121. Find the bathroom with Chmba Ellen Chilemba

Women Emerging Podcast

In the third episode of our series on how young people deal with being patronised, Julia is joined by Chmba. Last week Priya left us with a question for Chmba - How do you deal with being patronised when it happens in the moment, in public on the big stage - as it often does when you are the 'young' expert at a global summit. Chmba's first piece of advise was to know where the bathroom is whenever you enter a new unfamiliar space so that you know where to go when you need a moment alone. Here, you can talk to yourself and be your own source of encouragement to get you through the day. She talks of learning to cultivate a deep sense of empathy towards oneself, reminding us that often when patronised in those spaces it feel like a punch in the gut that somehow materialised out of nowhere. Like Sophie she is brutally aware the fact that perhaps one needs to expect being patronised and so she shares her own practice of having responses ready, so that when the punch hits, you have ready. When the punch in your gut lands, how do you learn to pick yourself up in the moment? How do you learn to hold space for yourself when you are exposed and vulnerable in an unfamiliar space?

About the Guest: Chmba Ellen Chilemba, a Malawian a community organizer, activist singer-songwriter, DJ and producer-artist from Malawi.