Becoming a mum is generally one of life’s greatest experiences. However, it can also be an extremely isolating one. Once upon a time, we all lived a stones throw away from our families and friends and kids were brought up in villages and tribes with help readily available. But modern life for a lot of mums is a long way from that, and it seems to be a lot harder to make friends as adults than it was in 1st grade. I’ll admit that I’ve found life as a mum with 2 young kids tough, especially as we moved up to the Central Coast two years ago leaving a lot of friends behind in Sydney. I can completely relate to mums who have no family support close by (my parents are on the other side of the country and my husband’s are a 5 hour drive away). And sometimes being a work at home mum is even more isolating – at least when you work out of home you have other adults to talk to!
So if you’re a new (or not so new) mum and feeling lonely, where are you supposed to find support? The other day I came across Mama Tribe.
The idea of Mama Tribe is simple – try and connect local mama’s together. They want no mum to feel lonely, isolated or without support. Any mama or mama to be can join if you are looking for a walking buddy, coffee date, playgroup pal or someone to cry into a bottle of wine with. As they’re so new they’re constantly setting up new locations and no matter where in the world you are – are trying to support you.
Mamas who join the tribe will be able to connect with mamas in their local area for face to face support. That could be coming along to a meet up, finding a gym buddy, walking buddy – they encourage everyone to host their own catch ups, walks or post what they’re looking for. Being an online group, there is also great immediate, online support for anyone who needs it.
Nikki and Haley were not at all prepared for just how much the concept has taken off! In just a week since first creating the Facebook group they have amassed over 1000 members and now feel like they’ve created a platform that could help mums in a really big way! They’re even thinking about turning the idea into a not for profit so that they can apply for funding and sponsorship to run programs and meet ups in the areas they’re already in as well as expand to new areas. They’re also hoping to find someone with NFP experience to mentor them through that process (if you feel that could be you please get in touch with them).
The main group is on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourmamatribe/ but you can also find them on Instagram – @mamatribe_ or use the hashtag #nomumleftbehind.
And what’s the main thing they want you to take away from Mama Tribe? That you are not alone!