Tales From The Front Lines

As all of you that are customers and fans of Buy The Change are aware, we are very inspired by the work of Sheryl WuDunn and Nicolas Kristof.  They are the authors of the book Half The Sky which was a major inspiration in starting our company.  We are always on the lookout for like minded individuals and recently discovered a blog called Spillerina.  The blog is not only about international issues concerning women and girls (it's about a lot of other fun things too) but the auther is very much a like minded person who has traveled and experienced these issues first hand.  Below is a post from the Spillerena blog detailing the authors experiences volunteering in an orphanage in Cambodia in 2007:



I have been a huge fan of Nicolas Kristof for years. He has lead the charge on many human rights and social justice issues such as human trafficking, and has single handedly spread awareness on huge humanitarian issues that have been ignored by the mainstream media for decades. Many of the issues presented in Half the Sky are near and dear to my heart, as I have witnessed firsthand just how horrific and unfair the conditions are for women in some parts of the world. I’ll be writing a lot about human rights issues in the coming weeks, but today I thought I’d start with my personal experience.
In the summer of 2007 I volunteered an orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I’d been traveling around Southeast Asia for a couple months, having the time of my life, and I thought it would be nice to do something to “give back.” I emailed a few NGOs that worked with orphanages in Cambodia, and the response I received was overwhelming: they needed help and would take as much of at is they could get. After a few back and forth emails, I became a volunteer for Children of Cambodia’s Orphanage Development Project.

I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

The orphanage I ended up volunteering at was one of the poorest in the city. Almost all of the children at the orphanage were either mentally and/or physically disabled, and the older kids that appeared to be healthy were all HIV positive. On my first day, I didn’t know if I could last six days let alone six weeks. The conditions were horrible, it was stifling hot, and the place smelled disgusting.

It is amazing how quickly I got used to this........

The NGO that I volunteered through also had a shelter for girls that were victims of the sex slave trade. I was told that the day the shelter opened, over 50 girls showed up. I can’t even imagine how much these girls had to risk just to get there, but at that time the shelter could only accommodate 25. So, they took the youngest. All of the girls in the shelter were between the ages of 7 and 13.
Cambodia is a beautiful but very corrupt country, and the sex slave trade is rampant. Many families can’t afford to have any extra mouths to feed, so instead of giving up their unwanted babies to an orphanage like the one I worked at, they sell them to a brothel.

If the kid appeared disabled or sick in some way, they would usually drop them off at an orphanage. It wasn’t uncommon for babies to be left in front of the orphanage gates.

The time I spent in Cambodia changed me in ways I can’t even begin to describe, and these experiences are deeply engrained in the soul of my existence. I’ll carry them with me until the day I die.


Thanks so much to Serena at Sillerena for letting us share a piece of her experience.  Please read the entire post at:      http://www.spillerena.com/2012/08/01/half-the-sky/

Click here to see the Half The Sky Movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JbWA-6GDn4&feature=player_embedded

Click here to join the Half The Sky Movement:   http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

Click here to purchase the Half The Sky book.  It really is a must read:
http://www.amazon.com/Half-Sky-Oppression-Opportunity-Worldwide/dp/0307387097/ref=la_B001H6MMHA_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343857553&sr=1-1

As always you can find Buy The Change products at our website:  www.buythechangeusa.org

Keep up on the latest happenings on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/buythechange

Tell Me About Where This Came From....

Our customers often ask where the item they are purchasing was made or "what the story is" about a certain product.  Today I asked my Mom what she might be interested in reading about on the Blog, and she said "about where your products come from and the women who make them".   Maybe other readers are interested in more information about this topic as well.

Buy The Change currently has products  made by women in 12 developing nations.  Every piece has been handmade and fairly traded.  The list includes:  Afganistan, Cambodia, China, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam. 

We are always searching for new and interesting products from unrepresented countries.  This past May at the International Women's Expo in Novi, we were blessed to meet Leslie,  a wonderful women from western Michigan.  She spends half the year in Africa doing mission work and has become our eyes on the ground in Kenya and Uganda.  She handpicks african jewelry and baskets for Buy The Change, directly from the women artisans who make them.  In summer 2012 we added recycled paper bead jewelry and fabric baskets.  This fall you will see a large selection of bright colored rafia baskets in our inventory as well.   Helping us find new products helps Leslie continue the important work she is doing in Africa with her non-profit, Surprised by Hope. 

Here is a sample list of the types of products we source from each country:

Afganistan:    Organic Soaps, balms and Lotions
Cambodia:     Silk  bags and Scarves
China:            Jewelry
Guatemala:    Scarves and Bags
India:             Jewelry, Recycled Sari Fabric Blankets, bags and scarves
Indonesia:      Sterling Silver Jewelry
Kenya:           Recycled Fabric Bowls, Recycled Paper Bead Jewelry
Mexico:         Bags, Sterling Silver Jewelry
Nepal:            Woven Glass Bead Roll-on Bracelets
Thailand:        Silk Bags and Scarves
Uganda:         Baskets, Recycled Paper Bead Jewelry, Glass Bead Jewelry 
Vietnam:        Silk Bags and Scarves 

You can find more detailed information about the artisan groups at the Buy The Change website.   www.buythechangeusa.org.

Check out our Facebook page too:  www.facebook.com/buythechange   If you aren't already a friend, please hit "like" while you are there. 

Social Entrepreneurship vs Non Profit

Buy The Change is part of an amazing trend in the world of business.  This trend, social entrepreneurship, is based on business practices focused on making a long term, positive social impact.  Because profits are not the main goal of our company, we can make decisions that allow growth while considering the best possible influence and outcomes for everyone involved.  From the women who make the products we sell, to the NGO's and/or microloan programs that helped them set up their businesses, to the fair trade wholesalers we use to help us source the best products, everyone's best interest is considered.  We choose only to do business with people and organizations that follow fair trade practices and function as social entrepreneurs themselves.

We take care to offer products you, our customers want to own.  We want to be the go to place when you need a gift for yourself or someone else.  The idea of buying fair trade products, that you will probably never use, as a donation to a non-profit is becoming obsolete.  Social entrepreneurship is replacing this old dynamic.

Because we are legally a "for profit" business, we can use the profits we make by selling fairly traded products to expand our reach and influence in raising awareness about the issues facing women and girls around the developing world.  We don't have to fund raise to do an awareness campaign or support a new group of artisans.  As we grow and independent consultants begin holding Buy The Change shows shows all over the country, we will have added even another level to our plan for social change by creating jobs for women here in the United States.

Don't get me wrong,  we believe in the work being done by non-profit organizations all over the world.  We just don't believe that a company has to be a non-profit to be firmly committed to making a difference and creating lasting change.  We are in the process of creating the Buy The Change Foundation which will be a 501(c)3 organization.  The foundation will be responsible for supporting special projects that are larger than the scope of what we can do while trying to establish and grow our company.

We don't believe in limits or living life from a place of "we can't".  If there is something we can do to further our mission and be an agent of change for women and girls around the world, we will figure out a way to get it done. 

Half The Sky - Turning Oppression into opportunity for women worldwide

This amazing book, written by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and published in 2009.  It is a must read for anyone and everyone who envisions a just and peaceful world.   The authors have traveled extensively as international reporters for The New York Times and have witnessed first hand the condition of being female in the developing world.  The title is based on a Chinese proverb that states "Women hold up half the sky"
The challenges and atrocities faced by women and girls around the developing world are as diverse as the cultures they live in, almost universally their contributions, potential, power and worth is not recognized or honored.  Often their lives are seen as disposable.  The trafficking of young girls for the international sex trade, the marriage of young girls to much older men, female circumcision, lack of education, bride burning, acid burning.... The list goes on and on and it is all happening right now.

Chapter 14 of Half The Sky is titled What You Can Do:  The authors list 4 options for getting involved on a grassroots level, which is where we believe real and lasting change takes place.

1. Create an account with Kiva (www.kiva.org), Global Giving (www.globalgiving.org) or  Givology (www.givology.com), organizations that put funds directly into the hands of women wanting to start a business or girls needing tuition to attend school.
2. Sponsor a woman or girl through Plan International, Women for Women International or World Vision.  This is also an opportunity to connect directly with the women or girl you sponsor through letters.
3.  Stay up to date on what is happening in the world concerning women by signing up for email updates at www.womensenews.org or www.worldpulse.com.
4.  Join the Care Action Network (www.can.care.org)  a citizens advocacy group

These are the ice breakers, simple ways to get started because getting started is often the most difficult part. 

Buy The Change is developing relationships with NGOs around the world that are working to create jobs and income for women.  Most of these wonderful organizations were started by one or two people with a vision of being part of the solution.  One of our rolls at Buy The Change is to help expand the market, here in the US, for the high quality products being created within these partnerships of fair trade organizations and talented, hard working women.

Check out or website  www.buythechangeusa.org  or our Facebook page www.facebook.com/buythechange  to learn more about who we are and what we do. 
Another great place to spend some time reading is www.halftheskymovement.org

FROM IDEA TO ACTION

In July, it will be one year since Shanan and I sat down on the patio at Plum Market in Ann Arbor to have our first meeting about starting this company.  Two inspirational books, Half The Sky and Global Girlfriends, cemented the idea that we would focus on selling products made by women in the developing world.  We jumped in with all four  feet; created a mission statement, chose a name, filed paperwork, opened a bank account, secured web and email addresses….  Buy The Change was off and running and we haven’t stopped since.

How does one person (or two) create a cycle of activity that can really change hearts and lives?  Well, one small step at a time.  We are doing what we can from where we are and learning as we go.   Every item we buy has put lifesaving funds into the hands of a woman in great need.  When we sell that item we take the money and buy something else.  As far as I can tell, that’s how it’s done.