Milagros Day Worldwide: Empowering the Survivors of Domestic Violence
By Annimari Ollila
Today, November 25 marks as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. According to UN Women, gender-based violence has both immediate and long-term physical, sexual, and mental implications on women and prevents their full participation in society. Violence not only has negative implications for women but also for their families, which can then lead to an intergenerational cycle of gender-based violence.
Dawn Diaz knows these implications of domestic violence. After dealing with the trauma from her own childhood experiences, Diaz founded Milagros Day Worldwide. This is an organization which aims to empower women who have suffered from domestic violence and helps women to heal from their trauma. Milagros Day Worldwide celebrates its 10th anniversary in the beginning of December. Diaz founded her organization in 2009 after growing up witnessing her mother’s experiences in a brutally abusive relationship. Her mother managed to leave the relationship but unfortunately died soon after. At the age of 14, Diaz was left to heal herself from trauma, and after amassing 25 years of research in the field of personal growth and trauma healing, she founded this organization to support other women in their healing process.
According to Diaz, people don’t often realize the wider context and implications of domestic violence: -One common misconception is that people often think domestic violence occurs in a vacuum and may not understand that much of it comes from the way a person grows up, it often starts from childhood trauma which alters your perception of your own value. One may have had a seemingly perfect childhood and still end up in an abusive relationship, their are countless reasons and scenarios, but trauma is often a common denominator.
Milagros Day Worldwide thus works at the core of the elimination of gender-based violence since healing and overcoming the trauma is essential in breaking the cycle of domestic abuse. -If the women do not heal, they can end up getting into another abusive relationship so it becomes a pattern, Diaz says.
Milagros Day Worldwide offers leadership and coaching programs, and other types of trainings where the survivors can rebuild their confidence and be part of an empowering, nurturing sisterhood. For example, the organization offers a three-day retreat:
-We take the women away for three days for spiritual, emotional, and physical challenges where they get to connect with nature and each other. Most importantly, they get to connect with their own being, their own thoughts and their own mind and their own beliefs after getting rid of the label that has been put on them. During these three days we do a lot of very deep spiritual soul searching. They get to do yoga, meditation, and shift the victim mentality and draw the line in the sand about who they want to be in the world. The final thing is a makeover since after going through an inside transformation they get an outside transformation as well. After the weekend they have the opportunity to join a leadership program in order to implement the things they have learned into their everyday lives.
Right now Milagros Day Worldwide is offering a program called the Healing Voices, a 12-week public speaking course for trauma survivors.
-We have found out that speaking in public can be a very cathartic and healing experience since it is about showing the world who you really are and that there is no shame in talking about what you have been through. It is also about being able to inspire other people, Diaz describes the program.
Milagros Day Worldwide is going to start the Healing Voices Program throughout the five boroughs of New York City in the spring 2020. Graduates of the training are now going to deliver the curriculum throughout the city next spring in 2020.
-We would like to invite trauma survivors who read this blog post to participate in this program, Diaz says. -If you are a trauma survivor and would like to share your journey in this public speaking program, please contact us here.
You also have the opportunity to see the outcome of this program yourself on December 4, 2019, at Healing Voices LIVE event where you have the possibility to hear the powerful stories of the women who participated in the program. These 15 courageous women will make you laugh, cry, and believe in possibilities after trauma! You can get your tickets at www.HealingVoicesLIVE.flipcause.com
One of Milagros Day Worldwide’s long-term goals is to have a retreat center for women who are healing from trauma, and before that, they are starting a campaign for next year to name a day that commemorates trauma survivors.
-October is the Domestic Violence Awareness month so we would like to name the 3rd Thursday of October as Miracles Day in order to highlight the miracles, the healing, and the possibilities of the survivors of domestic violence. That way other women who are going through terrible situations, domestic violence, and trauma can see what is possible.
You can follow and support Milagros Day Worldwide on Social Media:
Milagros Day Worldwide is The Kota Alliance’s new Partner Organization.
This blog post starts The Kota Alliance’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence during which we are going to raise awareness about GBV and its consequences, and to how to prevent it as well as highlighting the survivors and their stories. Follow the campaign on The Kota Alliance’s social media.