From South Africa to Disneyland

by Naomi Zacharias

We have often spoken of Noleen and her story of courage and strength. She successfully changed the course of her life when she received a scholarship from Wellspring. Graduating at the top of her class from culinary school, Noleen has since been a chef at a four star hotel in Cape Town.
She and her son, Jomei, traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, in October to share her story with friends of Wellspring. She showed enormous courage and invited people into her story of much pain suffered, but the remarkable restoration that lights up her eyes. On their way home we sent them to Disneyland, for what is a trip to the US that does not include an introduction to Mickey Mouse? I had to leave for a trip, but left them safely in the hands of a good friend, LV Hanson from the Catalyst team, who took them with friends to the happiest place on earth...

http://www.vimeo.com/7528974

Fair Trade Month

Fall is here. And October is now about more than costumes and candy. October is Fair Trade Month.

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that seeks to engage small producers in developing countries in the global retail market. The movement serves many purposes: as an advocate for the local producer, to promote environmentally responsible standards in the production of goods, and to provide a sustainable effort to fight poverty. It focuses on exports from developing countries to developed countries. Products such as coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers are common items available through Fair Trade. Handicrafts are also available at select retailers.
Fair trade respects the labor, talent, and self-sufficiency of the individual, it rewards a strong work ethic, and combats poverty and many of its horror-filled effects. Through our every-day choices and selections, we can each fight against poverty, hunger, abuse, and human trafficking.
Check out the website http://www.fairtrademonth.org to learn a new fact about Fair Trade each day, and different ways to support this global effort.

Slice of Infinity: "You Have Done It Unto Me"

Some food for thought. Check out this Slice of Infinity by RZIM apologist Margaret Manning:

http://ls.egen.net/MessageView.aspx?sid=167786636&cid=167772742&textonly=0

ABC Nightline Link

Attached is a link to a portion of the transcript for the ABC Nightline program on sexual exploitation that aired last week:

Tracking Suspected American Pedophiles in Cambodia
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/inside-investigation-alleged-sex-predators-cambodia/Story?id=8579591&page=4

How to help end sexual exploitation
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/end-sexual-exploitation-cambodia/story?id=8579638

One of Wellspring's beneficiary organizations, NewSong Center (also called Agape Restoration Centre), is highlighted in this link. Please contact us by email to naomi.zacharias@wellspringinternational.org or by phone to 770-449-6766 if you have any questions.

Nightline on ABC

ABC’s Nightline will feature a story on sex trafficking in Cambodia that is expected to air on September 16th, 2009, with two follow-up pieces for the evening news in the days thereafter. One of the follow-up stories will feature a girl called 'Bella' from the NEWSONG CENTRE which is run by one of the organizations we work with, AIM4ASIA in Cambodia. Nightline usually airs late in the evening so check your local listings. http://twitter.com/Nightline
Newsong Centre is a rehabilitation center that cares for young girls who have been sexually abused and tortured. Through intensive counseling, medical care, education, and a safe home environment, Newsong Centre is helping to reintegrate them into society at their pace. If you would like to know more about Newsong Centre, please let us know.

Gulu, Uganda

by Emily Sernaker

After a brief intermission, I am continuing my travels with Wellspring International; moving from the crowded streets of Mumbai, India, to dirt road villages of Gulu, Uganda. Having seen so much in two months, I sometimes wonder what will stay with me about my summer of mangos and malaria pills. My summer of ‘if it feels like something is crawling on you, that's because it is.’ I can feel my patience growing, personal space shrinking, hands washing off the red dirt, bug spray, sunscreen, sweat, baby snot, caked on my skin and think: today was a good day. My summer of ‘the rest of the world knows so much about us and we know so little about the rest of the world.’ A few more stamps in my passport to show where I've been, a few more inches of fabric to cover my knees. This is a summer of hospitality, crazy ‘they have nothing but still offer you everything’ hospitality. ‘Don't compliment her earrings because she'll take them off and give them to you’ hospitality. I am opening my eyes as wide as I can but I still can't take in all this sky. Doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, headmasters, accountants, construction workers, program directors: let's have a meeting. What does it mean to give effective and sustainable aid? This is my summer of crimes against humanity, the burns and bullet holes; I might go home and say I saw hell. How many miles are those women walking for clean drinking water? How many white people have taken their picture and walked away? This joyful summer of bright fabrics and toothy smiles, you can hold my hand and teach me how to dance. I've stopped trying to guess what's coming next. The road is redder, plants greener, drum beats harder then I'd remembered.
And when I see a woman sitting outside a hut, braiding another's hair, or watch a bird sit peacefully on top of a buffalo, everything inside me becomes calm. I might go home and say I saw Eden.

Mumbai, India June 2009

Part 5
by Emily Sernaker

MTV Cribs should do a special on Gandhi's house. I'm serious, instead of watching how Tommy Lee got a Starbucks built in his kitchen, we could be looking at Gandhi's spinning wheel and learning about how this delicate man would spin and spin for all of India. It would be great, we could look at Gandhi's jail bowl and read his correspondences with Tolstoy and Churchill; his plea to Hitler on behalf of humanity. The show could edit in some cool background music to take us through the dioramas set up on the second floor, showing all the important moments of Gandhi's life. Everyone will be surprised how powerful it is, to see a little paper mache figure doing the salt march. Fasting for peace, going to jail, giving voice to the voiceless, hope to the hopeless, all of a sudden there's a dot of red paint in the middle of his little white robe. The viewers of MTV Cribs will be crying as paper mache Gandhi chooses to see God in the eyes of his assassin. They'll hear the quote "my life is my message" and realize that before seeing that special, they had never known what bravery was.

After spending time in rural Badlapur, I've come back to the heart of Mumbai. Chillies tied to the front of taxis, jump onto a moving bus, drive on the wrong side of the road, everything feels like a high speed car chase unless you're stuck in traffic: Mumbai. Get your hair cut on a rock by the Indian Ocean, a shave on the street, a cold bath in a blue bucket: Mumbai. Please don't offer me drugs, or try to clean my ears; a pigeon flew into my face yesterday: Mumbai. Eat every drop of food on your plate and be thankful it was there. Watch someone write any word in Hindi and you'll swear they are an artist. Ask your waiter how many languages he speaks, I'll bet it's five. Don't make eye contact with men, they think it’s an invitation. Don't answer every question with "D) It is written," no one will think you are funny. I saw a story carved in an elephant tusk. I saw a suitcase full of money. I saw statues for a million gods, a million rain drops, a whole city under an umbrella with their arms around each other.

The programs I'm looking at are extraordinary. To watch an older woman who used to be in the district learning to read; to watch a younger woman who used to be in the district reclaiming her life through the vocational center; stitch by stitch it’s hers again. Everyone’s a before and after picture. Everyone has a story that changes everything. Whatever you expected to find here was wrong - if you think you're gonna be sad they'll shove hope down your throat until you acknowledge it and swallow. If you think you're gonna find answers they'll tell you a story so complicated you forget how to put one foot in front of the next. I can tell you I do feel their words sticking to me. I suspect that I'll always be both a little bit weaker and a little bit stronger for knowing.