I hope you have begun to explore this website and begun to be inspired about what girls can achieve!
The problems are big, it's true. When I started to learn about what is really going on around the world, even in Australia, in my own home city, and the ways women are being oppressed and down trodden, I was horrified and saddened. As a new mother myself, to read stories of of mothers selling their own children; or parents wanting to take their own lives because the despair of watching their children starve to death or be raped and maimed is too much; or to hear of girls being trafficked and sold into sex slavery, and beaten into compliance, and then going on to do the same to other girls later on because they have lost all hope of there being any other way to survive....
Well, at first it's shocking and almost too much to comprehend. But then it makes you take stock. It makes you look around at your own life and realise how good you have it. Even through the lowest points in my life I have always had support, always had a back up plan, always had a lifeline.
Some people have none of this.
But that shouldn't make us feel guilty. I think it's a sense of being overwhelmed and not wanting to feel guilt that makes many people turn a blind eye and just go about their lives. I understand this. It seems like too much, and if you don't know what to do about it, it's too painful to dwell on.
But there is another option. There's another response other than guilt. And that is empowerment.
How does learning about the suffering of billions of people make me feel empowered?
Well, because I realised that I can do something. Rather than feel guilt that my life is so easy in comparison, I realised that the blessings I have received in my life have set me up perfectly to make a difference in the lives of others.
I feel empowered because that burning fire in my heart now has an outlet. My voice has a reason to be raised.
Do you feel it too? Do you feel a stirring and lifting of your spirit that the world is changing and we, sisters, are a part of it?
More than a part - I believe the answer to many of the worlds problems is women. Women coming together and lifting each other, for the good of their families; for their good of their communities; for the good of all humanity.
This website is more than just a bit of information. It's more than just a few links to some organisations.
It's a call. A call to raise your voice in defence of the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden. I hope this website can be the beginning of something that is more than just the sum of it's parts.
And it will be, if you join in and make it that way.
So what can you do here?
If you haven't already:
1. Click "Start Here" on the menu bar. You'll find more information about why this website is here.
2. Go to "Learn" in the "Start Here" drop down menu - find resources to help get educated about what is happening in the world. (If you have resource recommendations, get in touch.)
3. Start talking about what you are learning. Raise awareness.
3. Go to "Do" in the "Start Here" drop down menu - find practical and pretty simple ideas about how you can make a real difference, whatever your interests, gifts and talents. (If you have suggestions, get in touch.)
4. Post in the forums
5. Tell your story - every one has got one. Submit it as a blog post, and it might even get published here.
6. Read the blog - it will periodically contain news stories, inspiration, and ways to make a difference, as well as featuring great organisations & your stories.
7. If you are in Adelaide, come the "Launch Lunch" and meet with other like minded women for lunch, fair trade coffee and chocolate tasting, a speaker and general motivation.
8. Then stay tuned for bigger and better things to come!
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