Introducing Diyo Mulopo Bopengo: our new Change the Word Collective Coordinator

Change the Word poet Diyo Mulopo Bopengo officially joins the Good Chance team!

Remind us of all the ways in which you’ve been part of Good Chance and Change the Word - there are so many!

I was first invited to a Change the Word workshop in Sheffield in 2019. Straight away, I saw that these workshops could be an escape from challenging mental states, and I decided to make a commitment to Change the Word from here on in. Each week, I attended the poetry workshops that were in preparation for us to publish our first poetry anthology in Sheffield and to perform in the Good Chance Dome. The lovely UK weather did not allow us to keep the Dome up on a stormy February day, so we performed in the Sheffield Winter Garden to people from all over the city. I also took part in volunteering with Good Chance for the FreeDome Festival, as well as being there as a performer. 

As part of Change the Word Sheffield, we also created an amazing short collective film on stage at the Crucible Theatre and few months after I had the honour to be part of a week-long writing retreat at Arvon which was organised by the lovely Emily who is the Head of Poetry. 

On returning back to real life, we were hit by the lockdown. But through this amazing group, we have kept the love and words going regardless of not meeting physically. We made zoom our home and continued with our weekly meetings and a virtual share of a cup of tea or coffee. 

Later in the year, I and my fellow poet Sarah Orola were awarded the Change the Word Poetry Fellowship to be tutored by well-known published poets. I had the chance to be mentored by the magnificent Nii Ayikwei Parkes and the fruit of these sessions I shared at the Museum of the Home in London as part of their Home Festival. 

Beyond poetry, there was then the epic journey of Little Amal - a project I would have never missed. I joined The Walk with Amal team as a runner and I was delight to sort out everyone’s basic needs and assisted where I could. 

Now, I am the Coordinator for the Change the Word Collective – I am well geared to face all the challenges and very excited to gain more experience as well as liaising with our many partner organisations who will contribute to project.

What’s your favourite thing about your experiences so far? 

Working with the amazing and talented Good Chance family is a marvellous life experience and makes feel at home. I say the word family because of the amount of love and care I feel when I am around each member of Good Chance. So, every moment I spend taking part in activities and work with Good Chance is a cherished moment.

What are you cooking up as Coordinator of the Change the Word Collective? 

As we start the new year, our heart for poetry still goes further and further with the amazing group of Change the Word poets. In April 2022, we will bring the Poetry Café - which we first created on Zoom in lockdown - to life with an in-person lounge event, and I have the privilege to be coordinating this and the publication of our next poetry anthology, which will be edited and produced by me and Emily.

We’d love you to share one of your poems with us…

With the warm of a mother’s love and caring to a child, this poem shows the support of a foreigner and stranger - like the one who is now part of such a lovely family… Here is 'Mama used to say’.

You can read ‘Mama used to say’ and other poems from the Change the Word Collective in An Orchestra of Unexpected Sounds - available at the Good Chance Shop now!