They're Back from the Journey

Dear beloved women!

On the eve of Tisha B'Av, which marks the destruction of the Temple against a backdrop of baseless hatred,
I feel compelled to share the insights of the journey I went through on the trip to Armenia with "Stronger Than Wind", a journey I called "The Journey to the Self".

I do not usually voice opinions in forums or write posts, but in these days of social rift I feel a duty to invite us women, and to shed light on a way of looking at the reality of our society as a whole, and particularly in this case, because this is about women's empowerment, I thought of you:
"the woman who is hesitating", and I decided that it is worthwhile and necessary, certainly if there is any chance that these words will help you decide whether or not to set out on a journey like this.

It will come as no news if I say that women are the more challenged sex. Every woman goes through hardships, physiological ones, emotional upheavals, personal and interpersonal ones, in the family, in her relationship, at work and among her friends. As one of those women, I knew I needed a journey of nature and simplicity, one that would disconnect me from routine and bring me to a clarity of mind, and searching online, I found "Stronger Than Wind"
and I signed up for the journey, and specifically chose an unfamiliar group. It mattered to me to be one of a group of women who were strangers to one another.
My goal was to work on the most important thing of all, on the self.
What I expected from the trip was to be given the chance to turn inward and explore the depths of my soul, to take stock, to be moved, to plan the rest of my life's journey, to improve and to renew myself or, as they say, to recalculate the route.
I set out on a wonderful road, and I did not know that I would come back from it empowered, filled with wonder and with a self so positive, one made up of a human mosaic of all of you, the women of that dear group that became my group.
Every encounter with another person awakens the self in us, shapes us and builds us, either for the better or else for the worse.
The trip invited us to enjoy nature that is stunning in its beauty, but also to face challenges. It was inevitable that we would become a group in such a short time; from a group of strangers with no shared past into a real group, one you feel belonging, intimacy and solidarity toward.
I spent a good deal of time watching my amazing companions and I received more than I gave. And it was precisely in the moments that were not easy that I grew and grew stronger.
Usually, as a group forms, all eyes turn to the facilitator as the one "who knows everything", and everyone waits to be led.
However,
on the journey of "Stronger Than Wind" I turned my eyes each day to myself and to my companions, the guide included.
Our beloved guide, Gilat, invested in a trip planned down to the smallest detail. Every day was meticulously planned and created encounters of ours with ourselves and with the other women in the group. And I am not even talking about the material side, because the treats and the surprises were far beyond anything expected!
The group became a group in the fullest sense of the word in a very short time, thanks to the fact that every woman in it arrived with an open heart and a desire to experience. But what turned that potential into reality was the modelling, the contagious spirit Gilat brings with her: a passion to empower, to love, to embrace and to hold the little girl who lives inside each one of us.

Gilat, you led this trip with great sensitivity, with a personal touch, and you marked out for us the path to self exploration, with the presence of our precious reflections beside us, our partners on the journey.
I thank each and every one of the women in the group for illuminating different aspects of my life.
I want to say thank you to you, Gilat, for being and acting at eye level, in both senses of the phrase, and for seeing each and every one of us.
Loving every single one of you🧡
Orit Melamed

Our dear phoenix,

We arrived, a mix of women
each with her own reason. Each with her own aspiration.
A week later we are finishing as one tight group
a group of women friends, powerful women who each achieved her goals on this trip.

A huge thank you
for an extraordinary experience!
For a week full of fun, challenges, open conversation, laughter and of course drinks in the evening.
Every day was different. Every day had its own concept and its own message on a magnet.
Every day we faced a new challenge.
Every day a new landscape and a different experience.
Every day we broke through a barrier and discovered something more in ourselves.

All along the way, we felt your passion for Armenia. For its people. And how much it mattered to you that we would leave here with a treasure chest of experiences.

Thank you, thank you
The women of Armenia, July 2023

Jeep 1, Dana
Jeep 2, Rafit, Michal, Shlomit and Alit
Jeep 3, Dina, Hila, Orit and Einat
Jeep 4, Maya, Fay, Haya and Liat