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Let's Talk!
Many of you have asked for a blog so we can exchange our thoughts about Women's Giving Tree. Here's your chance. Let's make it a fun and informative conversation!
We encourage and welcome your participation. Be sure to click READ MORE & COMMENT on any article below to see longer versions of that article. On the article page, click READ & ADD COMMENTS BELOW to add your comment, which will go to the mediator briefly before "going live" directly under the entry. Submit an article for the blog here.
Warmly,
Ellen Boneparth, President, WGT
We will be adding an open blog during the coming month where you can set up an account and post about your own favorite NGOs. We hope this will bring small NGOs a higher profile and new opportunities via the World Wide Web. Please add your comments and let us know what you think of this idea.
AHOPE for Children, featured on our site for February 2010, is working
to raise awareness for World AIDS Orphans Day. They have launched their
Text2Give campaign to raise funds for Ethiopian AIDS orphans.
The Text2Give campaign culminates on World AIDS Orphans Day, May 7. Donors just need to text "AHOPE" to "85944", and respond with "Yes", to donate $10. We would be very grateful if you could help us spread the word by sharing this campaign with your friends.
Thank you for any help you can give!
Some months back Ellen introduced me via email to Sandhya,
saying that as we were in the same corner of the world (India) we should
meet. Actually, we both live in the south of India in Andhra Pradesh state.
Sandhya lives an eight-hour train ride south of Hyderabad (my home)
and one day came to see her daughter and other family members. She
invited me to join them for lunch. I did and learned about the Vijay
Foundation Trust (VFT), and particularly Aarti Home. I was amazed
at her organization and what she had achieved. I resolved to visit
her but it took me much too much time to actually do it.
I set out from Jubilee Hills, Hydrabad on Friday, March 26, boarding a train at 5:35 p.m. in an AC 2nd class chair car. Twelve hours later the conductor tapped me to say we’d arrived. Sandhya’s driver met me and took me home to rest. After a delicious meal of dhosas (thin pancakes) Sandhya drove me to Aarti Home in time to see the children streaming out of the school next door. In an interval before lunch they peppered me with questions. Ranging in age from 4-18, the children had different levels of English—some surprisingly good. I sang songs to them and they sang even more back to me. They’d enjoyed a number of English speaking volunteers who has taught them “Hokey Pokey”, “Row Row, Row Your Boat”, and many more.
~ Juliet Wurr, Public Affairs Officer, U.S Consulate General, Hyderabad, India
We are so fortunate that the Director of WINGS in Guatemala, Janeen Simon,
will be visiting California.
We will hold a meeting with her in Santa Rosa on Sunday, April 25, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to hear about the work of WINGS, Guatemala's fantastic NGO providing reproductive services across the country.
Janeen is a terrific speaker. If you wish to attend the meeting and would like directions, please email us.
Hope to see you on the 25th!
We have featured six NGOs so far and are just about to announce our second
NGO in Guatemala! We’d like to know which NGO made the biggest impression
on you and why.
The winning NGO will get a contribution from Women’s Giving Tree!
See our list – then fill in the comment form and tell us which NGO impressed you the most ...
Sara Spaulding-Phillips (aka Sarita, the artist) one of our Women's Giving
Tree board members, says, "spending time in Mexico and Guatemala inspires
me to paint icons on "lovingly-used" jeans jackets, friend's give me.
"These paintings are of the "Madonna de Guadelupe" asking to PROTECT THIS WOMAN. They have been so popular in my hometown, I am offerring two for sale on Women's Giving Tree's Giving Blog. They sell for $135.00, including postage.
Art Heaven just donated money to Mayan Families, a Women's Giving Tree
featured NGO, after a raffle of two paintings at our current Art Show.
Carole Watanabe, the founder of Art Heaven in Sebastopol, California and
Sandra Rubin painted collaboratatively under the name of ALMA as we often
do, to create art for worthy organizations.
We chose Mayan Families because of our deep connections to Guatemala and Panajachel. Carole had gone to that region when she was 19 to learn to weave with the Mayan weavers and one of our members, Judy Tilt, had family holdings in that area and sponsored a child for many years through Mayan Families. I had attended a wonderful workshop in San Marcos, with Ellen Boneparth, several years before and made nice contacts there. One of our Art Heaven friends, Salli Razberry lives there now. That gave us an idea ...
Sara Spaulding Phillips, one of Art Heaven's painters, has occasionally
turned her brush to jean jackets as a way of making our apparel glow.
Her paintings are of the Mexico goddess Guadelupe and bear beautiful messages such as "Protect this Woman."
I proudly wear one of Sara's jackets and everyone compliments me.
Art Heaven in Sebastopol, California is a studio created by artist Carole
Watanabe and artist friends as a way to bring light to the world after
9/11.
The Art Heaven studio hosts 10 women who are committed to working together and supporting each other as they show their work collectively and individually.
They decided to contribute to Women's Giving Tree by auctioning off one of their paintings and using the funds to provide for schooling fees for a young Guatemalan girl. She is part of the NGO Mayan Families, one of our featured NGOs for January 2010.
When I work on Women’s Giving Tree, I get the fantastic feeling of being in touch with the world. This project couldn’t happen without email and the Internet. I can do searches of NGOs in remote places because today all the world has a website! And I can communicate with the NGO leaders through emails and ask questions, request photos, learn more. Readers can all join me in this by sending their own messages to the NGOs through the NGO web sites.
We have featured NGOs for women and their families in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We want to expand to Eastern Europe, Down Under, and the Pacific in the next few months.
So, readers, send us your ideas for NGOs!