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One of Creamos’ core values is solidarity. In a community where people are forced to resort to an individualist mentality, we strive to create opportunities and environments where women can come together and support each other. Karina and Eva are two Creamos participants that embody this value. They have cultivated a relationship through similar life trajectories and experiences. Both women began participating in Creamos’ exercise program in 2015. Although Karina joined the sewing program first, Eva was only a few months behind her and this year, both women were nominated by their peers to become the leaders of the sewing workshop. In 2020 they were both offered scholarships to study psychology in the same university, and have just completed their third semester. The friendship between Eva and Karin has evolved in profound ways over the past few years. We’d like to share the evolution of their friendship in their own words (translated, of course).
Evolution of the friendship
Eva: Over the past few years, our relationship has changed a lot. When we first started coming to Creamos, we didn’t even know each other. We then started to participate in zumba, yoga, and nutrition together, and we slowly started to get to know each other. We became friends outside of the walls of Creamos, and started doing activities together with our children. We would go to the park almost every weekend. Today, we have a really beautiful friendship, which was strengthened by university and working together. We have learned to communicate honestly, even when we are annoyed with each other. That has helped us so much professionally and personally.
Karina: When we first became friends, we didn’t have to have strong communication. We saw one another in sports classes, and we were always nice to each other, but our friendship was never challenged. When we started to have to work together more, we had some trouble explaining and communicating things. As time has progressed, we have developed a much better understanding of each other. Whether we are at work, school, or just spending time together as friends, we have always tried to support each other the best we can. We give each other advice, and I feel so supported by her. We also trust each other a lot and just have a really special friendship.
Studying together
Eva: Studying together has been so helpful. Karina has been a huge help for me. We are both new to using a computer, so a lot of times I need her help with technology. When teachers are explaining something, sometimes I catch something she misses, or she’ll catch something that I miss, and we’ll explain it to one another. When we need to, we’ll do video calls and we are on the phone together almost every night. When the teacher gives us homework, we always do it together. It is really a mutually supportive friendship.
Karina: Being in university together has been so helpful in many ways. We both have different strengths in school, and we always take the time to make sure the other understands what the other misses. We go out of our way to help each other as much as possible. Having Eva there has also made it a lot easier to make friends because we are more confident together.
Working together
Eva: Karina and I spend a lot of time working together, but studying the same topic has made us more aligned. We are both committed to incorporating empathy into our leadership style. We know that we are not better than any other participant because we are the “leaders.” We both try to listen, and take everyone's ideas into consideration. Using empathy has taught us to take into account everyone’s opinions because that is how we form new ideas and that is how we work better as a team.
Karina: We try to evenly divide the work so we have equal responsibility and lead as fairly as possible. We don’t want everyone to be best friends, but we want everyone to understand the importance of working together. We both go out of our way to make sure everyone respects each other so we can produce products in harmony. We tell everyone that when we are at work, we try to focus on being present and take a break from problems that are happening outside.
Learning from each other
Eva: I have learned to be sincere. Karina does such a good job of saying everything she feels, and it has taught me to express my needs better as well, in a respectful way. I have learned to be more proactive from her. She is always anticipating problems and thinking a few steps ahead. I have also learned to be a better communicator through our friendship.
Karina: One of the best things Eva has taught me is to not be worried about the small stuff. Eva never focuses on little problems, she always sees the big picture. She is also a really patient person, and she does not act on impulse. I try to learn as much as I can because she really takes time to think about the decisions she makes, and things she says.
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