Meri's Musings

Tomorrow's the big day. The official opening of the shrine auction to benefit Oaxacan Streetchildren Grassroots. April 17 - 24, 2010. This creative endeavor is the brainchild of Rebecca Brooks, whose soul is so luminous  that the world is a brighter place simply because she's in it. Her post today -- beautiful and lyrical as usual -- will give you the introduction you deserve. And then make sure you go to THE AUCTION SITE and start poring through the entries to decide which shrine(s) you just can't live without.  I've got my eye on a few. My blog buddies  Allegra Smith Deb Taylor   and   Lisa JonesMoore all have wonderful entries. There are many more pieces, all in need of a loving home. Just think, you can buy original art and touch the life of a child with just a few clicks of a mouse.

If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It's a factual and informative book detailing the many forms of oppression that women and girls experience in developing countries. It also introduces us to home-grown organizations around the world that are making an impact in redressing the wrongs on a local scale. You can find projects to support that address issues such as: midwifery and maternal health empowerment of women through job training and microloans eliminating sex-trafficking of young girls for prostitution helping educate girls, which reduces rates of early pregnancy, provides a way out of poverty, and breeds a new generation of women to educate and inspire their communities and provide menstrual supplies to girls so they don't have to miss school on a cyclical basis. I've given Christmas gifts in honor of my parents who have always been committed to activism to...