Curated for Black Women
A Divine Pause® Kenya Sabbatical
Divine Pause® is creating a category of its own bridging guided rest,
cultural stewardship, and destination-based sabbatical experiences.
Divine Pause® Kenya Sabbatical
The Divine Pause® Kenya Sabbatical is a culturally rooted homecoming for Black women who have carried responsibility so consistently that few recognize how heavy it has been. You are capable, relied on, steady, and quietly tired in places you do not name. This is not a retreat. It is a nine day, eight night sabbatical designed as a deliberate interruption long enough for your body to reset and for your capacity to rebuild from the inside out.
Kenya is chosen for its breathtaking beauty and for the quiet peace many women feel in their bodies when they are on African soil. There is a shift that happens when your Blackness is not questioned, managed, or misunderstood. The nervous system softens before the mind catches up. Your breath deepens. Your shoulders lower. For many women, it is the first time in years they experience that ease. That shift is a return, a release and a homecoming.
This experience is structured around spacious time, culturally grounded presence, elevated care within culturally rooted spaces, and guided reflection anchored in Pause. Breathe. Realign.™ The result is not simply relaxation but nervous system restoration, a depth of rest that allows your body to soften because it no longer has to carry everything.
Participation is intentionally limited to preserve depth and privacy. This nine day, eight night experience includes accommodations, ground transportation, daily breakfast, select lunches and dinners thoughtfully curated to support the rhythm of the experience, guided facilitation, and curated cultural immersion.
This is an invitation to be held without having to hold everything else and to experience rest that restores your body, not just your schedule.
Our next stop Nairobi & Lamu Island September 4th - 13th, 2026
Kenya offers something rare.
A place where the vibrant energy of Nairobi meets the timeless rhythm of the Indian Ocean.
Your journey begins in Nairobi, a city alive with culture, creativity, and possibility. From there, we travel to the peaceful beauty of Lamu Island, where whitewashed Swahili architecture, warm ocean breezes, and quiet coastal rhythms invite your body to slow down and soften.
This is not a packed itinerary or a performative wellness retreat.
It is an intentional pause.
Over 9 days and 8 nights, we create space for rest, cultural connection, reflection, and renewal. A journey designed for women who have carried a lot for a long time and are ready to reconnect with themselves again.
Join us for a 9 day, 8 night Divine Pause® Sabbatical Experience in Nairobi and Lamu Island, Kenya.
The Experience
At Divine Pause®, a sabbatical is an intentional interruption.
This experience is not about observing from a distance. It is an invitation into presence and relationship with yourself and the Motherland.
Nairobi National Safari
Nairobi National Park is the only safari in the world where a capital city was built around protected wildlife land. Giraffes, lions, and rhinos move freely with the skyline, a site you will never forget.
Private Chef Dining Experience
Across East African and diasporic traditions, to be fed well is to be cared for and this is what you can expect at our “Homecoming Dinner”.
Our Kenyan private chef will prepare a luxurious seasonal meal with local kenyan influence while you sit, receive, enjoy the flavors of every bite.
Maasai Market Immersion
The Maasai Market reflects generations of beadwork, textile, and craft traditions passed through families and communities. This is a rare opportunity to learn from the makers and watch as there patterns and color carry ancestory, roots and meaning.
Lamu Island Cultural Tour and Catamaran Cruise
Lamu is one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in East Africa, shaped by Swahili culture and centuries of Indian Ocean trade.
Sister Circles and Community
Across the diaspora, women have gathered in circles for reflection, to activate their voices, and to be healed through listening. You are not required to carry the room. You are allowed to simply be present.
Itutu Apothecary & Tea Wellness Reset
A specially curated sip and tea blending reset designed to calm the nervous system, support stress recovery, and create intentional space for the body to slow down and restore, hosted by Kia Croom of Itutu Apothecary & Tea Room.
Meet Your Hosts
Lets Meet
Hey Sis! I'm Naheemah!
First, I want you to know something.
I see you because I am you.
From the outside, your life may look beautiful. You are accomplished, capable, and the one people trust to hold everything together. But privately, you may be exhausted.
You have learned how to carry a lot with grace. But carrying that much for that long has a cost.
For years, this was me.
As an Organizational Psychologist and executive wellness coach, I have spent more than 15 years advocating for the well being of leaders and working with hundreds of Black women navigating high responsibility roles. Through that work, I began to see a pattern.
Many Black women in America are living in what I call silent bracing. A nervous system that stays on alert because the environments we navigate often require us to keep performing and carrying more than what was ever ours.
Last year something shifted for me.
When my feet touched African soil in Kenya, my shoulders dropped, my breathing slowed, and my nervous system softened. It felt like a return.
That moment is why I began bringing other Black women to Kenya through Divine Pause®.
This is the experience we intentionally create through the Divine Pause® Kenya Sabbatical.
Can’t wait to meet you.
Naheemah 
Hey Sis! I'm Kia!
Sis, I want you to know something—workplace racial trauma almost broke me. It drained me, made me question my worth, and kept me in spaces that didn’t honor me. But one day, I woke up and realized I DESERVED better.
For 25 years, I’ve been a frontline nonprofit fundraiser and DEI consultant, fighting for equity and justice while navigating systems never built for us. Like so many of us, I spent years pouring into work, struggling to find balance, and just surviving. But God!
Now, as an empty nester, I’m embracing my liberatory awakening—thriving instead of just existing. I’m prioritizing joy, radical rest, and self-care, living life on my terms.
Today, alongside my fundraising work, I’m also a traveling folk herbalist and owner of Itutu Apothecary & Tea Room, where I help others reclaim self-care through the healing power of plant medicine. My journey has taken me across the world, learning from indigenous healers and deepening my understanding of ethnobotany and traditional herbal wisdom.
Sis, if any of this resonates with you, just know—you are not alone. Your liberation is waiting too.
Can’t wait to meet you.
Love, Kia 💜
Frequently Asked Questions
Join us for an informational on Friday, March 27th at 12pm PST /3pm EST to meet your hosts and learn more.
The Divine Pause® Kenya Sabbatical Experience begins at $4000. This nine day, eight night experience includes accommodations in Nairobi and Lamu, daily breakfast, select lunches and dinners thoughtfully curated to support the rhythm of the experience, roundtrip airport transportation, guided facilitation, and culturally grounded immersion across both locations.
Not included in your trip:
- Any applicable visas
- International flight tickets
- Travel Insurance
- Lunches and Dinners (except where mentioned)
- Anything not mentioned
September in Kenya offers comfortable, moderate temperatures in Nairobi, typically ranging from the mid 50s to low 70s Fahrenheit. In Lamu, expect warm coastal weather in the 70s to 80s with ocean breezes. It is a beautiful time of year to experience both the cultural depth of the city and the restorative rhythm of the coast.
Attendees will fly into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Roundtrip airport transportation between the airport, Nairobi accommodations, and Lamu is included.