How UAE’s single mums built healing sisterhood through yoga, Sri Lanka retreat and solidarity: 'I’m not alone’

You can look forward to the summer, instead of always cursing the winter, as Canadian philosopher Matshona Dhliwayo once said. 

Yet, for single parents, especially expats navigating motherhood without family nearby, winter can feel relentless. The fatigue is constant. The isolation, unspoken. In Dubai, the Single Parents Society offers something rare: not answers, but understanding. Not fixes, but warmth.

Founded by the cheerful and earnest Emma Rosso, this growing community of women meets often for gatherings and recently even planned a retreat to Sri Lanka, with another adventure already on the horizon.

Sometimes, it’s not just summer. Sometimes, it’s a little more like spring. And finding that spring—that’s where the hope lies. 

The women share their stories.

In 2023, Emma Rosso became a single mum, when her son was just a year old. It was sudden and unexpected, and her subsequent divorce and separation was one of the most challenging periods of her life. “It was never a position I imagined myself in, but life has a way of throwing unexpected curveballs, and this was one of mine,” she says.

At the time, she didn’t have any fellow single mum friends. It’s particularly painful as an expat, navigating single parenthood in a foreign country, where you don’t even have your family around. Six months into single motherhood, she noticed a gap in the online space for single mums in the UAE. “I couldn’t find anyone I truly related to or who shared a similar family dynamic to mine,” explains Rosso. “And that’s when I thought, that I would love to bring single parents together, where we can share experiences, advice and most importantly, really empower each other.”

And so, she started her Instagram account, that_expat_single_mum, to share her life as a single mum in Dubai. “The account quickly attracted a highly engaged audience, with many people reaching out to share their own stories and thank me for speaking openly about experiences they deeply related to,” explains Rosso.

Moreover, she is clear on one fact: Single parenthood doesn’t define her. “I just wanted the space to be uplifting, and that’s what it has become.” 

All paths of hope led to her organising the first retreat last year, in Sri Lanka. A group of six mums participated, after organising child care. “Many of them haven’t travelled without their children before, so there was a lot resting on this. They really put themselves out there. We had the most amazing four nights and five days in Sr Lanka,” she recalls. "We also had an amazing faciltor Erin Harrington Dubai based from the purpose project fly out to support us."

It was a week of sound healing, meditation, yoga and just finding comfort in each other. “We just connected, and all of the ladies, including myself just felt so understood,” adds Rosso.

While the community is currently made up largely of women, Rosso says the intention has always been to create a space where single fathers feel welcome too—especially those navigating parenthood far from family support.

The adventures are just beginning, and they’re up for another round. What began as a mums-only retreat has now expanded into child-inclusive experiences. This March, 14 single mothers travelling with their children from the UAE will be heading to Sri Lanka. “We have a six-night, fully planned itinerary including daily child-friendly yoga, a safari, cultural workshops, surf lessons, and much more. It’s going to be an unforgettable experience,” she concludes. 

In another corner of Dubai, lives Selina Tomic, a teacher and a single mum of seven years. As she recalls, when she first separated, there weren’t many single parents, at least not those who admitted it freely. “It was a bit isolating,” she notes.

Nevertheless, a year ago, she joined Rosso’s Single Parents society. It was a breath of fresh air to find a group of women who were also full-time professionals, balancing work and motherhood. It was also a new reassurance for the children, who would sometimes join them. “They met and saw other such families and would learn that they’re not the only ones. They knew that they weren’t alone,” adds Tomic. 

And so, for the first time in ages, Tomic decided to put herself first just for a bit, by putting her name down for the Sri Lanka retreat. “I just decided to go for it. We always put our children first of course, and this time I just wanted that me-time,” she says. And while she was away in Sri Lanka, her son stayed with her sister, and then his best friend. “He had an awesome time,” Tomic reflects.

Quite often, you’re advised to always choose your travel companions carefully. You need to know them well. You need to be comfortable before you spend a week with them.

That’s true. But sometimes, you can take a risk, a leap of faith to see what life has in store. Maybe, you’ll uncover the best friendships possible, as did the women in the Single Parents Society.

 Dubai-based Gemma Game, a teacher by profession, laughs as she says, “Six of us were in need of connecting. Six women who had never met went on a retreat to Sri Lanka. We all gained so much from that.” 

And had the time of their lives. Going by the photos that Rosso shares, you can see the women beaming brightly, or sitting around, eating food and just looking relaxed. 

So, how did this come about for Game? “I found Emma’s personal account after my separation and we just connected. She gave me a lot of advice, and answered all my questions,” recalls Game. Slowly, Rosso started the group events. “There was a yoga session and that was a lovely opportunity to meet other such women.”  

The children, too, find it a safe space. “I’m taking my daughter to Sri Lanka this time in March, and I’m so excited,” adds Game.

Each story brings comfort to the other. And that’s why Betty Lembi joined the group, too. She might not have gone to Sri Lanka as her child is only around 18 months old, but she appreciates the calm and the healing she gets from every group gathering. 

Lembi, who had moved from France, needed this reassurance as she had gone through pregnancy and the motherhood journey by herself. “I was looking for support, and this group allowed me to have that,” explains Lembi, who arrived in Dubai in 2016. Back then, the world of UAE also seemed rather alien too: Life was all about work, and her personal life was not going well either.

Cut to 2026. She’s happier and finds UAE easier, and these kind of groups have a lot to do with this growing sense of peace.

Challenges still exist of course, between balancing a full-time profession, motherhood and no help at home. Nevertheless, she finds strength in the stories of these women, and wanted to share her story with them. Sometimes the single parenthood is a choice, and sometimes  it’s not. “When we meet up like this, we say, ‘Oh, she too lives like me’. I feel reassured,” she says. 

Sometimes survival looks like sisterhood—and sometimes, that’s how spring begins.