From the very beginning, Dawa was rooted in the Sankofa approach. The Sankofa bird, which is reflected in our logo, teaches us to look back in order to move forward. That philosophy lives at the center of this movement. So much of what we call “ancestral wellness” is really about remembering.  Remembering the wisdom of the Earth.  Remembering nourishment.  Remembering community.  Remembering rest.  Remembering sacred birth.  Remembering how to care for our bodies, our families, and one another. Our ancestors carried wisdom that still has the power to heal us today; let us look back together.

In 2016, I took a series of African history classes that completely changed my life. And I don’t mean the watered down versions we often receive. These classes taught about our richness, our revolutionary spirit, our joy, our intelligence, our connection to the Earth, and the beauty of our ancestors across the world. Something woke up in me.That curiosity naturally led me to plants, food, and healing. During this time, I was working at a credit union and living with my parents. While I was seemingly content, deep down I knew I wanted something different for my life. So I quit my job! I became an apprentice on a local farm, enrolled in herbalism classes, and began building my own library of plant medicine books. I immersed myself in the world of herbs, nourishment, ancestral healing, and nature. With my newfound knowledge I started making tinctures, skincare products, moisturizers, teas, and simple plant medicines. First for myself, then for my family as gifts during the holidays. It brought me so much joy.

In 2017, I became pregnant with my first born child. And again, that same curiosity, what I now recognize as my intuition, guided me towards a home birth. I wanted something that felt right. So I started researching. I went straight to the library and checked out every natural birth book I could find. The more I learned, the more I realized I wanted a birth experience rooted in ancestral wisdom.  Successfully giving birth to my first child at home completely transformed me. It was one of the most powerful and liberating experiences of my life. That experience showed me that my body was wise. It showed me that I was capable. It showed me that I could accomplish things I once thought were impossible. That birth changed the direction of my life forever.

In 2021, I welcomed my third child through another sacred home birth experience. Each birth deepened my trust in the body, in intuition, in prayer, and in the sacredness of bringing life into the world with peace, support, and love. I wanted to help families experience the same sacred and empowering births that changed my life. That same year, I received doula training through Shafia Monroe.  But after supporting a few hospital births, I realized something important: My true calling was not navigating harmful systems. My calling was helping families reconnect to ancestral wellness before, during, and after birth. I realized that nourishment is bigger than food or birth alone. Healing is holistic. It’s how we move. How we rest. How we breathe. How we gather. How we pray. How we regulate stress. How we connect to the Earth. How we care for the womb. How we build community. That realization completely expanded the vision of Dawa.

Through this evolution, I created and taught maternal nutrition trainings where over 100 people were trained as Food Wellness Leaders within their communities. Together, we explored how nourishment before, during, and after birth can completely transform families and future generations. But even then, I knew the work was continuing to evolve. Because this was never just about food or birth.  It was about helping people reclaim their birthright to vibrant health and harmony with nature.

In Summer of 2024, we launched the first Dawa Nature School. This experience was created to help youth reconnect with nature through hands on learning, plant medicine, grounding, food growing, herbal education, creativity, and ancestral wisdom. As we all know, our children are the future. They are the legacy keepers that will pass down healing wisdom to future generations.

In 2025, the Wrap Our Womb movement began. What started as a personal womb wellness practice became something much bigger. I realized womb wrapping wasn’t only supportive during pregnancy or postpartum. Women were experiencing comfort, softness, grounding, and support during menstruation, bloating, cramping, emotional stress, and everyday life. And deeper than that,  I realized how disconnected so many women have become from their wombs and bodies. The Dawa womb wrap became more than a product. It became a healing tool. A doorway back to softness. Back to nourishment. Back to body awareness. Back to sacred feminine healing.

Today, DAWA is an ancestral wellness education movement rooted in one core belief: Nature is our first medicine. Through workshops, trainings, youth programming, womb wellness experiences, speaking engagements, and community gatherings, we help families reconnect to the wisdom that has always lived within us. And while Dawa may have started as a one woman vision, I’m deeply grateful that it is now becoming a family and community movement. Having my family involved in this work means everything to me because healing was never meant to happen alone. Everything we create is rooted in one mission: Helping families build healing legacies for generations to come.  And we already carry so much wisdom within us, sometimes we just need help remembering. Cheers to our healing family legacies! Cheers to our Vibrant health!!