Born out of adversity, created by experience
Italian born Rosangela Borromeo, moved to London in 1988 and has been living in Camden ever since. When the UK went into lockdown, Rosangela lost her work in reflexology and a close member of her family. She found herself in a position of hardship, something that was unfortunately familiar to her. She recalls, “I said to myself, now what? I’m in the same position I’ve found myself in previously…when I had a critical accident and other such difficulties. Here I am again, in this position again, what do I do now?”
Her focus immediately turned outward into helping others and creating something from her own experience. She explains, “I want to do something to help other people who have had difficulties in regaining their confidence because mine was totally down.” She thought of all her qualifications, work experiences, and methods she had used to cope herself and created a series of workshops called ‘You, Mocha and Style’.
You, Mocha and Style
Since January 2022, Rosangela has delivered five, two hour workshops with the help of funding from the We Make Camden kit and the donation of space by Old Diorama Arts Centre. The workshops are split into the three themes that make up the name.
’You’ looks at the holistic person, not just the appearance but also lifestyle, environment – every aspect of an individual. Learning stress management is also an integral part of this theme, and experts have been invited to present on techniques such as Qigong and Tibetan bowl meditation, while Rosangela shared her expertise on reflexology.
‘Mocha’ refers to the aim of making people feel as comfortable as possible when they enter the space. This is achieved by how the space is set up, the music and the lighting, along with a hot drink. Rosangela shares, “when I was really in a bad situation, I used to feel so stressed and anxious even just going to the GP, so I want others that are in a similar situation to feel relaxed, like having a mocha on your own sofa.”
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you come from, you can celebrate yourself with style.”
Rosangela Borromeo
‘Style’ looks at confidence that can come from making even a small change in appearance. Rosangela brings in her experience working in the fashion industry, giving talks on how to adjust style, keeping budget in mind. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you come from”, she points out “you can celebrate yourself with style; for example, people from Bangladesh who have their hijab and the henna, have their own unique beautiful style”.
Though the above themes are the key components of the ethos of the workshops delivered, Rosangela also brings in speakers with inspirational stories of success to share, from all walks of life. The music played and images shown also echo the message of hope and encouragement.
Rosangela has magnificently harnessed all her life experiences, positive and negative, to deliver workshops that connect with her community, and though this wasn’t the primary aim, she found she gained confidence within herself by doing so.
Photo credits: Karishma Puri
Get funding for your idea
If you’d like to start your own activity for people in Camden, you could apply for funding and support from the We Make Camden kit.
