The courage nobody sees: Amplifying voices for Maternal Mental Health Week
For Maternal Mental Health Week, Wan, a volunteer with our Perinatal Mental Health Service, shares her powerful poem and personal journey supporting asylum‑seeking and refugee mothers in Leeds.
Maternal Mental Health Week is an opportunity to shine a light on the emotional wellbeing of mothers, raise awareness of the challenges many face, and highlight the importance of compassionate, culturally sensitive support. It is also a time to listen to voices that are too often unheard.
Understanding lived experiences
As part of this year’s Maternal Mental Health Week, we are sharing a poem written by Wan, a volunteer within our Perinatal Mental Health Team. Wan supports asylum‑seeking and refugee mothers in Leeds, bringing empathy, lived experience and understanding to her role. Her poem, The Courage Nobody Sees, reflects her own journey and the stories of many women she supports, stories of resilience, fear, hope and survival.
Wan’s journey and inspiration
“I’m really happy to collaborate and share the poem as part of Maternal Mental Health Week. It’s very close to my heart, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help amplify these voices and experiences.”
What inspired me to write the poem
The Courage Nobody Sees comes from my own lived experience. It reflects the quiet strength that many people carry, especially those going through displacement, motherhood, and rebuilding life in a new place. A lot of that courage is unseen, but it is very real.
What Maternal Mental Health Week means to me
It means recognition, understanding, and compassion. For many mothers, especially those from refugee and asylum‑seeking backgrounds, the challenges can be heavy and often hidden. This week is important because it gives space for those stories to be heard and acknowledged.
How my experiences have shaped the message
My journey, both personally and through supporting other women in the community, has deeply shaped this piece. I’ve seen how resilience and pain can exist together. This poem is not just my story, but a reflection of many voices – voices that are often unheard.
I believe storytelling is powerful. It can connect people, create understanding, and remind others that they are not alone.
“The Courage Nobody Sees”
When people hear the word courage
They imagine something bright
A hero in the spotlight
A victory in the light
But my story starts in silence
Where no one ever sees
The kind of quiet courage
That lives inside of me
I didn’t leave because I was strong
I left because I had to breathe
There was no safe place to belong
Just the least dangerous path for me
I burn, I break, but I still rise
With tears that no one ever sees
This is the strength behind my eyes
This is the courage nobody sees
I’m still here, I’m still alive
Through every storm that tried to take me
This is my truth, this is my fight
This is the courage nobody sees
City to city, room to room
A life inside a suitcase
A newborn sleeping on my chest
While fear I couldn’t erase
His heartbeat soft and steady
While mine was lost in pain
He was learning how to feel safe
While I learned to live again
I said “I’m not okay” out loud
When everything collapsed in me
I asked for help through all the shame
And faced my own reality
I burn, I break, but I still rise
With tears that no one ever sees
This is the strength behind my eyes
This is the courage nobody sees
I’m still here, I’m still alive
Through every storm that tried to take me
This is my truth, this is my fight
This is the courage nobody sees
From silence to a microphone
From invisible to known
I built a space for voices like mine
A place where we belong
Still healing while I help others
Still carrying my pain
But courage is not waiting to be whole
It’s rising up again
Ya Allah… keep my children safe
Even from far away
And one day by the ocean
We’ll find our peace again
I am still here
I did not disappear
This is what courage looks like
And I am still here
With thanks to Wan for sharing her words, her experience and her continued support for mothers in our communities.
Wan is a valued volunteer within our Perinatal Mental Health Service, supporting the community team that works alongside women and families across Leeds. The service provides specialist mental health care, advice and support during pregnancy and the first year after birth. You can find out more about the support available at: