“This time we want to deal with the inner woman. We want to help her find herself again, who she is, her capabilities, her passions. And more importantly, we want to help her understand why she may have made poor choices in her life, so that she can embrace her future as a wise and circumspect woman.” — Sasha Romano
“I can hear the roar of women’s silence,” said Thomas Sankara, the former President of Burkina Faso.
It is this roar that singer, songwriter and activist Sasha Romano wants to cultivate with the launch of her self-funded NGO, Women Empowerment Centre—Women of the Word in Zion’s Army (Wowza) on June 3 at the Living Word Christian Centre in San Fernando.
But the 36-year-old mother of one says the roar is not about marching around with placards and shouting about what women want.
“No, not this time. This time we want to deal with the inner woman. We want to help her find herself again, who she is, her capabilities, her passions. And more importantly, we want to help her understand why she may have made poor choices in her life, so that she can embrace her future as a wise and circumspect woman.”
She said too many times we focus on building the outward woman when that will only be a mask and it’s what’s inside that needs the attention and is desperate for healing.
“No amount of labels, titles, education, degrees, et cetera, can heal you. Nor can it take away what’s going on inside. The best you always shines from inside out.”
Romano, who speaks proudly of being a born-again Christian, explained the initiative began a few years ago when she would meet with other women for intercessory prayer. It was being delivered from the life she once lived. She developed a passion and drive to see others freed from whatever held them in bondage.
However, setbacks came, but in hindsight, for perhaps good reason, Romano said. This year, she said, everything came full circle. She spoke of her inner searching as she watched the crime situation grow in the country, now not only affecting gang members but also children, upstanding citizens, and even the sudden out lash to women. It all led Romano to tell herself: “Enough is enough.”
She began by first creating a homework centre for children operated out of her home, where she provides a safe space for care while learning. From the centre she says she also leads her 14 students in the word of God, ensuring their foundations are built on sturdy ground with what she describes as sound principles.
Wowza’s mission includes the repair of relationships between women and men, especially in light of the many domestic violence cases in which women have lost their lives. Romano said something has clearly gone wrong in the way that m e n and women relate to each other.
“I would express the truth of men being our complement and not our opponent. For far too long a divide has been evident between man and woman. It is biblical for man and woman to work together and co-exist. And one of my aims is to bridge that obvious gap through prayer and supplication that brings revelation and the answers we need to solve problems,” said Romano.
She reiterated the importance of women knowing themselves from an inward place which then creates the outward shell that attracts the right things.
“We know about the law of energy and it was first said in the Bible that whatsoever a man thinks in his heart of himself, then so shall he be. There are many broken women dealing with all kinds of unimaginable things, and there is a constant void that needs to be filled, and most times, because of how we see ourselves and think of ourselves as women, we attract what we do not need. That has to change, ” Romano said.
“Before we can even think about relationships and marriage, healing must take place; otherwise, even if the right attraction comes, we can cause it much hurt and pain. And then the cycle continues, as hurting people hurt people. There is need for wholeness. If that does not happen, then it is easy to fall away again. This is no run-of-the-mill type women’s centre... Wowza is treating with your ‘inside you’. That is where we are going to do all the work. As the Spirit leads, the reconstructing, reconfiguration and restoration of the soul (mind) will take place.”
• For more information on Wowza, call 327-1032 or email sasha.romano@gmail.com