WONDIVA Announces Motherless-Daughters Gathering 2026 to Create Space for Grief, Healing and Becoming
Growing up without a mother can leave gaps that are difficult to name. For some women, the loss happens in childhood and is followed almost immediately by responsibilities that leave little room for grief. For others, the absence becomes most apparent much later, when they encounter the milestones and decisions for which they had imagined having a mother beside them.
A woman may move through school, build a career, get married, have children and become the person others depend on, while carrying an unresolved sense of what was missing. In some cases, she may not even recognise the connection between that experience and the way she relates to herself, her relationships or the choices she makes.
It was this reality that led to the creation of the Motherless-Daughters Gathering, an initiative powered by WONDIVA Global Community. The first edition was held in Q1 of 2024, after WONDIVA founder Nkechi Emmanuel-Layode, popularly known as SAGENEL, began reflecting on the number of young girls and women whose lives may have been shaped by a deficiency of maternal presence, guidance or nurturing.
The second edition will hold virtually on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. WAT, under the theme “Raised Without Her: Becoming the Woman You Were Created to Be.”
The initiative is based on a recognition that motherlessness is not experienced in exactly the same way by every woman. Some have lost their mothers to death, while others may have grown up without the relationship, emotional presence or support they needed. What they share may not always be visible, and many have simply learned to function around the absence.
For WONDIVA, creating a space for these women requires going beyond the usual conversations about loss. The gathering will examine the emotional and developmental implications of growing up without a mother, including grief that may have remained unprocessed, difficult milestones and triggers, questions of identity and self-worth, confidence, personal values and the challenge of developing a sense of self without maternal mirroring.
The programme will also consider the role of faith in that process, particularly the experience of depending on God and abiding in Him. WONDIVA’s approach recognises that a woman’s faith in God does not necessarily eliminate her desire for human connection and maternal care. A woman can understand God as her Father and still long for the guidance, affirmation and nurturing relationship that can come from another woman.
This is also where the initiative’s emphasis on mothers and mentors comes in.
WONDIVA intends for the gathering to become more than a one-day conversation. Part of its broader vision is to encourage women to step into mentoring relationships with younger women and girls who need guidance, encouragement and someone who can walk alongside them through important seasons of life.
The objective is not to suggest that another woman can replace a mother who has been lost. Rather, it is to acknowledge that meaningful female relationships can play an important role in helping women navigate experiences for which they may otherwise have very little support.
The gathering therefore creates room for participants to talk about experiences they may have never articulated before, while also connecting them to a community where those experiences can be understood without judgement.
At the heart of the conversation is the question of what happens after the loss. Beyond grieving what was not available, how does a woman understand who she is? How does she develop her own convictions, build confidence and make decisions without allowing the absence to define her future?
That is reflected in the gathering’s central theme: “Becoming the Woman You Were Created to Be.”
The event comes during a significant year for WONDIVA, which is marking 10 years since the community was founded in 2016. What began on WhatsApp with fewer than 20 women has developed into a broader women-focused community and ministry. The Motherless-Daughters Gathering is one of the ways WONDIVA is using that community to address experiences that are often difficult to discuss publicly.
The 2026 gathering will be fully virtual and free to attend, making it accessible to women and girls regardless of their location.
Participants will engage with conversations around The Hidden Hurts, Identity Beyond Motherlessness, and Depending on God and Abiding in Him, with the broader goal of helping women understand their experiences, process what has remained unresolved and continue building their lives from a place of greater wholeness.
The Motherless-Daughters Gathering is scheduled for Saturday, October 3, at 1:00 p.m. WAT.
Registration is free and available here:
Register for the Motherless-Daughters Gathering
Participants can also join the WONDIVA WhatsApp community here:
Join the WONDIVA WhatsApp Group
For registration assistance, interested participants can send a WhatsApp message to 0808 777 6755.
The second edition continues a conversation that WONDIVA began in 2024: not simply about what women lose when they grow up without their mothers, but about how they can process that experience, find meaningful support and continue becoming the women they were created to be.
