Slowing down

Sometimes we get in our own way, and sometimes life throws curveballs. For myriad reasons, the sisters of ToS will be taking a break for the holidays, with the hope to re-convene next year with fresh donations and new ideas to help you all expand the effect of your talents to benefit women around the world. But for now, help us clear out the inventory of the shop so we can buy a Darfur stove!

A stove will not only allow a woman in Africa to cook more quickly and efficiently, and perhaps make food to sell for profit, but it keeps her safe at home by eliminating the need to gather firewood and the risks of rape and attack that come with it. If we raise more than needed, we're taking suggestions for other items or groups to donate to, or we'll purchase more birth kits.

Either way, come buy now, because once the shop items expire on Etsy this round they won't be renewed until we're up and running again. Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. We have been so grateful to do the small donations and projects that we have, and we hope it truly makes a difference in the lives of some women.

On a side note, sadly, our Women for Women sponsorship, Elizabeth, was no longer attending her classes and was removed from the program. We have been matched with another woman who wants to expand her educational and financial opportunities, also in Sudan, but we are sad to hear about the disappearance of Elizabeth. We do not know why she stopped coming and no contact was made, so we would like to request prayers and good thoughts on her behalf and we hope that no harm has come to her as war has come near her home again.

An opportunity to help a woman in Kenya

While looking through Nicholas D. Kristof's (one of the author's of Half The Sky) blog the other day, I came across a pretty cool way to help a woman in Kenya.

Jane Ngoiri was a homeless mother of small children who was forced into prostitution to provide for her small family. After getting involved with Jamii Bora, a microfinance organization, Jane learned how to save small amounts of money as well as how to sew. She then used her savings to buy a sewing machine and now runs her own business, buying secondhand american bridal and bridesmaid dresses and turning them into multiple dresses for young girls.

There's not much of a market for old wedding dresses in Nairobi, and so the television production company that Kristof is working with has agreed to facilitate shipping old wedding and bridesmaid dresses to Jane.

I think it's neat to see little things like this that you can do something to help another person. I know sometimes it can feel so daunting to try and make a difference in some of the problems people face in places like East Africa. It would be nice to know that something as simple as shipping an old dress can tangibly help another person provide for their family.

But at the same time I appreciate that Kristof points out that this is a solution unique to this problem. It works to send these dress to Jane care of the Show of Force Production Company because they've agreed to foot the bill for shipping and customs costs. It works to be sending old formal dresses because they're hard to find even when so much other used american clothing ends up in Africa that it undermines local manufacturing of clothes there.

So, if you've got an old formal dress collecting dust somewhere, consider donating it to Jane.

Send dresses to:

Half the Sky c/o Show of Force

430 East 10th St, Suite 3A

New York, NY 10009

Also, speaking about women who you can help in Africa, there have been some changes with the woman we're sponsoring through Women for Women. It turns out that Elizabeth stopped going to her regular meetings and was subsequently dropped from the program. We don't have any details as to why she stopped coming, but we do know that the area she was living in had seen high increases of violence, we hope she is ok. We'll be getting a new woman to sponsor soon, and we'll be sharing her info as soon as we have it.

Locally lucrative

Over the summer, we received a very wonderful gift from some generous supporters. In Oakland, CA, a group of Cambodian women were organized to fundraise for birth kits that would be sent to Cambodia through the Birthing Kit Foundation out of Australia, via Talents of Sisters.

We are especially excited about this, not only because of the money that were able to turn into cleaner and safer births, but because it represents another aspect of Talents of Sisters that we have been hoping to promote. Our original vision was to encourage and facilitate small groups of women around developed countries such as the US, that could use their local talents and resources to raise money that could either be donated directly to the aid groups of their choice, or donated to our organization, with either special requests for where it could go, or just to support some of our larger projects that are in the works.

This vision includes groups of any women with a common interest, namely through school, church and community programs. These groups could organize bake sales or craft nights, and depending on the level of talent in each area and the interest, could sell their products at places like local farmer's markets or school, church and community events. We are very interested in helping this to become a low stress, but very accessible idea and reality for anyone willing to organize it, and we will do whatever we can to help those who are motivated to turn their talents (even organizing ones) into funds for women and children around the world.

Please contact us if you have any questions or interest in this part of our project.

Lacking

We're still here! Summer is busy for everyone it seems, and in some places intense heat and dryness make it hard to survive and even harder to thrive. The horn of Africa is one such place, where the worst drought in 60 years is making it difficult for millions of people to find food and water. And girls are historically the first to go hungry and the first to succomb to the effects of this lack. There are also many infants and nursing children that are slowing starving because their mother's milk is drying up from lack of nutrients and fluids.

Please, if you feel a need to help make a difference in these children's lives as children are the most vulnerable in these situations, consider donating to Plan International.

In other, less tragic news, we have received a donation from a local fundraising effort by a group of Cambodian women in Oakland, CA. They were inspired to raise money for birth kits to be sent to Cambodia, and we are helping by connecting them with the group that we donated to recently. We are so excited and will be doing a post about this soon and how you too can organize your own local fundraisers!

Funding a fistula surgery (and an update on our sponsorship)

Well, we've decided on funding a fistula surgery for our long term project goal. The cost is $450 to fully support a life altering surgery for one woman, usually a very young woman. Obstetric fistulas are "holes between an internal organ and the outside world that should not exist", and they are frequently caused by prolonged and obstructed labor in girls that are too young and therefore too small for the natural and proper course of childbirth. These women are also malnourished in most cases and therefore not able to handle what their body is designed to do on its own. Lack of knowledge of when to seek help, coupled with a lack of educated and experienced birth attendants in developing countries are keeping fistula numbers too high. And for these girls and women whose bodies are literally ruined by childbirth, life often becomes a tortuous existence as they are cast out of their communities due to the side effects of their condition.

Among the physical and social problems associated with fistulas are the following:

▪ Uncontrollable incontinence

▪ Severe infections (including pelvic inflammatory disease)

▪ Ulceration of the vaginal tract

▪ Genital tract scarring

▪ Amenorrhea (absence of a menstrual period)

▪ Divorce

▪ Infertility

▪ Inability to work/increased poverty

▪ Perineal nerve injury/bladder nerve injury

▪ Paralysis

▪ Kidney disease/failure

▪ Depression

▪ Suicide

▪ Death

Surgery is the only answer for these women who are suffering from a preventable and curable condition. We are hoping to be able to make a concrete difference in the life of a woman with your help.

We will be donating the full amount once it is reached to either the Fistula Foundation, or the Worldwide Fistula Fund. There is also an organization, One by One, that supports "giving circles" and provides aid in setting up gatherings to raise funds for fistula surgeries if you are feeling like getting more involved with this in your communities. And as always, spreading the word about the need to eradicate fistulas by addressing the problems that cause them in the first place is always something you can do in addition. Contacting government leaders to express your concern over this issue is a small but necessary step in creating lasting change.

Also, we have received word that Elizabeth, the woman we are sponsoring in Sudan, is among those living in the general region that has seen an increase in violence over the past few months as the south has determined to separated from the north. Over 1000 have been killed since January, and outbreaks of violence are increasing as soldiers have moved in closer to the farming and education communities where our sister is being guided through the program that will enable her to provide for her family and have a stronger voice.

Please, join your thoughts and prayers with ours for Elizabeth and her children and all the women around her that they will be spared further the effects of war and be able to continue on the path that will help them to break free of their restraints. It has also been suggested by our contact at WFW that letters of support to our sister would be appreciated to help her to have hope during this time.

Thank you all!

Other ways to help

We're gearing up for some larger projects in the near future, but in the mean time, check out a few social change sites that we think are a great way to add your influence to these type of issues. If you don't have the money or items to donate right now, you can still add your voice by signing petitions through reputable sites that are having an impact on government leaders and policy makers, not just in the US, but worldwide. The record is showing that many of these petitions are doing some good and influencing opinion. The effects may not always be seen at the local level and the changes may not be as personal as we are working toward here at ToS, but they are still changes that are needed if the power that we are trying to give women will have a lasting and sustainable impact.

Consider signing up for notifications of different causes that you can support through these sites;

change.org

momsrising.org

care2.com (especially helpful for connecting you to sites that may be near your interests)

moveon.org

democracynow.org

anmesty.org (international)

If anyone knows of any other good sites for staying current on these social and human rights issues, please list them in the comments.

Also, we are in need of more donations to the shop if we are going to be able to fund a larger project, so if you have something you've made that you haven't donated yet, or know of someone you can suggest this to, please spread the word and remind friends about our project. Or refer us to any Etsy sellers that you know and love.

And if you don't have anything to donate or don't see anything in the shop that you want, you can always contribute to our fundraising efforts by clicking the "Donate" button on the shop page. It all goes to the same paypal account that we donate to the other organizations from, so your funds can be pooled with ours to create larger changes in the lives of women.

Check back soon as we'll be announcing what we've decided on for a larger fundraising goal. And thank you to everyone that continues to support us!

Double duty

We far exceeded our goal to buy birth kits, so we have decided to give the rest of the funds raised to a similar effort. Save the Children is providing midwifery training in Afghanistan where there is a shortage of experienced birth attendants. We would eventually love to help pay for a woman to attend school, but for now we are hoping to either pay for her books or for a graduation kit of supplies that she will need to practice on her own.

This effort to train and stock women as birth assistants and professionals serves two very valuable purposes in developing and struggling countries where women's needs are largely ignored, if not downright trampled on. By training a woman to help other women through an intense and pivotal moment in life, we are not only going to save lives and elevate experiences, but give that woman the ability to provide for herself and gain respect and use in her community.

Thank you to everyone who has donated or purchased so far and helped us with these efforts!