Haiti

I just read two articles about post earthquake Haiti.  One was in the February 2012 Marie Claire magazine    and the other in the February 2011 Mother Jones magazine.  It’s shocking to me that these pieces were written a year apart and yet they express the same thing: sexual violence against women and girls in the camps in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and rape births are shockingly high.  Why didn’t I know about this?  500,000 people still living in camps?   So what are we to do?  Do we wait and hope that the new government can make the protection of its girls and women a priority?  Do we wait for all the aid money to trickle down and then re-launch donation campaigns?  This is a tough one, but as Oprah would say, one thing I know for sure is that rebuilding a community cannot happen while there is widespread sexual victimization of women and girls.  Something has to be done and I believe it will take the efforts of individuals and small organizations like ours to do it.   It all starts with turning over one question over and over in our minds, ‘what can I do?’.  I am asking myself that question.  Will you?

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A radical New Year…

The New Year always brings with it a gentle push towards deep reflection for me. As I reflect, I am reminded about what I want to accomplish this year, and in what areas I want to stretch myself.

Professionally, I am looking forward to seeing the Yayaz girls this April and would love to have a great celebration for all of the girls that have graduated. I am also eager to ‘break ground’ on our Niko Freshi cooperative that will create the yaya pad, a reusable cloth sanitary pad for girls and women in the region. Personally, I welcome the opportunity to be more physically active and more present. I also endeavor to be at peace within and be able to share it with others.

This year I am motivated to challenge my fears and step into the unknown. Angela Davis once said, “radical simply means grasping things at the root”, and I intend to be radical with my fears so I can live and do all the things I am intended to do and I kindly invite you to do the same!

So here’s to a year of fearless vision (take 2) and true living.

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It’s a new year!

It’s a new year!  I love January because it’s all about new beginnings.  It’s as though all the turmoil of the previous year has been washed away and I approach the new year with  fresh perspective, fresh hope, and fresh motivation to be the best Tilu I can be.  January is the month in which I am unapologetically self-absorbed and quite frankly, I love it.

I love thumbing through spiritual & self-help books looking for new ideas on how to have more peace in my life, how to have better boundaries, how to have a 4-Hour Work Week, and how to stop being excited about every deal I see on Groupon.  I pore over health magazines and figure out which new supplements I’m going to start taking therapeutic levels of and which new exercises I’m going to try.  Is Tracey Anderson’s Metamorphosis worth it or is the class I take at the gym with Lisa enough?

January is the most delicious month because I nourish all those parts of myself that tend to take a back burner for the rest of the year.  It’s taken me years, but I finally realize that taking care of me first, enables me to give myself more fully to the Foundation projects and all the other things that I have on my plate.

So here’s to a month of self-absorption!  Enjoy!

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