Olamma Cares Advances Eco-Therapy, Mental Health in Oyo State

Oluchi Chibuzor

Through Umé Healing Circle Across many communities today, conversations around women’s wellbeing are becoming increasingly urgent, particularly as more women navigate emotional strain, caregiving burdens, family pressures, economic realities, and the silent weight of unresolved experiences without adequate support systems or safe spaces for emotional processing.

In response to this growing need for more intentional and community-based approaches to emotional wellness, Olamma Cares Foundation recently hosted another edition of its Umé Healing Circle in Ibadan, Oyo State, bringing women together for a deeply emotional and transformative experience centered on healing, emotional wellness, storytelling, and collective care.

Held at New Culture Studio, Mokola — a serene hilltop space overlooking the Ibadan landscape — the gathering created a safe and intentional environment where women openly processed grief, trauma, resentment, abuse, motherhood, marriage, identity, and emotional exhaustion through guided conversations, journaling, grounding exercises, music, eco-therapy, and communal reflection.

Founded by wellness advocate and Olamma Cares Founder, Chioma Nwosu-Fakorede, ‘Umé Healing Circle’ is designed as a culturally rooted mental wellness initiative for African women, combining therapy-informed healing practices with African storytelling traditions, emotional reflection, sisterhood, and nature-based wellness experiences.

Speaking during the event, Nwosu-Fakorede explained that the vision behind Umé is to create spaces where women can ‘soften safely’ without fear of judgment.

“So many women are carrying invisible pain silently. The goal is not perfection. The goal is to create spaces where women feel safe enough to breathe, speak honestly, cry if they need to, reconnect with themselves, and realize they are not alone.

“Activities throughout the day included grounding exercises where participants removed their shoes and connected physically with nature, guided breathing sessions, emotional intention-setting, journaling prompts, storytelling circles, and a planting ritual using herbs such as basil, rosemary, oregano, and mint to symbolize release, renewal, and growth, she said.

At the event, participants also had access to free psychological consultations, free medical consultations, and subsidized health screenings facilitated through the event’s wellness partner Dokita.

One of the most moving segments of the event involved women sharing deeply personal experiences around emotional abuse, toxic family dynamics, marital struggles, childhood, trauma, grief, and emotional neglect.

Many attendees became visibly emotional while speaking about experiences they had never publicly discussed before.

Mental health professionals present at the event guided conversations around emotional regulation, healing from abuse, self-preservation, and the long-term impact of unresolved trauma.

Attendees described the gathering as safe, life-changing, comforting, and “exactly what was needed.”

In post-event feedback messages shared with the organizers, participants expressed gratitude for the vulnerability, warmth, and emotional safety created within the circle.

One attendee described the experience as “a thoughtful and meaningful space where people can process emotions, feel heard, and connect with others,” while another called it “one of those circles I would truly love to be part of.”

The event also incorporated structured impact measurement through baseline and midline wellbeing assessments, with end line evaluations scheduled for four weeks after the gathering as part of Olamma Cares’ ongoing commitment to data-informed community mental health interventions.

The Umé Healing Circle initiative forms part of Olamma Cares Foundation’s broader vision to expand culturally relevant healing spaces for African women through community-centered emotional wellness programming.

Following previous circles held across Oyo State, Enugu, and Abuja, the organization says future healing circles, eco-therapy experiences, and women-centered wellness communities are already in development as demand for the initiative continues to grow.

As the event came to a close, women danced, embraced, exchanged stories, and lingered in conversation — a soft but powerful reminder of the importance of community, emotional release, and collective healing in today’s world.