For our July spotlight, we are pleased to introduce Kasia Rachfall, a WCC facilitator since 2024. Based in the Okanagan valley, Kasia is currently bringing to life on-site workshops in Kelowna and the surrounding region—a massive first for WCC!
Describe your journey as a WCC facilitator – how did you find WCC, and when did you become a facilitator?
KASIA: I host a writing group at my local library and I first learned about WCC from a participant who attended it. After reading through the WCC website, I was delighted to discover that this organization delivered workshops with the very same focus as mine. My methodology for the group focuses on expressive writing and encouragement, instead of critique, so that new and experienced writers can reconnect with their authentic voice (that maybe had been silenced in their life). I immediately submitted my application and attended WCC Facilitator Training in September 2024.
Can you tell us about what’s new in Kelowna and the Okanagan? What workshops are you developing, and what do you anticipate about their impact?
KASIA: I am so excited to facilitate WCC workshops through the Okanagan Regional Library, at the main Kelowna branch this summer and fall. I’ve also partnered with Freedom’s Door, a men’s recovery centre, to deliver workshops to their participants. Additionally, I’m in conversation with Foundry Kelowna, a youth wellness centre, and have a list of other organizations to approach. However, right now, I am looking for other local Okanagan volunteers to join me and support a wider program delivery. As much as I’d love to only facilitate writing workshops all day, I still have my own client therapy practice where I work.
I anticipate there will be a positive impact for the communities accessing our workshops. The WCC methodology allows our voices to come alive in a beautiful and inspiring way. People are always so surprised at what they can write when they join a brave space to write in, and I want to bring that opportunity to more people!
What do you experience in a WCC workshop, when you write in community?
KASIA: I’m always amazed at the words that flow through me when I write in a WCC workshop. I think it’s because I know that my words will be respected and honoured, rather than critiqued or compared. This allows my voice to feel safe, and for me to try new things, even poetry! I believe the structure and principles of WCC workshops are what make that possible.
Reflect on one of WCC’s Six Essential Practices. What does it mean to you, and what is the significance of it in your workshops?
KASIA: The Six Essential Practices are the very bones of a WCC workshop, and I lean on them absolutely when I facilitate. It’s difficult to choose one as more impactful than the others. Number three is a close contender. I love that we take everything written as fiction because it completely opens one’s freedom of expression. We don’t ask questions about the piece or analyze it in any way, because we just allow it to exist as a written story, with characters and a plot where things happen—it’s that simple. I know and trust that by using these Essential Practices, I hold a space writers can depend on, and this is space is crucial for successfully building a creative community together.
Why do YOU write? Tell us about your relationship to writing!
KASIA: I have always been a writer, but, in my teens, my voice was shut down and I stopped sharing my writing with anyone. I didn’t stop writing, however I kept it very guarded. Now in my 40s, after much post-traumatic growth and healing, I’ve decided that life is too short not to tell the stories I have to tell. I began to seek out other writers and creatives to form a community where all our voices can be celebrated. In the last few years I’ve written stories, songs, and poems. and I am working on a novel. Writing is challenging and it’s also the closest thing I have to real magic—with just pen and paper, I can take any idea and bring it to life in seconds.
Thank you, Kasia, for your steadfast work in bringing WCC workshops to the Okanagan. We’re so thrilled to continue expanding our community of courageous writers and artists.
If you are interested in facilitating WCC workshops in Kelowna/the Okanagan, click here to find our volunteer facilitator application form and upcoming facilitator training dates.