Name: Ms Isabelle Sindayirwanya
Role: Communication Strategist
QN: What does wellness mean to you as an African woman? Do you prioritise it? If yes, how?
Before considering myself as an African woman, I consider myself as a human being who plays a role of advocacy to motivate and influence others in the society I live in. Living in harmony with the society surrounding me is crucial to my personal growth. It moves me and gives me a sense of purpose. It is with that in mind that I take time to reflect on myself, my thoughts, actions and emotions impact my wellbeing and affect others.
However much we try to be internally self-aware, meaning; aware about our thoughts and feelings and at the same time, externally self-aware about how people perceive us; the fact is; we have little control on how other people feel about us. All I am sure about is, you will never go wrong if you practise self-love and spread positivity around you.
My answer is Yes, I do prioritise wellness by practising self-awareness and spreading positive thinking.
QN: Any wellness practices passed down to you that you are keen on passing on yourself?
I was blessed to have open-minded parents who valued our opinions and life decisions, all the while instilling strong african cultural values. That includes, respect for elders, moral education and ethical values. On one hand, my burundian father was an atheist and a medical professor and on the other hand, my rwandan mother, is a practising Catholic and a businesswoman. The two of them were polar opposite just as described by the American author John Gray in his book titled, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
The dynamic in our home, which was home to countless family members especially during the war in Burundi and Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, made me realise how different we all were yet perfectly coexisted together.
We could spend hours arguing and debating about various subjects but every single night, we would agree to disagree and kiss goodnight and every following morning, greet each other with love and care.
We often underestimate the importance of greetings. It is one of the basic actions that can turn a frown into a smile. At home or at work, with your loved ones or with God, a greeting said with a smile will always trigger a positive conversation even when things are not that good. It is a sign of hope that things will eventually go well.
This is something I practise on a daily basis with my kids and loved ones, unfortunately or fortunately, my colleagues can’t escape from my morning hugs either.
QN: What has been your biggest lesson/realisation about wellness?
There is no one size fits all model, but one of the components of wellness is happiness and I learned that it is universal, regardless of race, colour and religion. What has worked for others may not work for you. You have to continuously try to find what makes you happy and puts you at peace depending on your circumstances.
I realised that my love languages were Quality time, Physical touch, Words of affirmation, Acts of services and Gifts in that particular order. My therapy consists in engaging with my loved ones, laughing wholeheartedly or crying me a river when I feel the need to.
To emotionally validate yourself and others is not a sign of weakness, it actually makes you stronger and helps you create stronger bonds with others.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Biography:
Isabelle is a communication strategist who mastered at an early age the fine art of female assertiveness in the homogenous male-dominated world of construction; a career that was in line with her major in university as a Quantity Surveyor but where the gender ratio was not in her favour.
For six years, she made it her personal battle to go against stereotypes that women are incapable of understanding technical concepts or technologies and worked her way up to the top of the pole in leading engineering and construction companies in Rwanda.
She switched her career after giving birth to her 2nd child and ditched the conventional career rules that one’s career has to match what one learned in school. Isabelle’s passion for digital marketing is also fueled by her love for dynamic surroundings, her ability to strike a conversation with total strangers as well as interest in trying new things.