1. Notes: 1 / 1 year ago 

   RE-BRANDING AFRICA: She is not a Charity Case

   The Rwandan women we serve are former prostitutes. They’ve been beaten, raped and oppressed to a point where the only viable method for supporting themselves and their babies was to sell their bodies. Society regularly humiliated them to the point that they believed they were worthless.*
   
   It would be easy for us to tell that story all over the world, knowing it would pull on heart strings and likely compel people to donate or buy products. This methodology would certainly be in line with typical aid agency tactics for support.
   
   One day I was talking with one of the pioneers of this initiative named Virginia. I asked her what she wanted me to tell the people about her experience with KEZA. She said “I am no longer known as a prostitute, I am known as a successful business woman”. I literally broke down in tears.
   
   That prompted me to ask all of the women how they wanted to be represented to the world. It’s astonishing how seldom this question is asked of aid recipients. Every woman stepped forward and said something along the lines of “we don’t want to be known for our past, we want to be known for who we are now”.
   
   If you constantly treat someone as a charity case, they are likely to limit themselves accordingly. If we branded Africa as a bastion of beauty and excellence, we might see more of it coming out of her. People may begin to believe in themselves. She’s experienced decades of aid agencies telling her she’s unworthy, inept and incapable of excellence; that she needs their help in order to survive. How would that make you feel? 
   
   We need to flip the switch, start believing in Africa and brand her accordingly. It might just become a self fulfilling proclamation.
   
   *You will never hear these stories in KEZA promotional materials. We committed to only telling the stories the women wanted us to tell; the ones of beauty and excellence. We would never use their past to garner funds. They deserve better than that.

2. Notes

   1. ekfell reblogged this from jaredmiller
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These are my thoughts, and more likely my agendas. Let’s call a spade a spade. I want to inspire people to treat each other with love and respect, and to live each second as if it were our last.

At the end of the day, I appreciate the journey, good and bad. I believe there is purpose in everything; literally everything. And the more I embrace that, the more I truly live; the more peace I have.

I believe in the social entrepreneur model, as opposed to the traditional forms of aid that have crippled developing nations for decades. And on top of that, I believe the fashion industry is one of the best industries to leverage as a tool to combat poverty and help restore dignity to developing nations. So that's my thing. If that's not appealing, you might want to read a different blog.

I believe in the power and importance of ubuntu. I aspire to do more…more than I have to. I won’t "change the whole world", but I intend to make some significant improvements along the way as I try. And I’ll fight for all sorts of justice, up to the day they throw dirt on me.

I thank God that I get to live this life. Carpe diem.

+ Comments are welcome. I'd love for this to be a two way conversation. +

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