Afro-Swedish blogger and social entrepreneur, Lydia Lusambo, is not your typical whimsy influencer. Inspired and inspiring, the young woman is on her way to building a community through her new venture, SISTERHOOD, which premiered on November 18. When Lydia reached out to me to join her and a bunch of other black women, I quickly RSVP:ed a loud “YES”.
I moved to Sweden 10 years ago, leaving Paris and its buoyant African population and hoped to find a version parallel to that which I had back home. But like many of my expat counterparts, the overall lack of sense of community among people of African descent left me disappointed and feeling even more uprooted. I was in need of a black-women-get-together fix. I had been in withdrawal for a good ten years.
I met Lydia a few years ago at the genesis of KRULL. She had shown interest in the project but was already busy blogging and organising events. When asking her how she came to think about SISTERHOOD, she shares the story of her beginnings in the blogosphere.
“The journey to take me where I am today all started with me being so over my unhealthy hair. I was T I R E D! Like many of us, I had found material on YouTube but back in 2012 or so, 90% of the tools and products discussed were nowhere to be found in Scandinavia. Of course I had to vent about it and that’s when I started my first blog, So Nappy & Kinky. I learned that the word “nappy” was – and is still – used in a negative way so I decided to turn it into something positive instead. It started from having a small readership to gathering followers from all over the world. That’s when I realized I wasn’t alone and later on started sharing my experiences on social media which, not too long after, lead to organizing and hosting events. People always ask me “how do you get all this free stuff?”. What they don’t know is that nothing is free. Nothing. I stay up late and wake up early whenever I plan an event. There is a lot of work before and after. Doing all of that while working full-time as a flight attendant can be very tiring, but honestly, what keeps me going is the fact that one day, I will have to teach my future daughter or daughters the things that I had to learn by myself. Like the Swedish saying: “många bäckar små gör en stor å” (“every little helps” in English).
Very often it is the women who are the cement of a community. It is in that respect that Lydia envisioned sisterhood.
“To me sisterhood holds a lot of power. A lot more than what we think. The power to make or break you. The power to transform you into that woman or women you look up to. I’m in my 20’s and I’m just now grasping the meaning of sisterhood. Don’t get me wrong, most of my friends are females but as I started to evaluate my friendships I quickly realized that some of them were liabilities. Any relationship requires a balance. You give and receive. This became a lesson and the start of a new journey. Along the way I understood that we, women of color, can at times be each others as well as our own worst enemies. We are competing with each other when we should encourage and motivate each other. So, that is exactly what I decided to do.”
But with the lack of community I mentioned above, comes a lack of solidarity.
“The first event I organized around this concept motivated me to continue, even though I honestly wanted to give up several times due to the lack of genuine support. I invited a group of women that are all different, yet alike, and to see the transformation from everybody almost whispering when they introduced themselves to each one leaving with a smile and all giggles. I went to bed thinking, “wow I did that!” Little ole me you know. No degree, payment or help. Now that’s being a boss. Working around this concept has definitely been an eye-opener and I can’t wait to see what else the future holds for me and the women that I have gotten to know through my events. A degree doesn’t grant you wisdom. Wisdom comes through life experiences. As long as there is a need for it, I will continue to work on what I have to offer to our community.”
SISTERHOOD did not disappoint. A savvy event organizer, Lydia might be young but with her genuine care for her Afro-Swedish sisters, straightforward work ethics and no-nonsense way of communicating on important topics, I can’t help but see in her a burgeoning community leader in the larger sense of the term. She has a way of bringing people together and helps the chemistry between them get just right. I found myself spending a cosy Sunday afternoon among black women, sharing stories, opinions, good laughs and home-made food. The event was also the occasion for Lydia to tip us about trusted black skin friendly beauty and make-up brands and products. No self-serving advertising here, only tested and approved names.
On my way back home that evening, with a surprise goodie bag full of lush treats, I couldn’t help but feel as if I had just left one of my relative’s house, looking forward to the next meet.
Words – SAMANTHA BRAUN, LYDIA LUSAMBO
