Women supporting Women

I've been out of the blog world for the last week. I was preparing my best friend's Blessingway. For anyone not familiar with the term a Blessingway is a special ritualized party celebrating the passage from maidenhood to motherhood or the next phase in motherhood. It is a more mother focused event and not as gift oriented as the traditional baby shower. I will post a specific entry about the party at a later date. But in the essence of supporting women I wanted to post about two organizations that I came across this week.

The first I read about at Crunchy Domestic Goddess. Amy wrote about a recent party/meeting she attended in which the Moms discussed their efforts in raising children and living green. The EcoMom Alliance was founded by Kimberly and is "a grassroots, global movement propelling a sustainable future and helping to reduce the climate crisis". The website is great with lots of ideas for gathering Mom's together to work towards a positive eco footprint. I joined the online group and am looking forward to sharing this with Moms in my area as well. I do believe that if Moms everywhere united on this issue, we could change the world, because frankly moms can do anything!
The second organization is called Women for Women International. Many of you may have heard of this group before as they have been featured on Oprah and 60 minutes. I think they are worth a deep look for anyone interested in the empowerment of women and how women(and their children) are affected by the ravages of war. They "mobilize women to change their lives through a holistic approach that addresses the unique needs of women in conflict and post-conflict environments". Writer and activist Alice Walker narrated this heart wrenching but wonderful ad which I would recommend all to watch. Many of these women were raped as a war act. The stories of their survival are incredible and give any North American woman insight into the misogyny and in-equality that is rampant in the world today. Currently I do not have the funds to sponsor a woman, but it is something I will do in the future. Both sites have blogs which have great information as well.
Mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, cousins and friends, what happens to one of us touches each of us...our souls are part of the collective of this planet. We can make a difference together, united we are unstoppable.