One of my google alerts alerted me to this good news this morning. The awesome Nicholas Kristoff and his awesome wife Sheryl WuDunn have a new book coming out in September, ‘Half the Sky, Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide‘. It will be a must read for me, I have pre-ordered it, booko told me it was cheapest at Amazon US at $AU36.20. Not bad. You can find out more from the website. There is also a special issue of the NYTimes magazine titiled ‘Saving the Worlds Women‘ which is well worth a read.

I am still waiting for my sponsor sister to be assigned to me from Women for Women, it does take about 4 weeks but I will post all the details as soon as I get them.

About a week ago I looked at my total for the Women for Women sponsorship and felt a bit frustrated, (I have no patience) I wanted to sponsor a woman NOW. I then realised that I could pay my sponsorship monthly and I had already made enough to cover the next eight months, so then I thought, “Why not start now, I’m sure in the next eight months I will sell enough to cover the other four months of the annual sponsorship?”, so I signed up! Now I wait for my “sister” to be assigned to me and we can start writing to each other. JOY! It worked. I would like to thank the girls who bought my blankets, Jemma, Kezia, Pia, Stephanie, Melanie, Annette, Leesa and Katherine. I’ll post a photo of my “sister” when I get it, it’s SO exciting!

I also ordered this book by Zainab Salbi who is the founder of WFW…

Thanks to booko.com.au I was able to get it for  AU$15.00 from The Book Depository which is UK bookshop that offers free shipping worldwide (I love the internet!). Can’t wait to read it.

I’m so happy today, I was able to add to my savings towards my Women for Women sponsorship – look at my total, it’s $82.00, that’s what I’m talkin’ bout! Who says that?! I’m 38 years old! The money came from the sale of my baby blankets, so thank you so much to the girls who purchased them! I am eagerly pacing around the house, jumping at every motor-bikey sound I hear because I’m waiting for the posty to drop off a big bundle of new fabric so I can get to it and make some more blankets. Her’s another peek at what I’m talkin’ bout…

This gorgeous fabric is designed by Erin McMorris. Here’s a wee bio,

Erin McMorris studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati and then textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has doodled, drawn, and designed in London, San Francisco, and New York, and currently rests her laptop in Portland, Oregon.

The collection is called Wildwood and here’s a good description of it (better than I could write myself),

Wildwood wanders through a light-dappled forest of swirling vines and dotted blossoms. Both natural and contemporary, this collection mixes citrus yellows, mint greens, bold pinks and cooling grays to create a landscape that is uniquely lush.

Mmmmm..sounds yummy.

Business Week has announced their Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs! One of my all time favourite companies, Better World Books has come in at No.1. I have been buying my books from them for a few years now and they are fantastic! And cheap! Another really cool business is CraftNetwork. Their mission is to create sustainable livelihoods for disadvantaged artisans. Here is a sample of what they sell, I’m into braclets at the moment but they have a wide range of gorgeous products, great for prezzies…

And finally this is one of the best ideas I’ve ever come across, check out Academic Earth, a website that publishes thousands of video lectures from the worlds top scholars. What a resource! I’m so excited about this, it’s so cool that so many different people will have access to these amazing minds.

BTW – don’t forget to enter my giveaway, I only have one entry..it’s sad..but you will have a very good chance of winning…the cushions are great, I promise!

I have been giving 25% of my profit from sales on etsy and Made It to Women for Women International as a donation for a while now.

However I am really keen to get into their sponsorship program. Women for Women provides a 12 month program for women who have been affected by war. The sponsorship involves helping women start their own small business so they can support themselves and their children. I feel really strongly about what they are trying to achieve. So much of the pain that women and children are subjected to stems from their economic dependence on others, they need control over their lives and the ability to make decisions for their children that keep them healthy and safe. The great thing about the program is that you can exchange letters/emails with the woman you sponsor and offer her emotional support as well as economic support. You can find out all about it at Women for Women International.

I have decided to save all of my profit from sales of my products until I have enough to sponsor a woman for a year, for me in Australia that is $451.70. I will update my progress towards my goal on my blog and will be crazy excited when I finally get there.

Women in Rwanda waiting in line to sign up for the Women for Women Program.

Women dancing at their graduation ceremony.

I just read Peter Singers new book, The Life You Can Save, it’s an amazing book. I was already familiar with his ideas and they havn’t changed an awful lot but that is because they are simple truths. He covers so many questions about giving that I have had over the years, How much ought you give?, Does your money really make a difference to people in poverty? And although he can’t answer them all definitively (who could?) he makes you realise that as long as you are doing the best you can to give as much as you can to the best possible charities (go to givewell.net) you ought to do it. I urge anyone reading this to get hold of this book, most libraries in Australia will have it. At the least have a look at his website, thelifeyoucansave.com.

Look right to see a new button, hand made help , then click on it! Cindy from bug and pop and Pip from meet me at mike’s have started a blog to raise some funds to help those effected by the fires in Victoria to rebuild their lives. There is some gorgeous stuff to buy so make sure you have a look!  Gemma from Kaotic Kraft Kuties is also organising a Bushfire fundraiser, along with Outre Gallery.

Also note that Coles is donating all profits from sales on Friday 13 to the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal Fund, details here.

Finally the Dust team on etsy has set up an etsy shop to raise funds, so please have a look here.

So plenty to keep everyone busy!

Speaking of the  Dust Team (Down Under Steet Team) I recently got involved in a grown-ups arty-crafty swap with them. The theme was “LOVE”. Here’s a cushion I came up with for my swapee…

This was my first go at embroidery so I hope it is okay, a bit wonky in places! The embroidery pattern can be found on  Andrea Zuill’s Bad Bird’s blog and is free. Andrea blogs a free embroidery pattern each month, this one is for January. I backed the cushion with some Anna Maria Horner fabric, my swapee was keen for some pinks and greens.

Anyway I hope she likes it!

PostQuote: “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” Dalai Lama

I am SO excited about the Obama inauguration! My darling hubby Rick is from the US and we are so proud and hopeful at the moment. We will be setting the alarm for 4am over here in Australia so we can watch the live coverage, we have a little party planned, pretzels and even a fancy box of chocolatey goodness to celebrate…is that a bit lame for the occasion? We can’t drink champagne at 4am and be sloshed when the kids wake up! He he…

Anyway congrats to the US and we are wishing and hoping and hoping and wishing for a bright future filled with sense and compassion for us all and most of all for our children.

Yayyyyyyyyyy! Oh yeah, all right!

I need to settle down, I’ll never get to sleep!

There was interesting article by Nicholas D. Kristof published in the NY Times on January the 14th entitled, “Where Sweatshops are a Dream” . He points out that when compared to the life that our poorest endure scavenging in rubbish dumps, the heat and health hazards etc, a job in a sweatshop factory would be “a dream” job. Well I found this really interesting and I think it highlights the dicrepancy between what is acceptable to us in the West compared to those who live in unimaginable poverty.

Kristof is an extremely well respected journalist with tremendous experience. I am listening to him, as someone who wants to help others I am more than happy to draw from his words of experience, experience  that I know I will never have.

I abhor the idea of buying anything that has been manufactured under conditions that I perceive as the equivalent of slavery, however, if I were face to face with a child and had to decide whether they should spend their days in a rubbish dump or a sweatshop factory, what would I do? I would like to see that child go to school, have clean water and a safe and healthy home and I believe with all my heart that we should all be working towards that goal. If we don’t want to buy from sweatshops (and I don’t) we have to do something else, so…

The middle way (to borrow a well known phrase) is to support that childs parents in fair employment that allows that child to go to school. That would mean supporting initiatives that work towards this end, Kristof gives AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) as an example. I would add programs like Women for Women International. Also lets shop fair trade, it’s Fair Trade Fortnight from 2-17 May 2009 in Australia and New Zealand, and from 23 Feb-8 March 2009 in the UK , for the US go to the Fair Trade Federation. I’ll write more about this closer to the time.

Here’s some links to shop fair trade, The Hunger Site, Tribes and Nations, Global Exchange Store, Wishcraft, Ethical Superstore, etc.

Well, thanks if you read all that! Here’s a pretty picture from my holiday for your trouble!

Much Love

Rachelle

I can hardly believe what is happening in Zimbabwe. I keep up with the news about the Zimbabwe situation through Google Alerts so everyday I am reading these stories and really just don’t know what to do – it’s such a mess. I feel bad that I am not doing anything but I am baffled by the situation. What I have done is added some links below for anyone who is interested, at the very least we can be aware of the suffering.

Photo: “Welcome Home, ‘Magabe…’ Welcome to Hell….” Free Zimbabwe…

(Dereks photostream, Flickr)

Zimbabwe Situation

Kubatana

ZWNEWS

This is Zimbabwe

Relief Web

If you follow these links there are plenty of ideas for action that we can all take.

For womens news visit Women News Network.

Postquote:  “The earth is the mother of all people and all people should have equal rights upon it” (Chief Joseph, 1732-1794)