Grade Three

Tsehay passed grade 2!

Tsehay is my sponsor child in Ethiopia. She is 10 years old and I have been sponsoring her since she was 6. At the time I began sponsoring her she had not yet started school, and she failed grade 1 the first time she took it, and needed to start back over.

Imagine being a little girl where just going to grade 1 is a challenge. I think back to my year in grade 1 and it was such a carefree time in my life, as it is for most Canadian kids. We played tag at recess, learn how to add 1 + 1, and went on field trips with our classes.

For Tsehay, and for many girls in rural Ethiopia, grade 1 is different. Her family lives in a very rural area that does not even have a road leading to it. Nearly all families work as substinence farmers, and Tsehay's father is the proud owner of two cows and several sheep. Being the girl in the family, it is part of Tsehay's role to care for the animals and take them to graze in the day; during the time that she should be in school.

Because of this barrier, Tsehay has struggled in school and her attendance has never been the best. When I went to Ethiopia in February 2009 and met her, I had an incredible time interacting with her and her family. The only thing I would change now, looking back, is I would have spoken to the family about the importance of school (using the World Vision translators). At the time, I was so overwhelmed and was trying to take everything in. But now I try to make up for that and with every letter I send Tsehay, I finish it telling her how smart she is and how she will grow up to be whatever she wants to be (currently a doctor).

Last week when I got a letter from Tsehay, letting me know she received the outfit, socks, and soap that I sent and telling me she had passed grade 2 and was registered for grade 3, I was thrilled because I knew what a challenge it was for Tsehay to get to that point. Her parents are illiterate and many people would look at her and say that she has no hope to do better. It is my greatest hope for her that she will be able to complete her primary education. I will be THRILLED if she goes on to secondary school, but if Tsehay just completes primary school, she will have so much more knowledge and skills than the generation before her.

Education is THE best way to change the life of a child living in poverty. If you are unable to sponsor a child through World Vision, I have a challenge for you. For the month of November, donate 10% of your income to charity. Just try it for a month. I highly recommend Christian Upliftment School, as 100% of your funds will go directly to a school in Uganda that desparately needs it. I have donated 10% of my income for the last few years without really realizing it, but I am going to make a conscious effort to continue, especially now that I am working full time and making more than when I was in school. I have started this month by making an extra donation to go directly to Tsehay's family, as I do every year. The past few years they have always used it to buy Tsehay a new set of clothes, and to add an animal to their farm. I can't wait to get the photo of Tsehay with whatever they choose to buy this year! (If you sponsor through World Vision, call them and say you want to make a donation directly to your sponsor child's family. It has to be $150 and you will get a photo of your sponsor child with whatever the family buys, along with a thank you letter).

NightLight Designs

When I was in Thailand in June, I had the privlege of spending some time with NightLight Designs. NightLight is an international organization committed to addressing the complex issues surrounding trafficking and prostitution by catalyzing individual and community transformation. NightLight’s vision is to offer intervention to sexually exploited women and children, to enable them to discover their dignity, and to provide a program of holistic transformation, empowering them to live and work in their community.

Sandra is an incredible person who showed me around NightLight and explained how jewelry making changes the lives of women who are former prostitutes. I asked her a few questions about NightLight, and you can read her answers below.

How many women are employed by Nightlight Designs, and what are their hours and wages like?

NightLight employees approximately 80 women and 10 Thai Staff. The women salaries average around 6500 baht ($216 USD) per month (raises and incentives are available) They work Monday - Friday 9-5 however, 9-10 is worship, 12-1 is lunch, and there are classes; piano, guitar, voice, English, photography, bible studie, and team building offered throughout the day as well.

The women that you employ are former prostitutes. What factors play into them going into the sex trade?

There are cultural and poverty factors. The women mostly come from the region of Isaan, which is the poorest region in Thailand. The cost of sending children to high school can be prohibitive for families and therefore they need their children to quit school and work. Because Isaan is mostly a region of rice farming, there aren't adequate opportunities for girls to work and they end up coming to the city to find employment. Culuturally women are resonsible for their parents care until they die and are obligated to provide. Once they come to the city they realize with only a grade 6 or grade 9 education they can't get a good job and end up working in a bar, which also pays a higher salary, making life better for their families (they send a large amount of their salary to their parents)

Do you have a particular story that stands out, that you wouldn’t mind sharing with us, regarding the transformation Nightlight Designs has made in the lives of Thai women?

I recommend you go to this site http://www.xpmedia.com/?s=Bangkok or one story in particular http://www.xpmedia.com/geSepQEH4KlT and you can hear a first hand testimony of some of our women which is translated in English.
Watch the video.

As North Americans, what role can we play in discouraging prostitution in Asia?

Raise awareness in your local community, educate boys and men about what coming to Asia for the sex industry does to women. Be an advocate for women in general in your own nation. Be a part of an organization that is fighting human trafficking.

Is Nightlight jewellery fair trade? What does fair trade mean to the women of Thailand and how does it help their quality of life? I will get back to you about this question.
We aren't fair trade, (fees involved to be fair trade etc) but our workers are protected, paid fairly and are treated with great love and respect.



NightLight is an incredible organization, and a good example of a fair trade business, even though they do not have the funds to be certified fair trade. Seeing firsthand the happiness of the women and the fantastic conditions in which they were working proved to me how strong and successful NightLight is. Go to the website and purchase jewelry, and know that with every purchase a women is being lifted from poverty and exploitation.

We Day

This past week has been a whirlwind. The NGO that I work for, Free the Children, put on a concert for social justice; We Day. 16,000 students and teachers came to the ACC in Toronto to learn about social change. Talent such as K'naan, Jacob Hoggard, Down With Webster, Betty Williams, and Deepak Chopra made appearances. It was incredible.

The planning began months and months ago for Free the Children, but we started implementing it on Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday were 16 hour work days; loading everything into the ACC and getting prepared for Thursday. It was nothing short of exhausting, but we were all excited. The talent arrived on Load in Day #2 to do sound checks, and we all went into the bowl to listen as Greyson Chance, Jacob Hoggard, and Down With Webster played their songs... a private show!

We arrived at the ACC bright and early at 5am on Thursday. By 8am the doors open and the students flooded in. They wore Me to We style and carried handmade posters with captions like "I Am Making a Difference" and "We are the Change". The best part of We Day, for me, was walking in from backstage just as the concert was started, and seeing 16,000 students screaming for social change. To know how their lives will be impacted for the inspiration they got out of We Day is incredible... and even better, the lives in our projects around the world that will be impacted by the action they start to take.

Working on the food team, I helped to feed the talent and get their dressing rooms set up, etc. Some were very high strung, some were down to earth, some sat and had conversations with us, others acted as if the world revolved around them. It was interesting, to say the least. The contrasts between working for an NGO and working with celebrities were overwhelming at times. Most of my day consisted of delivering teddy grahams to Greyson Chance and organic milk to K'naan, but fortunately we had a bit of down time and I was able to run into the center of the bowl and watch the show. It was definitely exciting getting to meet people that I have only seen on TV before, and I think they are all awesome for taking part in We Day. The guys of The Buried Life, in particular, were awesome.

Marc and Craig spoke to the students and did an awesome job of inspiring them to take action right away. Craig has been travelling for most of the time I have been employed by Free the Children, but Marc is often around and he is someone I have so much respect and admiration for. Both of them are incredible people. I caught bits and parts of the show, and Rocky Dawuni was someone I caught, and had never heard of before. He is a Ghanian artist and I really liked his style; download his song Walls Tumblin Down. We were busy and running around much of the day (my feet are so sore I cannot walk!) but when K'naan closed up the show we all dropped what we were doing and ran out to watch his two songs. He sang Wavin' Flag and Take A Minute. As he closed it up with Wavin' Flag, I enjoyed the benefits of being staff and walked right up to the stage; I have an awesome video of Marc and Craig, our friends Wilson and Jackson (Maasai warriors from Kenya who just came to Canada for the first time to speak at We Day), and the huge audience all screaming for K'naan... incredible.

We Day was exciting and busy, but I will admit that Shameless Idealists is something I like even better. Friday consisted of another 5am wake up call as we headed back to the ACC to host 1000 students for Shameless Idealists; a series of CTV aired segements featuring Craig interviewing some of our talent; Jacob Hoggard, Cherie Blair, Betty Williams, and K'naan. The day was much more low key and I was able to watch much of the show. It had a more intimate feel than We Day, and was much more about the real content; talking to the talent about how to get involved and what their passions are.

Jacob Hoggard talked about his trip to Kenya with Free the Children, in particular with the alternative income program. I was really impressed with how genuine he seemed. I found myself nodding in agreement as he described emotions that I experienced after coming home from my first humantarian trip. I am not a huge fan of Cherie Blair, so didn't watch any of her segement. I had never heard of Betty Williams before We Day, but she was incredible. I delivered food to her dressing room and she was so kind and eager to talk. On stage, she was in tears talking about violence and her Nobel Peace Prize award for her passion and commitment to peace. Her personality is what struck a chord with me. She is one of those rare people who does not care at all what people think. She spoke from the heart and bared her soul and struck a passion in the audience unlike any of the other speakers. K'naan spoke about growing up in Somalia, and then moving to America (and then Canada) and the violence he experienced both in Somalia and in North America. Many of his friends were killed in Somalia, and many were killed in gang violence in North America. He sang a new song, Fatima, about his best friend growing up. When they were both 12 years old, he left Somalia, and she was shot 3 days later. It is a beautiful song and a beautiful testimony to her. I was really impressed with him on stage. I had always thought of him as someone who used being African to his own fame, but who didn't really care about the issues. He seemed so genuine and very intelligent; talking about bringing sustainability and conflict resolution to Somalia, rather than just a hand out, and talking about how Africa is more than just war, poverty, HIV/AIDS; it is very diverse and we shouldn't stereotype it, as he admitted that he used to do.

Being backstage, aside from going into the bowl and seeing the excitement of the students, I wasn't really able to see the outcome of We Day. I know that it is incredible that young people are coming together to cheer for a movement. I know that many had tears in their eyes and that many had their hearts changed and their groups mobilized to take action. But I will admit I am very excited to get to work on Monday and call my school groups to hear first hand how this experienced changed them. The emails from my educators have already begun flooding my inbox.

We Day is unique. Never before has there been a concert this big SOLELY for youth and SOLELY for promoting activism. I am exhausted right now after a week of We Day madness, but am so honoured to have been a part of this and am so excited to see effects that will come from it.


I will post my videos soon, once I combine them in one big video. Follow the link at the end of the video and 'like' We Day in facebook... it equals $1 donated to Free the Children!