Revolution: Change Your Lens

Eye See

MAGAZINE

NOMI NETWORK Fighting Fair with Fashion

BREAKING THE SILENCE Holly Smith Speaks of Surviving Trafficking BETTER WAY IMPORTS The Business of Freedom ONE FOR ONE 6 Companies, One Purpose

Revolution Change Your Lens

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DOCURA/SWEETNESS: “Everyone carries an atmosphere about him.

It may be unwholesome and depressing. It may make a little spot of the world a sweeter, better, safer place to live in; or it may make it harder for those to live worthily and beautifully who dwell within its circle.�

-- J.R. Miller

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PHOTO: BOAMISTURA

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Art and Administrative Direction Darcie Nolan darcie@eyeseeonline.com Marie Elvshammar marie@eyeseeonline.com

Editors Ruksana Hussain www.ruksanawrites.com Savannah Chastain chazphotos@gmail.com Graphic design and layout Des Rountree desrountree@gmail.com Abbie Kirkpatrick skwidfan@hotmail.com Marie Elvshammar marie@eyeseeonline.com

Revolution.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Revolution as a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something. The collection of stories and photos in this issue were handpicked for their creative and forward-thinking perspectives; from innovative soccer-ball generators to peaceable painted words of protest, to bold spokeswomen against slavery.

Cover Image Trooper Kristianson www.trooperkristianson.com

What makes these stories so groundbreaking is not merely that these revolutionaries have found a new way of thinking, but that they have challenged others to look at the world differently. We want these stories to push your buttons, challenge your resolve, and inspire your creativity into action.

Thanks to all our contributors!

Joanna Hanson Savannah Chastain Erin Fowler Melanie Papai Caitlin Stiefel Shauna Gauthier

Whatever you do, be it photography, dancing, singing, teaching, or filing, you can be a revolutionary because revolution starts with one creative idea, and that creative idea can come from you. Japanese philosopher, Daisaku Ikeda said, “A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind.�

Eye See Media is entirely freelance.

Contact us today with your story.

Photo Credits Boamistura Nicole Crittenden Ryan Burns All Inquires Eye See Media, LLC www.eyeseeonline.com 4 | www.eyeseeonline.com 4 | www.eyeseeonline.com

So let this issue inspire you to change your lens, and start a peace-generating Revolution!

With great hope for the future,

Savannah Chastain and the ESM team

CONTENTS

7. One for One

26. Mata Traders

6 Companie’s, One Purpose

11. Joy + Energy

Fashion for a Better World

29. Choosing to See Empowering Women in Uganda

A Soccer Ball That Gives Electricity

14. Breaking the Silence Holly Smith Speaks of Surving Trafficking

18. Better Way Imports The Business of Freedom

32. Nomi Network

Fighting Fair with Fashion

37. A Culture of Love Relief Bus: Helping the Poor and Homeless in New York

21. Life of Photography Life-changing Encounters During Journeys in Africa

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Rescue Restoration Rehabilitation Community Development

Visit saksaum.com to learn more.

Buy, wear, and tell Sak Saum at saksaum.org

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ONE FOR ONE

What is the power of a brand? We used to search out name brands based on their price tag and their ability to create fashion trends. Today we hold them to a higher standard. We no longer ask what our brands can give us, but instead ask what can they give to others. The words One for One have become synonymous with giving.

One for One, a pair of shoes becomes a third world child’s ability to walk. A toothbrush becomes a smile. A light bulb becomes an education. One for One, our everyday purchases become our greatest contributions to the world around us. From baby onesies to health insurance, the possibilities of the One for One concept are endless.

We at Eye See Media have chosen a few of our favorite One for One brands to highlight in this issue. We invite you to take this opportunity to make a difference both hear and far. www.eyeseeonline.com | 7

Shoes for the Poor

TOMS was founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie, who was inspired by a trip to Argentina where he saw extreme poverty and adverse health conditions, as well as children walking without shoes. That’s when he recognized the traditional Argentine alpargata shoe as a simple, yet revolutionary solution. He quickly set out to reinvent the alpargata for the U.S. market with a simple goal: to show how, together, we can create a better tomorrow by taking compassionate action today.

To realize this mission, Blake made a commitment to match every pair of shoes purchased with a new pair given to a child in need. TOMS now gives new shoes to children in need in over 40 countries through a network of humanitarian organizations.

www.toms.com 8 | www.eyeseeonline.com

Dressing the Homeless

Many ideas are born from some kind of frustration. So also was Albutch, a clothing line created to give profit rather than take it. Upon seeing the profit margins clotheslines used in selling their garments the creators of Albutch came up with the idea of making the same ”fancy clothes,” but include in the margin the cost of a similar garment that would be given to the homeless and paperless.

The goal of it all is to create an awareness in those who buy the garments that there is a large need among the homeless. ”We want to communicate that you can, in creative ways, help others.” Imagine, buying an item that makes you feel good about the way you look and clothes someone else at the same time. Essentially, giving the gift you want for yourself.

www.albutch.com

Power of Clean Water

Access to clean water is an essential need for every human being, unfortunately almost a billion people lack good access to it. Wouter Durville, creator of One for One Netherlands, first saw the One for One concept when he was in the U.S. and decided to introduce it to the Netherlands. He thought it was unacceptable that so many people didn’t have access to clean water and applied the “One for One” model to the things that people in developing countries need most.

One for One Netherlands provides direct assistance to those in need, no complicated routes or foundations to go through. They have three “buy one, give one” products stainless steel water bottles, green energy, and health insurance. For each water bottle sold, they sponsor the costs of lifelong clean drinking water. In their first year alone, One for One Netherlands sold more than 10,000 bottles. www.oneforone.nl

Bringing Back Smiles

After a trip to Guatemala where, Eric Cope, creator of Smile Squared, saw firsthand the tooth decaying result of poverty, he decided to create a One for One centered around smiles. What’s a basic necessity for us, is truly a luxury item for many around the world. Because the simple act of brushing your teeth can help prevent so many longterm problems and illness, I wanted to give toothbrushes. For every toothbrush we sell, we donate one. When you buy one, we give one! It’s that simple. We work with nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and throughout the world to distribute the donated toothbrushes. We are about getting toothbrushes to children in need.”

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Formula for Babies

Baby Teresa was created by Kristy and Sammie, two friends passionate about design and giving back. “Through an army of donors and volunteers, we donate one romper for each one we sell. For our accessories (blankets, hats, bibs), a percentage of the proceeds goes towards formula purchases typically in developing world orphanages. We have a simple motto when it comes to donations - they go to babies in need. These range from very poor communities, orphanages, children’s hospitals, benevolent societies, women’s shelters and more. I can honestly say the donations I’ve done (in seven countries now) have been some of the most heartwarming moments of my life.” Kristy Dunphey www.baby-teresa.com 10 | www.eyeseeonline.com

Lightbulb for Education

One One Million Lights was formed to odose children to study at night in parts of the world where they live without electricity. I was inspired by the bright and enthusiastic children. These children had the same dreams as children everywhere except for the fact they were caught in a cycle of poverty and were dependent on toxic kerosene for lighting.

I was galvanized to help similar children around the world and One Million Lights was born. Solar lights provide clean, healthy and environmentally friendly lighting at an individual level, replacing harmful, non-renewable and expensive kerosene. By opting for a Buy One, Give One, people can get a solar light for themselves and donate one that we will deliver to someone in need around the world. Light, I believe, is as fundamental as food, water and shelter.

-Founder Anna Sidana

www.onemillionlights.org

Joy+ Energy What do you get when you mix innovation and play?

How about a soccer ball that doubles as a kinetic energy-powered generator. This amazing new product captures and stores energy while it’s in motion, and later can be used to give light, charge cellphones, power hot plates, fuel water purifiers and many other small appliances. It even has a catchy, play-on-words name; The Soccket.

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“The Soccket stores energy while the ball is being played with, allowing for three hours of light for only thirty minutes of play”

Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman were an unlikely pair. In 2008, both women were studying Social Sciences at Harvard, and found themselves placed together on a college engineering project.

The challenge was to come up with an innovative product that enlisted pre-existing situations to address a social issue.

The idea for The Soccket stemmed from time Silverman spent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where she noticed a great love for the game of soccer amongst the children and at the same time a great deficit in electricity. Silverman explained in her 2011 TEDxGateway talk that often these poor communities use dangerous alternative energy sources, such as kerosene lamps, which emit harmful toxins, equivalent to 12 | www.eyeseeonline.com

cigarette smoke. What she and her college partners came up with was a product that they dubbed both, ‘fun and functional.’ Silverman explained this saying, “Rather than using a method that reminded people of something they lacked, we used a platform that reminded the people of something that was joyful, that capitalized on play.”

The Soccket stores energy while the ball is being played with, allowing for three hours of light for only thirty minutes of play.

Matthews emphasized during an interview at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative, that The Soccket focuses on maintaining a positive outlet as she explained, “It’s not just about solving the idea, addressing the issue, doing it on a small scale, even expanding your product line, it’s about making the entire experience enjoyable, from

the minute you start to address the issue, it begins to improve quality of life at a global scale.”

Matthews and Silverman continued to tweak their product calling on experts from both design and engineering fields. In the beginning they were met with resistance, and were told that their idea was not good enough to make a difference. But the two women would not give up that easily, “We didn’t know. We weren’t so afraid of the obstacles, because we didn’t know what they were, so it was that much easier to look beyond them and jump over those hurdles as they came,” said Matthews. Silverman described it another way in her talk saying, “Good enough is good enough.

You only have to design for your user, you do not need to design for

the highest end user. Our context meant designing for the resourcepoor child. That meant it did not need to be a perfect ball, and that meant that enough is only an improvement upon nothing.�

In 2011, the two women launched their business, Unchartered Play.

The first step was to launch The Soccket ball into communities around the globe while implementing an educational program touching on energy, environment and health teamwork and creativity. Unchartered Play partnered

with local non-profits, non-governmental organizations, and governments in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Spain and Brazil. Their first program received an overwhelmingly good response. The children were overjoyed to have a new soccer ball and the adults were astounded that such a product existed that could give them energy from a game their children already loved to play everyday. Silverman explained that the most rewarding element of the program was inspiring children. “Getting kids to dream, getting them to think about their community, thinking about teamwork, thinking about how you can apply your imagination to address situations in your own community.�

The Unchartered Play team is now in the process of developing a platform for everyone to become involved in the joy of creating energy. The Ludo is a ball that uses groundbreaking technology to track the time spent playing with it. The accumulated time is then converted into a currency called The Play Fund, which will be redeemable for humanitarian projects around the globe. Keep an eye on www.uncharteredplay.com for FUNctional ways to be involved in worldwide clean energy, innovative social giving, and the all-around joy of play!

BY: Savannah Chastain

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Breaking the 14 | www.eyeseeonline.com

Holly Austin Smith is not just an advocate, author and speaker; she is also a survivor.

In 1992, when Holly was 14-years-old, she was lured away from home by a man she had met at a mall in Atlantic County, New Jersey. The man turned out to be a manipulative and menacing pimp. She was forced and coerced into working in Atlantic City as a sex slave until dawn the next day.

Twenty years ago there were no anti-trafficking laws in place. This pimp, who raped and lured a child into prostitution, served only 365 days in jail. Holly is now breaking her silence.

She writes and speaks about her experience in order to educate law enforcement and service providers, to raise awareness in communities and to advocate for survivors.

Silence �I was meant to overcome this experience in order to raise awareness and to help protect those who are victims today.�

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What do you do as a consultant for Amber Alert?

As a consultant for Fox Valley Technical College’s (FVTC) AMBER Alert program, I present information to law enforcement in training sessions about human trafficking. As a survivor of child sex trafficking, I am passionate about sharing my story with law enforcement and service providers in order to help them understand the mindset of a trafficking victim. I hope that by sharing my experience, today’s teen victims will be spared incarceration, mistreatment, or retraumatization.

other survivors who were victimized for months and years by their traffickers.

You said in an interview with NBC12 that healing after that traumatic experience took a long time.

What helped you in healing?

In the summer of 1992 when you were coerced into trafficking, how much time passed until police found you?

Many things helped me to heal, but it was mostly time.

Time to learn about myself and the world around me.

Looking back I would say that my teachers, my friends, my family, and my motivation to keep moving forward led me to where I am today. I think that, with the appropriate support and services, today’s victims can experience a smoother transition towards healing. It’s important that these kids realize they are not alone.

I was under their control for only 36 hours. Although those 36 hours changed my life forever, I consider myself very lucky. I have met many

Do you think your experience has played a part in making you who you are

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today? In what way? Good or bad?

Definitely. I always viewed that summer of 1992 as a terrible time in my past.

Now, I believe there was a reason for it. I was meant to overcome this experience in order to raise awareness and to help protect those who are victims today.

When did you know you wanted to speak out against trafficking and raise awareness in the public and in congress?

The first survivor I ever connected with was Tina Frundt, founder of Courtney’s House in Washington D.C., an organization which provides services to male and female victims of child sex trafficking. I attended a training session to volunteer at Courtney’s House, and Tina explained to us the tactics used by traffickers to lure children away from home. The tactics were exactly the same as

those used on me in 1992. I was blown away. It wasn’t until that moment that I truly realized that I had been a victim, and I knew I had to speak out. I knew I had to share my story in order to educate teens, parents, and teachers.

When you speak for groups, who makes up your audiences?

I speak at many events for different audiences. I speak to students, at-risk teens, victims, teachers, youth-based

”...It wasn’t until that moment that I truly realized that I had been a victim, and I knew I had to speak out...” organization members, communities, law enforcement, and service providers, among others.

Prevention is key. Prevention efforts must begin early; and they include basic, fundamental ideas for nurturing children. I always tell my audiences that if they want to make a difference, then volunteer for a local youthbased organization, like Big Brothers Big Sisters.

What would you say has been one of the biggest successes in fighting trafficking on the legislative level? What are you hoping for the future?

The passing of the education bill in Virginia was the highlight of my advocacy career thus far. I would like to see prevention education programs in every state, and my hope is that these programs will be geared towards prevention of all types of exploitation- physical, sexual, financial, emotional, spiritual, etc. Traffickers are not the only people targeting children for personal gain.

What would you say is your personal mission When you share your story statement? and tell about the reality Great question! I would say of trafficking, what are a that my personal mission, as few key things you want your listeners to take away it relates to the anti-human with them and respond to? trafficking movement, is to

and to support other survivors in their goals.

Besides speaking and writing and working as a consultant, do you have any other jobs? Are you married?

I am an environmental microbiologist. I graduated from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology.

I always loved science. When I was little I wanted to be an archeologist like Indiana Jones. I am married to my best friend and biggest supporter, Ben Gibbs. We have a miniature Schnauzer named Tonka!

Tell us about the book you are working on about Human Trafficking in America.

I am so excited to be writing an academic book on this topic. I hope to provide awareness and education about human trafficking in America while offering informed perspectives from survivors of this crime.

Please sign up for my newsletter to receive updates about the book. We are hoping for an early 2014 publication. My website is www.HollyAustinSmith.com.

spread educated awareness

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The Business of Freedom

HELPING VICTIMS OF SEX SLAVERY RETURN TO DIGNITY Poverty can be found in every country in our world.

Despite the abundance of goods and resources on our planet, hundreds of thousands of people go without basic necessities every day. People in places of extreme poverty have resorted to extreme measures: selling themselves or their children into slavery.

There are more slaves in the world today than there ever were during the TransAtlantic slave trade, the majority of whom are women and children. Sold by their parents, or lured by the false promises of traffickers, thousands of women are forced into sex slavery. They work long hours, experience pain, humiliation, beatings, and so much more. The average sex worker will die within seven years of entering the trade... unless she is rescued. Though the weight of this problem seems overwhelming, individuals and organizations around the world are taking a stand against human trafficking. In the midst of such darkness and evil, there is hope.

Better Way Imports is one such organization. After founder Bill Leep traveled to Bangladesh and saw the horrors firsthand, he had a burning desire to actually do something about this problem. These women have a need. Though their immediate need is for food and housing, those are merely the symptoms of the root cause: the lack of a means to provide for themselves. These women don’t just need a handout. They need a dignified job, through which they can earn a living for themselves and their families.

Bill Leep had a vision. A vision for a better way of helping people, a better way of doing business. Having encountered Freeset, an organization in India that taught former sex slaves a marketable trade, making handbags. Leep decided to partner with them to provide the North American market through which their goods could be sold. Assured a fair price for the work of their hands, these women regain their futures–a way to earn, learn, and provide for themselves and their families. More than this, they gain the restoration of their God-given dignity, a priceless part of their experience and existence.

The partnership with Freeset has grown to include ten more similar organizations who employ former or potential sex slaves, providing them an alternate, dignified means of income. Like Better Way Imports, none of

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“In the midst of such darkness and evil, there is hope.”

these groups are simply just about the numbers. Despite legal and financial frustrations, personnel problems, and a host of other issues, these organizations have soldiered on, in order that they may continue to help the poor and exploited. They do not just give these women a job, they give them back their life. All of Better Way’s partner organizations provide additional services for their employees, including counseling, job and life skills training, education, and job benefits. Some also provide daycare.

Unlike other businesses, which pursue what is best for their bottom line, Better Way Imports pursues what is best for those trapped in slavery. Last year, Better Way helped 525 women. Their next benchmark is 5,000 women, and eventually, 50,000 women. This is not to say that Better Way Imports does not have sales goals, but rather that their focus is on how they can best help those at risk of being trafficked through sales. Businesses can and should be used for good--the good of their employees, the good of their community, and the good of the world.

This is another way Better Way Imports differs from other companies. The majority of their sales come from home parties, in which sales representatives can earn an income selling Better Way products. These Freedom Fighters earn a commission on every item sold at one of their events. In doing good for others, Freedom Fighters are also doing well for themselves.

In order to continue growing, developing, and expanding, Better Way Imports will also be opening a coffee shop in their hometown of Zeeland, Michigan. Named The 6:eight, after Micah 6:8, the coffee shop will also strive to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. Buying and selling coffee through fair or direct trade, The 6:eight supports the poor and marginalized. Selling baked goods, body care products, and candles from local companies, The 6:eight also invests in the local community. It, too, is not just a business, but also a way to do good in the world.

Better Way Imports is an opportunity for North Americans to get involved in an abolitionist movement. By simply purchasing a necklace, bag, or cup of coffee, you can help provide a better way of life for others.

BY: Melanie Papai

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FIRMEZA/FIRMNESS: “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

--Albert Camus 20 | www.eyeseeonline.com

PHOTO: BOAMISTURA

Life th rough ph otography “For me, the strength of photography lies in its ability to evoke humanity. If war is an attempt to negate humanity, then photography can be perceived as the opposite of war.” ―- James Nachtwey A compelling photograph should confront emotion; beg a response from the viewer, a response, if nothing else, to engage in the depth of the human condition. Photography has the power to preserve a moment in time, a fleeting joy, a cry of desperation, an unspoken dialogue of what was and with it, the rawness of what could be.

In the following pages, photographers, Nicole Crittenden, and Ryan Burns, show us a glimpse into their own life-changing encounters during their journeys in Africa. www.eyeseeonline.com| |21 21 www.eyeseeonline.com

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Nicole Crittenden Nicole Crittenden is a photographer based out of Herrnhut, Germany. Originally from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Nicole has a passion for using the arts to shed light on global issues and triumphs. She believes in using talent as a tool to help others. In Herrnhut, Nicole is a part of a movement called Pick a Pocket. Pick a Pocket uses social action, discipleship and creative media to battle against extreme poverty wherever it is found, enabling people to escape that bondage and build a life of dignity and purpose.

While in South Sudan in August 2012, Nicole worked in Yei with a man named George and his family. In a post war country that seems dejected and chaotic at first, this small community is moving forward with organic farming, solar power and education. George sees that South Sudan is a blessed and fertile land that has a lot to give. He is passionate about interdependence, spreading hope and finding solutions. These photos are of his family, daily life and farm work.

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Ryan Burns is a freelance artist, communicating themes of identity, cultural preservation and social justice through a wide variety of mediums.

He currently resides in Germany working with Youth With a Mission International and Pick A Pocket, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing an end to extreme poverty through the use of arts and media.

Ryan Burns

This local boy was going for a swim, when I started taking photos. He noticed and began to move towards me, yet at the same time doing his best to feign disinterest in what I was doing. The entire time he zigzagged his way through the water working closer to me though never fully acknowledging my presence until he was less than a few feet away.

When I finished taking photos and began to put away my camera, he simply got up and wandered off.

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A group of locals pulled up in a jeep as I was getting shots of the waterfall. The clear leader of the group, jumped out, pulled off his shirt, sunglasses, gold watch, and sandals, and quickly ran into the water. In an instant he lost the successful brash businessman image and became something less domesticated and far more powerful.

While travelling through Ethiopia, from the capital in the North, to smaller villages in the far south, I was instantly captivated by the beauty of the land and its integral relationship to the people that inhabited it. So much of Ethiopia is slowly being claimed by the dedicated march of industrialism. While new high-ways stretching from the capital have connected the various levels of social structure within the country like never before, there is a strong sense of loss between the culture of the country and the landscape they are seeing less of. This series attempts to capture not only the beauty of the Ethiopian countryside, but how important the human element, and the relationship between them, is to the visual identity this nation.

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Fashion For a Better World.

This story begins with three best friends: Jodi, Maureen and Michelle, who started traveling together after college. The girls saved up their money for a round-the-world trip, which included four months in India.

While in India, the three girls fell in love with the many vibrant colors and textiles and an idea for a business began to form. Maureen loved India so much that the following year she went back on a buying trip, and imported everything from tapestries to leather sandals. That summer, she crashed on her cousin’s couch and sold her Indian wares at an outdoor market in Martha’s Vineyard, where several people asked her if her goods were fair trade.

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Maureen soon learned that unfair trade practices are a primary cause of global poverty. Many products on U.S. shelves are grown and made by people who are paid unlivable and unstable wages and can even be produced by children and slaves. Working conditions were often unsafe and could lead to harm and death. With a fair trade product, however, the supply chain is transparent and consumers can learn the story behind their purchase. For marginalized communities, fair trade cooperatives and organizations create opportunities to break the cycle

of poverty with fair wages, safe conditions, and benefits like training and health care.

On the next trip to India Maureen sought out fair trade producers to make some clothing, and found a women’s cooperative. A year later, Michelle joined Maureen and Mata Traders was incorporated. They spent several years building up the business by selling at Chicago summer street festivals and holiday fair trade bazaars. They also started wholesaling by going on road trips and stopping in to show the line to shops.

Pretty soon they were attending trade shows and the number of wholesale customers grew quickly.

Today, Mata Traders has grown into a company of eight people who greatly enjoy their work with cooperatives in India and Nepal. Mata Trader’s clothing and jewelry can be found in around three hundred shops and boutiques across the U.S. and in places as far away as Japan, Singapore, and Australia. They also have a web presence on sites such as ModCloth, Ruche, and Soul Flower. Their personal website is www.matatraders.com.

“Maureen soon learned that unfair trade practices are a primary cause of global poverty.” www.eyeseeonline.com | 27

PHOTO: BOAMISTURA

AMOR/LOVE: “Love, it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free. Be more like the man you were made to be.”

-- Mumford & Sons Song: Sigh No More 28 | www.eyeseeonline.com

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IT

is unlikely that I will ever forget her face. She looked to be in her twenties (as was I at the time) with an active toddler perched upon her lap. It was a typical hot Ugandan day in March as we gathered under a mango tree.

It was my first time witnessing the beauty of these people and the heartache of their collective battle against poverty in the midst of this post-conflict region of the world. On that particular day, I happened to be paying a visit to a good friend who had founded an organization called The Children of the Nile (TCON). TCON is a nongovernmental organization committed to facilitating sustainable change for future generations by providing women and their children with the resources necessary to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.

A representative from the organization was sharing with the nearly 300 widowed women gathered under that particular tree

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of how they were being gifted with seed to plant for the purpose of food security and generating a modest income to pay for their children to attend school.

The woman whose eyes bore into my own did not appear interested in what this representative had to say. Instead, her eyes were glued to mine. Initially, I was moved by what I perceived to be her curiosity. Eventually, however, as her gaze lasted far longer than deemed appropriate in my western culture, I became increasingly uncomfortable.

I began to presume that this was not simply a visual assessment motivated by curiosity. The longer her stare lasted the more I felt certain that her eyes were more likely communicating frustration, perhaps even anger, rather than intrigue.

My own need to understand why she apparently held ill feelings towards me,

IT WAS MY FIRST TIME WITNESSING THE BEAUTY OF THESE PEOPLE AND THE HEARTACHE OF THEIR COLLECTIVE BATTLE AGAINST POVERTY IN THE MIDST OF THIS POST-CONFLICT REGION OF THE WORLD.

a white suburban mother from Colorado, consumed my thoughts in the moments and days (and now years) after the experience.

Was she aware of the injustice of her circumstances especially when faced with my presence? Both of us women, both of us mothers, but our stories were drastically different in large part because of our place of birth. I had privileges and rights she had never known. She had struggle and loss that I had never known. Not to presume that her life did not also encapsulate moments of beauty and joy, but under the scrutiny of her stare I was primarily overwhelmed with a sense of guilt for the access to resources and certain rights that she was deprived at that point in time.

On that particular day, I was being introduced to the plight of a widow or single mother in Uganda for the first time.

Since then, my knowledge of that region of the world has increased tremendously, but I continue to struggle to understand the history and dynamics of a culture entirely other than my own. The main culprit of the feminization of poverty in Uganda is the lack of access women have to land.

Without ownership of land, the only option for single mothers and widowed women is to rent a home or a plot of land to conduct subsistence farming to support her family.

The average Ugandan woman has 6.65 biological children, so the burden of care when a mother must become a primary income earner is overwhelming. These are the challenges that women face collectively throughout Uganda. They simply set the stage for the individual narratives of oppression and abuse that many of these women contend with daily. The trauma resulting from decades of civil war, loss of children due to a lack of access to medical care, domestic and sexual abuse is not uncommon.

From my western world view, I have perceived life as a Ugandan woman to be an uphill battle, but in the years following my stare-down with that one brave woman, I have learned that this is a battle that I cannot walk away from. I am certain that I could have allowed my experience of what I refer to as the guilt and shame of privilege to have shut down my desire to bring good into this world instead of harm. I could have been overcome with the daunting reality of

burdens a husbandless woman must contend with such as a lack of access to land and the responsibility of providing for the remaining children. Instead of succumbing to self-pity and despair, these women found strength in togetherness. Exuding compassion and dedication to one another and their cause, they were revolutionaries in their own right, but they continued to lack resources to change their external reality and grow in their ability to generate an adequate income to support their large families.

the inequity I imagined to be written on that woman’s face under that mango tree nearly seven years ago. Instead, I chose to wrestle through the guilt in order to be a part of a movement for justice and equity.

Today I work as a program director for the very same organization that introduced me to the women of Uganda and I continue to learn that the work of this movement is complex and challenging. Uganda has experienced a long history of conflict and human rights violations, but the northern region has been the most severely impacted in recent history. Joseph Kony, led a rebel army formed in 1986 called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that abducted an estimated 30,000 Ugandan children to use as soldiers and sex slaves and taunted civilians using such tactics as murder, rape, and torture. The LRA was forced out of Uganda in 2006 and the people of northern Uganda are now attempting to rebuild life and recover from the trauma, loss and disruption to their lives. The task of rebuilding has proven to be even more challenging for widowed women and single mothers.

In TCON’s infancy stage, the organization discovered a grass roots collective of widowed women in the Teso region. A core group of women sought out other widowed women within their respective villages in an effort to support each other in the midst of their troubling circumstances. By gathering together they were attempting to utilize their power in numbers to change the stigma often associated with widowhood.

The stigmatization is associated with the

TCON initially responded with distributions of seed for farming that could provide relief in the area of food security and help generate a modest income. Farming is a way of life for 80% of the population in Uganda so TCON soon learned that the potential for the agriculture program was undeniable. After years of adjusting and refining our approach to development work, TCON’s primary program continues to be in agriculture. We currently partner with local grassroots organizations to identify the women in post-conflict settings that are most in need of support. Once identified and registered, the women are eligible to receive seed, farming implements and appropriate agricultural training. Since our initial work with farmers began in 2005, TCON has sponsored over 150,000 female farmers in Uganda across Teso, Lango, and Acholi regions.

Empowering these women by equipping them with the resources necessary to begin a small agricultural business is just the beginning of our partnership. Combatting a cultural and legal system that makes it difficult for husbandless women to develop a sustainable income requires long-standing commitment, flexibility and innovation. Our initial seed distributions serve as a launch pad as we track the successes and the challenges that our farmers face throughout the process of their development. Each individual woman’s story is unique. Some of our farmers utilize their small agricultural business to fund other small business opportunities such as tailoring, soapmaking and catering businesses. Others discover that they have the ability to excel in agriculture and they venture to do just that.

BY: SHAUNA GAUTHIER

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Nomi Network

Fighting with Fashion

Alissa Moore and Diana Mao, founders and directors of Nomi Network, met Nomi, a dark-eyed Cambodian girl while visiting a children’s rehab center in Cambodia. No eight-year-old should have to go through what Nomi did. Nomi was one of many children caught in human trafficking: an estimated 32 billion dollar industry that is considered

to be the third largest criminal enterprise in the world.

Nomi’s story sparked the beginning of the nonprofit organization that bears her name. Based out of New York, Nomi Network is committed to fighting human trafficking, primarily through providing jobs for women either at risk or who have come out of the sex industry.

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How many women currently have been provided with jobs through Nomi Network?

In our pilot project, Nomi produced 3,300 awareness-raising tote bags made by the survivors at our partner organization in Cambodia, with 800 bags prominently featuring our signature slogan, “Buy Her Bag, Not Her Body.” 100% of the bags were sold in the first three months. That product order helped generate the sales revenue needed to prevent our partner from shutting down, protecting the livelihood of 23 women all of whom were receiving fair wages, childcare and medical care through the programs. Two years later in 2011, we helped expand our partner’s capacity to 80 people working at the site.

Our sales projections and goals have steadily increased each year. We have targeted about $80,000 in sales in 2012. Nomi Network currently helps support about 80 employees in Cambodia through our product development and orders and is currently training 120 women in India.

We offer a stipend while increasing their skill-set to connect the women to viable employment opportunities.

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Nomi Network’s focus with the women seems to be primarily job skills training. How else is the Network involved in the women’s “holistic” rehabilitation?

In addition to providing targeted vocational training and viable

“Our mission is to bring more products made by survivors to consumers, thereby generating more career opportunities and prevent further exploiting.” income-generating activities, Nomi Network builds and strengthens the infrastructure and management of the non-government organizations on the ground. Nomi Network also partners with other organizations that provide counseling, education, legal services and other direct services to help provide the women with access to critical resources such as shelter. By providing economic support at the management level and individually to each woman, Nomi ultimately fosters financial stability and growth to support these greater needs and direct services.

Are there plans to expand into any other countries as you work towards your goal of 100,000 jobs by 2025?

Yes. The most innovative aspect of our program is its transferability and scalability- Nomi Network can impact change anywhere and replicate its project in any region. We are currently focusing on strengthening our current initiatives in India and Cambodia, but are in discussion and working on expanding into other countries in the next two years.

Have you personally been to Cambodia or India?

I have personally visited our partners and program sites in Cambodia in August 2011 with our Nomi team members. Cambodia was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The warmth of the people, the breath-taking scenery and the resilience of the survivors I met was a life changing moment. I loved seeing the smiles of the little girls at the underage shelter we work with and hearing the stories of the young women who have overcome such trauma and abuse. I also ventured out with some of the most capable and amazing teammates from

our executive team and network. A high-caliber group of people who were open to serve and help with any need was such a great experience. I am honored by the work we do and for the opportunity to work alongside Nomi Network’s team.

I am slated to visit India this year, and I’m very excited to meet the inspiring women and see their growth!

Please share with us a little more about Project Beauty.

In addition to building the skill-sets and resumes of the women, we hope to ultimately build their self-esteem.

Many women suffer from low self-esteem and long-term physical illnesses because of their traumatic experience in being sex trafficked. This is a difficult challenge to overcome, and requires significant mentorship and coaching. So, in addition to largescale work of building our partner’s production capacity, we also aim to reach the women on an individual level.

When Nomi Network’s lead product developer, Supei Liu, visited Cambodia to work with the women, she got the idea of having the women be the models of the products that are changing their lives. And thus, Project Beauty was born. During the first photo-shoot, we worked with five women to pamper and spoil them for a day. We got clothing from

local retailers to give each woman a make-over and have a photo session.

At first, many of these women were extremely uncomfortable and shy, as they were not accustomed to being in front of a camera, or an audience, without feeling objectified. But Supei Liu, our Product Developer, made them feel right at home, cracking jokes and encouraging and affirming each woman. Afterwards, Supei took the girls out to lunch.

We had a second photo-shoot during August 2011, and the pictures were sent out to our network during the holidays. Nomi Network plans to continue Project Beauty and to include more donations of new clothing, which the women keep after the shoot. With every new collection, we hope to teach survivors and women at-risk about additional aspects of the fashion industry, including product marketing and product photo shoots.

Do you believe we are in the beginning of a revolution as more buyers shop with socially conscious motives and products funnel back into jobs and opportunities for at risk individuals?

There definitely is a growing trend towards causes and eco-friendly products. Nomi’s goal is not to only focus on the fair trade market, which generated $1.2 billion in 2009 and

has been steadily growing, but to elevate the skill level of women so they can produce, design, and develop products for the mainstream market. Our mission is to bring more products made by survivors to consumers, thereby generating more career opportunities and prevent further exploitation. Whether the revolution dies down or continues to ignite other people to actively purchase and seek out cause-based products, our focus is to empower survivors and women at risk and create functional, fashionable products, and ultimately build a loyalty base with the cause-based purchaser as well as the consumer who just wants something that looks good, but happens to do good.

“With every new collection, we hope to teach survivors and women at-risk about additional aspects of the fashion industry, including product marketing and photo shoots.”

BY: Erin Fowler

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ORGULHO/PRIDE: “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”

-- Cesar Chavez

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PHOTO: BOAMISTURA

A Culture of Love

A long line of folks waiting for a hot Thanksgiving meal on the street in Harlem.

N

ew York City may be a center of wealth, glam, and culture, but there is a different culture hidden underneath the surface. It is a culture of the broken. We who serve on the streets also belong to this company. This culture of the broken reaches the visible realm in some places more than others, such as the corner of 124th and Park Ave in Harlem where the Relief Bus goes on Fridays and Saturdays. It reveals itself in the Bronx where folks line up for clothing and hygiene items distributed from the back of our bus. It appears in Chelsea Park, where our chronically homeless friends are able to receive free eye exams and glasses in a makeshift consultation room.

Unlike organizations only providing free handouts, we allow God to weave us into the tapestries of people’s lives by using our amenities as an opportunity for relationship. Life transformation occurs when Christ

in us touches someone else, not just by giving out clothing or rote religious answers. “We are just beggars showing other beggars where to find the bread”- A Sri Lankan Theologian. We are hungry, not for soup, but for God. He lives and moves on the streets before we even arrive at our location for the day. Our friends on the street are not a problem to be solved, but people to be loved. As staff and volunteers spend time with the meek, lowly, and despised, we learn to recognize the same reality in ourselves. It’s not us and them, but we. We can’t change the overwhelming issues in our city, but we can be a part of the kingdom that is both coming and is here, and allow God to do the rest.

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Bella* lives in an area of the Bronx that has recently had a shooting almost every other day. Her life experience has taught her not to trust anyone, yet after sharing some soup with her and giving her some much-needed clothing, her countenance began to soften.

For a few moments on the side of the road, she met the compassionate face of Jesus.

Angel comes every week, sometimes twice a week, to meet us. When we pull up at our location, he is there to greet us, grinning ear to ear. He is family. One of his greatest joys which he shares with us is his weekly shave by a willing staff member or volunteer.

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David* lived in the back of a u-haul truck for about 10 years, unable to get a job, and sinking deeper and deeper into despair and addiction. He kept coming to the Relief Bus to get soup and clothing year after year, and one day he showed up at our doorstep ready to change his life, get off the street, and enter a men’s discipleship program.

The Relief Bus parked at our newest location, 145th St between Broadway & Amsterdam in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

The Relief Bus is a 501 c3 non-profit organization located in the NYC Metro

Our outreach consists of two former school buses now customized into mobile resource centers to help the poor and homeless. We serve hot homemade soup, fresh Portuguese rolls, and drinks. The Relief Bus exists to respond to God’s heart for the poor and broken by going to the streets to offer food, compassion, and connections to resources that lead to life transformation. To accomplish this mission we partner together with volunteers and care-giving organizations.

1. When asked for money by a homeless person, take a few minutes to get the know them, rather than giving them money and walking away. Go three questions deep.

2. Do you have a friend who has some problems? Think about ways to show them your love, rather than giving them advice on how to fix their problems.

3. Learn people’s needs in your community/circle of friends. Find creative ways to meet those needs.

4. Ask God in prayer (if you don’t already know it) what areas in you that are broken.

Be ready to be used by God to encourage someone else with the same experience.

5. Volunteer anywhere there are people involved! Get to know a stranger and be open to learn from them.

6. Adopt someone (unofficially) into your family or group of friends by spending time with them and showing that you care about them.

A chronically homeless friend getting a free eye exam.

7. Come volunteer with The Relief Bus in NYC! Duh! (www.reliefbus.org) www.eyeseeonline.com www.eyeseeonline.com| 39 | 39

BELEZA/BEAUTY:

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“The really magical things are the ones that happen right in front of you. A lot of BELEZA/BEAUTY: the time you keep looking for beauty, but “The really magicalthere. thingsAnd areifthe it is already youones look that with a happen bit right in front of you. lotit.” of the more intention, you Asee time you keep looking for beauty, but it is already -there.

And if you look with a bit Vik Muniz more intention, you see it.”

PHOTO: BOAMISTURA ― Vik Muniz

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