Hello

Why RITE Women’s Network Exists
RITE Women’s Network Inc. began as a vision God placed in my heart.

On November 26, 2019, I wrote in my journal about a revelation to create an organization that would support and empower women, youth, and children. At the time, I did not have a name, funding, a board, or a complete plan. I simply had the vision and trusted that the purpose would become clearer.

Looking back, I realize that many parts of my life were preparing me for this work. My lived experiences include war trauma, loss, displacement, mental health struggles, motherhood, survival, healing, education, mentoring, leadership, and service.

Through those experiences, I learned something important: surviving and healing are not the same. Survival can help us make it through difficult seasons. Healing can help us understand what we have experienced, reconnect with who we are, and move forward with greater purpose.

Giving Others What I Once Needed
In many ways, RITE carries the heart of my younger self.

As a youth and young woman, I wanted a mentor. I needed guidance, encouragement, and sometimes simply someone safe to talk to. I did not always need someone to have all the answers. Sometimes I needed someone to listen, guide me, and remind me that there was more ahead of me than what I was experiencing at that moment. Through RITE, I want to help provide others with some of what I needed but did not always have growing up—a community where people can find mentorship, education, encouragement, supportive relationships, resources, referrals, and connections to professional help when needed. RITE is also like something I have given birth to—a vision that deserves to be nurtured, protected, developed, and given my very best. From Reflection to RITE My education at St. Catherine University helped equip me to turn the vision into action. A course called The Reflective Woman encouraged me not only to gain knowledge, but to reflect deeply and consider how I could use what I learned to make a difference in my community.

The title of that course also inspired me as I began thinking about the organization's name. As I prayed and reflected on the purpose God had given me, I originally chose:
Renew • Inform • Transform • Empower Then my son, Kingsford, said to me, “Mom, I think ‘Inspire’ would be better than ‘Inform.’”

I thought about his suggestion and realized he was right. RITE should do more than provide information. I want people to be inspired—to recognize their value, see possibilities beyond their circumstances, and believe that healing and transformation are possible. And so RITE became: Renew • Inspire • Transform • Empower The vision came from God. My lived experiences helped me understand the need. My education helped equip me to turn the vision into action. And my son helped me complete the name that would carry the vision forward. My studies in Holistic Health further strengthened my understanding that healing involves the whole person.

Our mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, relational, and social well-being are connected. Supporting the Whole Family The original vision centered on women, youth, and children. But as the vision continued to grow, I began thinking more deeply about men and fathers. Earlier in 2026, I realized that if we truly want to strengthen families, men and fathers must also have opportunities to receive support, healing, mentorship, education, encouragement, and resources. If we support women and children but leave fathers unsupported, much of the responsibility can remain on women. Supporting men does not take away from our commitment to women. It strengthens our commitment to the entire family. When women are supported, families benefit. When men and fathers are supported, families benefit. And when both have opportunities to heal and grow, children benefit even more.

Why Healing Matters I believe healing is both personal and generational. When individuals heal, families can become healthier. When families become healthier, children have greater opportunities to experience safer, more nurturing, and less traumatic childhoods. Those children have greater opportunities to become emotionally healthy, emotionally intelligent, compassionate, resilient, and self-aware adults. The impact can continue from there: Healthier individuals → Healthier families → Stronger communities → Healthier nations → A better world That is why healing matters so deeply to me. When we help one person heal, we may also be changing the life of a child we will never meet. We may be interrupting a cycle of pain that could otherwise continue into another generation. From Survival to Purpose I believe we were created for more than merely surviving. We were created with value, potential, greatness, gifts, and a unique purpose. Healing can help us rediscover who we are beneath what has happened to us. As we reconnect with ourselves, we can begin recognizing our gifts, understanding our identity, and discovering our unique calling. For me, that journey is: Surviving → Healing → Identity → Purpose → Impact My hope is that RITE becomes a community where people can reflect, learn, connect, receive encouragement, find resources, and know they do not have to navigate difficult seasons alone. It is a place where faith can be welcomed while recognizing that faith does not replace appropriate professional mental health or medical care. And someday, the person who once needed someone to reach for them may become the person reaching back to help someone else. That is the heart of RITE. You matter. Your story matters. Your healing matters. And your purpose matters. Renew • Inspire