The Unimaginable

While there are a handful of classic literary heroines to look up to as a child, Nancy Drew, Jo March, etc., arguably the smartest, spunkiest, most imaginative, and most dedicated to social justice is Anne of Green Gables.

One of Anne’s pieces of sage advice that always stuck with me is, “It's all very well to read about sorrows and imagine yourself living through them heroically, but it's not so nice when you really come to have them, is it?"

It is often romantic to imagine sufferning and to imagine us emerging above it, but who would risk the romance for the pain? War in novels and films is often epic and beautiful, but in real life dirty and inhumane. In “Pretty Woman” the prostitute heroine is young, beautiful, and vibrant, seemingly untouched by the horrors of her industry.

And these are the horrors we can imagine; but, what about those that are completely unfathomable? Like the sex slave trade. Although this taboo subject is starting to be depicted more often, as in the extreme violence of action film “Taken,” the reality of the sex slave trade is largely ignored.

Women who are taken as sex slaves are often sold by their families, physically and mentally abused, and never recover.

Organizations like the Somaly Mam Foundation in Cambodia are fighting to help these women rehabilitate, but not without strong resistance. The daughter of Founder and former sex slave Somaly Mam, was kidnapped by traders and raped as a warning.

These are the kinds of sorrows impossible to imagine living through, let alone imagine living through heroically.

This Tuesday, July 28^th in New York City, The Body Shop, in partnership with Somaly Mam, is holding a rally “Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People” from 12:30-1:30 outside of St. Mark’s Church at 131 East 10^th Street.

Go if you can. We can make the unimaginable unable to ignore. As Anne would say, it is not so nice to live these sorrows ourselves, and luckily for most of us we don’t. We need to do our part to ensure that others do not either.

In fellowship and humanity,

CAFW

Devotion

According to a recent Non Profit Times article, in 2008 giving dropped $6.4 billion, the largest drop on record. Just as more people are appealing to homeless shelters, food kitchens, and other charitable organizations, more people are cutting back on their spending, tightening their proverbial belts.

To most, this hardly comes as a surprise. As Del Martin, Chair of Giving USA Foundation, said, “There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that charitable giving would go down.”

However, Martin goes on to say, “What we find remarkable is that individuals, corporations and foundations still provided more that $307 billion, despite the economic conditions.”

In this light, the glass doesn’t look half full, but it doesn’t look empty either.

If anything can be said about human beings, it is surely that we are remarkably resilient. We can survive heartbreak, war, and depression and come out the other end to recreate our lives. But not everyone makes it through.

And this is why we need to give. Do not see the record drop in giving as discouragement, but as incentive. It shows that however hard we took the economic crisis, we did not give up on each other. We still gave, and we can give more.

One definition of “to give” in the Oxford English Dictionary is to devote. Devotion to a greater cause is what will bring us through tough times dignity intact. Together, we can devote ourselves to our common humanity.

2008 showed us we couldn’t be crushed, 2009 can show us our full potential.

Give. I urge you to. Make a difference in the life of one other person, and start there. 

In Fellowship and Humanity,

CAFW

Ask and you shall receive...

New York Times editors are answering questions about the current climate in Iran. Visit the link, ask a question, and read some of the responses. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/media/29askthetimes.html?_r=1

ARISE Africa, Cecilia Keynote Speaker

On June 20th, 2009, ARISE Africa Fashion Awards honored Cecilia as keynote speaker, giving her speech entitled "The Promise of Africa." 

Cecilia connected the "Promise of Africa" to its amazing women, saying, "Africa has one limitless natural resource yet unrealized that has the power to dramatically change the course of the continent. That resource is women." For the full text of the speech, please visit www.ceciliaattiasfoundation.org under tab, speeches. 

Earlier in the day, the Foundation made great advancements. 

First, at "Breakfast with Cecilia Attias" hosted by Dr. Precious Moloi Motsepe, Executive Chairperson of Africa Fashion International, wife of mining mogul Patrice Motsepe, and philanthropist, 20 of South Africa's most prominent women from business, media, and non-profits came together to discuss the future of women in Africa. 

Out of that breakfast came the birth of the Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women in Africa, and the African Women Task Force. Details to come shortly. 

In the afternoon, Cecilia and her husband Richard Attias, visited the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. Zondwa Mandela accepted a donation on behalf of his grandfather to go towards the new Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital to be built in Johannesburg. 

While in SA, Foundation staff also visited Ikageng Itireleng AIDS Ministry in Soweto led by the inspiring Mom Carol. A few pictures are posted below. 

The Cecilia Attias Foundation is gearing up to forge new relationships in Africa, and make a tangible difference in the lives of women through women on the ground, keeping in mind the immortal words of Mandela himself, "It always seems impossible until it is done."

Sanibona Humanity!

Desmond Tutu one wrote, "We say in Africa that a person is a person through other persons. A solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. We are made for togetherness, for friendship, for fellowship." 

As Tutu illuminates, humans are meant to be together and to help each other. Alone, we are sad and out of place, but together we are strong and we have purpose. This is the essence of humanity. 

This togetherness, this fellowship, this humanity can be compromised in a world where we are constantly inundated by images of consumer items that make us focus on the material rather than the communal. That is why, today more than ever, we need to hold strong to whatever communal bonds we hold dear and we need to work to constantly forge new ones.

In this spirit, the Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women has just arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa. We are here to meet with NGOs and associations, form new bonds, and create new friendships. 

Cecilia will be speaking at the ARISE Africa Fashion Awards on Saturday, her speech themed "The Promise of Africa." Before the awards, Cecilia is hosting a luncheon for prominent South African women from all walks of life to discuss what issues are facing women in South Africa today, and what we can do about it in the future. 

Keep checking back as we update you on our trip, and all new developments!

In fellowship,

CAFW

Extra, Extra Read All About It!

THE CECILIA ATTIAS FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN has launched a blog to keep you updated on all Foundation activities and aware of curent events relating to women's rights worldwide.

Women remain the world’s most valuable untapped resource. Yet, across the globe, girls continue to be educated less than their male counterparts and to be the victims of violent, gender based crimes. Violence against women is not only abhorrent in its prevalence but also in its diveristy of form, ranging from the systematic rape of thousands of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the recent bought of women falling victim to acid-throwing attacks in Pakistan when they dare go to school or work.

In its State of the World Population report of 2005, the United Nations Population Fund underscores the enormous “social and economic benefits for society as a whole” of educating female populations. However, women continuously face inequity in the labor market and in political representation.

And now, with the emergence of AIDS, women are suffering from what Stephen Lewis has called a "gender based disease" disproportiantely affecting women because they have no control over thier own bodies or sexual experiences. If women continue to be uneducated, underrepresented in political spheres, and unprotected from pandemic violence, ignorance will plague their progeny and incurable diseases like AIDS will spread.

Fortunately, caring and fiercely dedicated activists worldwide are fighting to ammend these realities.

The Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women is doing so in two ways:

SUPPORT AND CONSULTING:  We offer financial and other support to organizations that have demonstrated a high quality of excellence and inventiveness in addressing specific social problems affecting women today. We focus on organizations that have already implemented a plan of action, but are interested in expanding scope or quality of services. Working in French politics for over 20 years, Cecilia Attias has had experience in the media spotlight as well as extensive experience in strategic communications and management. The Foundation can provide partner organizations with valuable advice that will improve their day-to-day operations and increase awareness through media exposure.

GUARANTEE: Donors need to know that their money is doing exactly what it needs to be doing, that it is helping exactly whom it needs to be helping, and that it is creating the desired results. Cecilia Attias personally visits each site, and offers her guarantee that each donation is creating tangible, positive impact.We select organizations based on their high standards, and we ensure that those standards are consistently maintained.  Our certification of support ensures complete transparency. The corporate certification is made in partnership with a global accountant institution to assure qualification to perform a task. The Foundation delivers a certificate for general work, valid for two years and renewed periodically.

Please visit our website, learn about our work, and become active in our cause in whichever way you see fit. As the common adage says, "All that is needed for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

So let us come together as good men and women and do something.