“In 2020, I am raising the vibration in Jamaica to Raise Yuh Voice in solidarity for a Violence Free Jamaica for all. The death toll of women, girls, and LGBTQ people from violent deaths is at an all-time high. In Jamaica, 1 in 2 experience some form of gender-based violence. We are changing this reality, one person at a time, until the violence stops!!! Raise Yuh Voice, is raising consciousness through self-care practices, sharing with women and girls empowerment practices that include honoring ourselves and our ancestors, as well as connecting and honoring the environment and stopping mining that is tearing apart communities here. We are challenging the ways men speak about and treat women and girls, one man at a time. We are rising with Holy Childhood High School and We Change Jamaica, and we are raising funds for our very own Healing Sanctuary that will become a brave and protected hub space for women, girls, and LGBTQ people to keep building the movement.”
One Billion Rising Coordinator for Jamaica, AFIA WALKING THREE, was born and raised in Jamaica. She is an internationally acclaimed percussionist and visionary facilitator. Afia blends her love for earth and drum into sustainable life-art practices. She has a Masters in Education and her work is dedicated to authentic edutainment performances, lectures, coaching, and permaculture garden and landscape designs. She utilizes her passion for drum medicine to create artistic forums for dismantling gender, racial, and intersectional violence. Afia is an adjunct professor at California Institute for Integral Studies and Artist in Residence at African American Policy Forum. She hosts SoulFree Journeys and Retreats in Jamaica. Join Afia online at www.afiawalkingtree.com, www.facebook.com/afiawalkingtree and www.youtube.com/afiawalkingtree.