Sandra, who is a wife, mother, volunteer, chef and trained lawyer, said: “I try as much as possible to lift up the spirit of the person next to me.”
Sandra Nwankwo is the founder of She Smiles Again
A mum-of-three is giving women in Hull a reason to smile again with a free event that brings them together to “have a breather” and socialise without the demands of work, life and family. The She Smiles Again event is a free night where women can dress up in their finest peach or pink clothing, walk the “pink carpet” and enjoy a few hours of entertainment, connection and crafting.
The event is the brainchild of Sandra Nwankwo, who practised as a lawyer in her native Nigeria. She now works the demanding role of head chef in her family’s restaurant, African Village on Holderness Road, while being a wife and mother to her three children, aged eight, five and three.
Sandra decided to create the event to give women in Hull a night off and “celebrate women and make us reconnect, remembering the time before all the weight of the world fell on us”. There will be food, dancing, an art workshop, music from a saxophonist and a chance to connect with other women, away from the pressures of everyday life. Sandra remembers the day she decided to do something to uplift herself and the women around her.
Sandra said: “I remember vividly the day the idea happened. Professionally I’m a lawyer with about 15 years of experience. That was back in my country. I came to England three years ago, and when I moved here it was such a big move for me. In Africa I had that support system, people looking after the kids, family members. It didn’t limit me as such. My husband was here in England. I was doing mental health training, holding seminars, and children’s safety. Then I came here and I was left on my own.
“I’m the head chef in a restaurant, everything depends on me. I was working with St John’s ambulance, volunteering with the British Red Cross. When I’m going on the school run I was walking like a robot. Then I realised you don’t know how someone’s day is going or what they are going through at the moment, so I try as much as possible to lift up the spirit of the person next to me.
“Fast forward to one day, I was so overwhelmed at the restaurant. I didn’t know what to do. I said how I wish I could have a day off, a breather. What I’m doing at the moment is not what I want to do, but I have to, that’s what most women do, we are in survival mode. We keep taking on more and more.
“The day I said that, I had three women come into the restaurant who said ‘I need a rest, I need a break’. This was back in December last year. I wanted to do it on International Women’s Day, but I pushed it back and kept cancelling because I knew it was going to cost me so much.
Sandra is hosting the first ever She Smiles Again event at St Mark’s Community Hall on Belfield Avenue, from 6pm to 10pm on Saturday, October 17. There will be a pink carpet and women are encouraged to dress in their most glamorous, pink or peach attire. Sandra said she is “so excited” to create a space for women to come together to take the night off their regular duties.
“I do want to have some experts to come talk, like mental wellbeing coaches, but it’s more about enjoyment and having a breather than the lectures. We are going to do a painting session and a mindfulness exercise. We are going to do some vision boarding, and will be writing a letter to ourselves. We are going to dance, a saxophonist is going to come and serenade us. We’ll eat a lot, dance a lot, celebrate women and make us reconnect.”
Sandra has carefully selected the venue so people can easily arrive on public transport and the event is completely free. “I know it’s a lot financially on me,” she said. “I’m not a CIC, so I can’t start writing to councils to ask them to sponsor the event. But if you hinge your vision on another person, that vision might not start 90% of the time. I don’t want anything to limit a woman from having that time, that breather, that enjoyment. I just want us to have that one night for ourselves, just for once we deserve it.”
The intention is to make the She Smiles Again event an annual occurrence. “Hopefully the next year we can take it to a place where it’s a private estate where we can do some physical activities, and have a whole day off.” She says she will endeavour to keep her events free for as long as possible.
The first ever She Smiles Again event will run from 6pm to 10pm on Saturday, October 17, at St Mark’s Community Hall in Hull. The outfit theme is “Glamorous in Pink or Peach” and attendees are invited to dress in what makes them feel and look good. There is no charge to attend but there is a limited number of tickets, which can be reserved on Eventbrite by searching “She Smiles Again”.
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