Welcome Email

My name is Salwa and I was born in Jinja, Uganda and grew up in Seattle, Washington. I created Fundamental Hunger at the beginning of 2020, but it took two years to fully believe that it was worth pursuing. One of the most authentic ways I express myself is through writing, which is why this newsletter gives me a full bodied yes. The idea for Fundamental Hunger landed in my mind during the first Covid lockdown. I was contemplating what it meant to feel unconditional belonging, and what I truly craved beyond my external responsibilities. 

In this current and what seems like a never-ending chapter, I'm leaning into being seen, while reckoning with wanting to remain invisible. I am redefining how I belong to me, while knowing that I can not do it alone. On February 17th 2022, I decided to show up every single day for 90 days, to create a relationship with the fearful story that dominated me. The story that boldly claimed I didn't have a right to share the ideas that came from my heart. It said that Fundamental Hunger could never be anything because I don't know what it means to be Black. That I was a nobody. The audacity!

I chose to finally convene with this story with similar gusto.

I love creating intimacy with parts of myself that haven't been able to fully express their potential. I nicknamed this process 90 Days of Belonging, and as soon as I began, I knew I couldn't stop. On the 90th day, I knew I had to share it with people who were ready to belong to a severed part of themselves, too. What does it mean to be seen, when you are hiding from yourself? This revelation was the pause I needed to end the chase towards being liked and getting it “right”. 90 Days of Belonging is a ritual that led me to see how wrong I was about pieces of myself. It has also given me the courage to allow others to be wrong about me, too. 

Before I began writing, I was plagued by the belief that it was safer to be a nobody. This internal war has turned out to be fairly harmless. Why? Because I'm essentially fighting to be myself, with myself. Not hiding from shame is a much more pleasant place to live from. For the majority of my life, I have been fenced in with the part of me that only knew how to survive, while looking away from the version of me that holds the power to flourish. 

My 90 Days of Belonging is quickly turning into life long liberation, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. 

Once a week, you will receive a raw entry from my first experience with 90 Days of Belonging. These entries created more honesty with what was holding me back, and in the end, unbound me from who I think I should be. I firmly believe that the closer I see myself, the more harmony I create. 90 Days of Belonging held me accountable for not leaving versions of me in the dust, and the grit to share it with those who are willing to join me. Thank you for listening to a voice that has been silenced for far too long. I hope it ignites what you desire to express, too.