Carla Donson marks 17 years in Women's Network

Carla Donson as Wonder Woman. Picture / Supplied

This past week marked the 17 year anniversary of my time at the Women's Network.

On June 10, 2003 I stepped across the threshold of the iconic Ladies' Rest Building to take up the reins as manager of a unique and special organisation.

I remember that day vividly. It's one of those memories that seems at once fresh, as well as a lifetime ago. So much has happened in that time. I now have grey hairs that I never had before, some hard-won wrinkles, and a whole lot of appreciation for the people that weave together the threads of our community.

With a background in special education and youth development, I had returned home to Whanganui after retraining at Victoria University of Wellington. As a mature student the campus environment provided rich opportunities to meet with interesting, diverse and vibrant people. People that I could never have imagined meeting elsewhere.

Papers in anthropology and criminology turned my mind upside down, inside out and back to front, but it was the conversations outside of class that truly changed my learning experiences.

I was fortunate to be in a study group with incredible wahine who were part of the land march and occupation movement of the 1970s. I relished hearing their stories about their involvement with the occupations at Bastion Point and the Raglan Golf Course, and their continued efforts to achieve tino rangatiratanga.

Their combined grace, strength and fierce determination profoundly influenced me to challenge everything I thought about my life. These conversations shaped the course of my studies, leading to a focus on bicultural policy development, Māori and indigenous education, and the vitality of person-centred leadership. I never imagined where this would lead me.

Arriving back in Whanganui for an education management job in 2002 after postgraduate study, my life took a significant turn. After a series of what can only be described as unfortunate events, I found myself challenging a system that resulted in me losing what I thought was my dream job. Little did I know that this would ultimately lead me to what really is a dream, a job in which I have the privilege of walking alongside women, often at a time when they most need a boost and a solid pair of listening ears.

This was never part of the plan, but then life has a way of dealing us what we need, rather than what we think we want. Every day I get to meet with women in extraordinary circumstances, women who are different from me, and who enable me to grow.

Conversations are some of the most challenging and rewarding learning experiences we can ever have, especially when we are prepared to listen and fully engage with hearts and minds open.

Leading an organisation with its roots firmly grounded in a feminist framework isn't easy. Striving for equality in all its forms leads to controversy, conflict, and change. However, as one of our committee members often reminds me, there are no short cuts to any place worth going.

I am so thankful to all the change makers out there. And so, as I reflect on 17 years of service here, there are important people to acknowledge. Thank you to the women who courageously fought to establish the Ladies' Rest Building 90 years ago, the first of its kind in the country.

These ordinary women had contributed their own service to our community by coming in to town en masse to work during World War1 when so many men were sent away to serve our country.

Thank you to all the custodians who lived onsite and so steadfastly provided for the women of Whanganui on their visits to the Ladies' Rest. To the women who founded the Women's Network in the early 1980s and fought for a place where women could access valuable resources and information that would enable them to have a voice in decision-making.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered, supported, funded and partnered with the Women's Network over the last 35 years. And, to all the women who have courageously stepped in and up to ask for what they need, you are an inspiration.