have more than 20 members.
Our community organiser Edwin on the Peak District trip.
Now Waka Waka Fitness meets for classes every Saturday 8am to 9am and every Wednesday 7pm to 8pm. We meet at the local Hagard Centre but are currently working on taking some of our Saturday sessions outdoors to parks and places like that. We’ve been to the Memorial Park on two occasions.
In September, 50 of us took a coach to the Peak District for a community away day to walk the Dovedale and Thorpe Cloud circuit. Members brought their friends and family. It was fantastic. One of the group said:
“Our young children enjoyed the coach trip, networking amongst their peers, encouraging one another during the challenging walk and showing their competitive side… I look forward to the next one. Thank you so much.”
Our outdoor sessions are very important because they give us the opportunity to interact more, talk and listen to each other, build trust and friendship and strengthen the bond amongst us.
We do some of these things during our indoor sessions, but nothing like what we get during outdoor sessions. The indoor sessions seem to focus more on physical exercise, but it’s not all about physical exercising.
Q. How would you describe the different backgrounds of the people who attend?
DIVERSE is the word – mostly black women in terms of racial description but we have men and white European people as well. We have young children (always accompanied by parents) and we’ve had elderly people. I’m a social worker and we have nurses, students, refugees and disabled people, as well as people looking for jobs. We equally have sick people who have joined us following doctors recommendation and people that are very fit and just using exercise for fitness purposes.
“Our young children enjoyed the coach trip, networking amongst their peers, encouraging one another during the challenging walk and showing their competitive side… I look forward to the next one. Thank you so much.”
Q. Why is this group important to you?
People focus so much on exercising to lose weight when I talk about Waka Waka, but I know that there’s more to this group than just physical exercise.
When people talk about weight loss, I often ask myself, what WEIGHT are they talking about?
Because there’s body mass weight and the type of weight that I said I was carrying on my shoulders during my trying moments.
I have my three Ukrainian sisters in Waka Waka. They are not overweight, they don’t look sick – in fact they are the fittest lot in the group. But as someone who comes from an area in Cameroon that’s been in war for six years now, I can imagine the type of weight that my Ukrainian sisters are carrying on their shoulders!
Diet and exercise wouldn’t take that weight off, and no scale is strong enough to measure it.
That’s why I just have to be there for them – a call, a story, a smile, hugs, high-fives, a walk and sharing, giving and receiving. That’s what Waka Waka is about.
I have a few sisters there that are carrying so much weight on their shoulders and we turn to focus on that weight rather than the type of weight that gyms and other groups deal with.
One of our members had been facing deportation to Cameroon after finishing her studies. Another one is facing eviction from her home and she’s got children. Who cares about what the scale says when you have such weight on your shoulders?
Q. Why is this important to the Willenhall community?
Because it’s taking the weight off people’s bodies and their shoulders. Willenhall is a deprived area with lots of people carrying both weights. No other organisation is dealing with these issues the way that we do.
Q. Can you think of any stories people have shared with you about why they enjoy coming?
Most people come for fitness purposes but they end up realising that there’s more to the group than exercising, so it’s mainly been their expression of gratitude and the flourishing friendships that started through the group.
Q. What do you see or hope for the future of the group?
I believe that most of the people who need the service are still not aware of the fact that they can get it from Waka Waka, either because they just see us as an exercise group or don’t even know that we exist at all.
Q. How has the Healthy Communities Together programme played a role in your group?
Where can I start? This group wouldn’t have started without Edwin and it would have disintegrated without your continuous support.
We are slowly standing on our own feet but at the moment, it’s thanks to Grapevine that we are still here.
Join Dorothy’s Waka Waka Fitness classes for free on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Willenhall’s Hagard Centre or contact Dorothy for more information on 07429 083 402.
