Break the Silence, Build a Future

Gender-based violence rarely starts with an incident report. It starts long before, in the silences and institutional practices that come first — the hiring, the training, the crisis-response protocols that quietly teach survivors that disclosure isn't safe. In this episode, host Fartumo Kusow sits down with Dr. Pamela J. Pine, founder of Stop the Silence® and a 25+ year veteran of work at the int...

She was reported missing on a Tuesday and was found the following Tuesday. In between were seven days that stretched into forever for one family and a police investigation racing against a clock no one could see. In this episode of Eight Minutes to Silence, host Fartumo Kusow walks through how investigators actually found her daughter, Sahra: a shelter's 24-hour missing-person protocol, a detectiv...

For four minutes: Content note: this episode discusses witness testimony related to gender-based violence and a homicide trial. It does not include graphic detail. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode: — The four minutes outside Room 27, and what the surveillance video showsa motel manager stood outside a locked door — knocking, listening, pressing his face to the glass — while the only...

A stranger’s decision to speak up from a motel room in Windsor may be the difference between silence and survival. In this episode, host Fartumo Kusow examines what happens when a sound through the wall feels wrong—and whether hesitation can become a moral turning point. A married couple from the UK checks into room 22 of the Best Way Motel, directly below room 27, where Sahra is staying. In the m...

Content note: This episode discusses domestic and gender-based violence. Listener discretion advised. Leaving an abusive relationship isn't a single decision — it's a series of calculated, survival-driven choices. In this episode of Eight Minutes to Silence , host Fartumo Kusow sits down with Sofi Khan to unpack what researchers and advocates call "strategic silence" — the deliberate quiet survivo...

Before the trial. Before the headlines. This is Sahra. In Episode 2 of Eight Minutes to Silence , Fartumo Kusow introduces her daughter Sahra as the child she loved, the memories, the moments, the life that existed before the world only knew her story through loss. This episode walks through the timeline of the day Sahra disappeared, honouring who she was before turning toward what the trial would...

I thought I knew what a trial would look like. Television prepares you for a few dramatic days and clear answers — it does not prepare you for three and a half weeks of testimony, evidence entered page by page, and a level of care I didn't expect. In this season opener, I walk you through what it actually meant to sit through my daughter Sahra's trial: the moment I was asked to give my own blood s...

What could you do with eight minutes? Fold a load of laundry. Brew a pot of coffee. Sit through the previews before a movie starts. It's nothing. A time you don't even notice passing. But eight minutes of silence isn't nothing. It's a phone ringing with no one answering. A door someone almost knocked on. Every second someone could have acted, and didn't. Eight minutes is how long it took to alter...

Join us as Babs Walters, author of "Facing the Jaguar," shares her transformative journey of overcoming trauma and finding empowerment through storytelling. In this episode of "Break the Silence, Build the Future," Babs reveals how confronting the symbolic jaguar helped her break the silence and embark on a healing journey. Discover the power of memoir writing and the courage it takes to face one'...

Silence is not protection — silence is permission. In this clip from Break the Silence, Build a Future, Fartumo Kusow, author, advocate, and founder of the Sahra Bulle Foundation, explains why silence costs lives and why breaking it is the first step toward ending gender-based violence (GBV). As part of the #IamSahraBulle Campaign 2025, this message calls us to recommit — through the Purple Ribbon...

🎙️ Episode Title (specific + SEO) Breaking the Silence: Community Action Against Gender-Based Violence #IamSahraBulle Campaign 2025 In this powerful opening episode of Break the Silence, Build a Future, Fartumo Kusow — author, storyteller, and founder of the Sahra Bulle Foundation — emphasizes the urgent need for action against gender-based violence (GBV) and the dangers of silence. Through her pe...

When Sally McQuillen lost her 21-year-old son in a tragic accident, her world changed forever. In this powerful episode, Sally, author of Reaching for Beautiful: A Memoir of Loving and Losing a Wild Child, joins host Fartumo Kusow for a deeply honest conversation about parenting through fear, the weight of grief, and the journey toward forgiveness and healing. Together, they explore the complexiti...

What happens when survivors do everything they’re “supposed” to — and the system still fails them? In this second episode of our 30-day campaign series, host Fartumo Kusow confronts the institutional silence that surrounds gender-based violence. From missed warnings to broken protections, we ask what it really means when silence is built into the structures meant to keep us safe. 🎧 Listen to this...

n this opening episode of a special five-part lead-up to the #IamSahraBulle campaign, host Fartumo Kusow reflects on the grief that changed everything—the grief that came after losing her daughter, Sahra, to intimate partner violence. But this isn’t just a story about loss. It’s about the kind of grief that doesn’t settle down. The kind that asks more of you. The kind that won’t let you stay quiet...

Grief doesn’t move in a straight line—and it doesn’t always soften with time. In this deeply reflective episode, Fartumo Kusow marks the two-year anniversary of her daughter’s death and shares how the pain has not lessened, but deepened. With raw honesty, she explores what it feels like when grief returns like a storm you didn’t expect—and what to do when it settles in and takes the place where lo...

June 5, 2023. 10 PM. A knock on the door. And then—a single sentence that shattered everything I knew. In this deeply personal episode, I recount the night I was told my daughter had been murdered. What followed was not just grief—it was a transformation of identity, purpose, and the very shape of my world. This story is about the line between before and after, and what it means to live when every...

What do you do when the dream you built your life around disappears? In this powerful episode of Break the Silence, Build a Future, host [Your Name] is joined by writer and advocate Shaimaa Kraba to explore what it means to face the end of a cherished dream—and begin again. Together, they talk about grief, identity, healing, and the courage it takes to reclaim your voice and reimagine your future....

What do you do when the dream you held so tightly begins to fall apart? In Part One of this powerful three-part series, host Fartumo sits down with Shaimaa Kraba to explore the unraveling of a dream once rooted in hope, identity, and purpose. Together, they reflect on the slow realization that what you imagined for your life is no longer possible—and the grief that comes with letting it go. This e...

After grief or trauma, you’re not the same. But how do you find yourself again when the person you were feels so far away? In this episode, host [Your Name] explores the quiet, confusing process of identity transformation after loss. Through deeply personal reflections, she speaks to the feeling of being unrecognizable—to yourself and others—and how to gently reconnect with the person you’re becom...

What happens after the calls stop, the meals end, and the world moves on—but you can’t? In this first episode of Season 3, host Fartumo Kusow reflects on the quiet after loss—the space where grief truly begins. Through personal storytelling and honest conversation, she explores what it feels like to survive a life-altering moment, only to be left asking: Now what? If you're standing in that silenc...

After everything changes, it’s natural to want your old life back. But what if healing isn’t about returning to who you were—but becoming someone new? In this episode, host, Fartumo Kusow, explores the often overlooked grief of losing the life you thought you’d have—and why not being able to “go back” isn’t a sign of weakness or failure. Through personal storytelling and reflection, she speaks to...

Not all grief is acknowledged, and not all losses are visible. Some grief is carried in silence—unspoken, unresolved, and often overlooked. In this episode of Break the Silence, Build a Future, we explore the quiet pain of grief that isn't tied to death but to loss that goes unrecognized: lost relationships, dreams that never came true, and versions of ourselves that no longer exist. I share my pe...

Grief is not just about loss—it is love that still lingers, love that refuses to fade. In this episode, I explore how grief is a continuation of love, a connection that remains even when the person we love is gone. How do we carry grief as a reflection of love rather than as pain? How do we keep their presence alive in our lives? Join me as we explore grief as love remembered. 💛 Listen now and ho...

Holding onto love, memories, and identity after loss—navigating the fear of forgetting while embracing healing. Grief isn’t just about loss—it’s about the fear of losing the memories, the voice, the presence of the person we love. In this deeply personal episode, I explore my struggle with the fear of forgetting my daughter and how trauma can overshadow the memories we desperately want to hold ont...

Joining Fartumo Kusow are Rabbi Adam Chalom and Rabbi Jodi Kornfeld, leading voices in Humanistic Judaism, who bring a unique perspective on grief, healing, and the power of collective action. They share insights from their book, Contemporary Humanistic Judaism: Beliefs, Values, Practices, offering practical ways communities can provide tangible support beyond thoughts and prayers. In this episode...