July 15, 2010
Our documentary short film about the Daraja Academy in Nanyuki, Kenya has been chosen to premiere at the Lights. Camera. Help. Film festival in Austin, Texas on Friday, July 30, 2010!
One of 36 films selected from 235 entries from around the world, Girls of Daraja tells the story of Daraja Academy, a free secondary boarding school for girls who would not be able to attend school without the scholarships provided.
Do A Little has been a passionate supporter of this school for over a year, and I was fortunate to travel to Kenya in February to meet the 52 remarkable students, their teachers, staff, volunteers and founders. What makes Daraja Academy special is the oneness of everyone involved, from the board members to the donors, who have written checks to fund a full scholarship for a girl, medical exams, meals, textbooks, and one of our favorites: a cow. Each teacher works with volunteers and staff to create a vibrant educational environment for the girls. I saw a couple of the villages where the girls lived. Most do not have running water or electricity, but many of the girls were able to persevere in their studies to be in the top of their primary classes.
Please view the short version of Girls of Daraja documentary on my website, and tell anyone who lives close to Austin to join me at the festival!
June, 2010
I had the great opportunity to speak at the City of Oakland Mayor Ronald Dellums’ Summit on Women in May. The Summit's theme was Enlighten. Engage. Empower. That was definitely my experience. I listened to the words of Nell Davis, who stressed the importance of each person, no matter what age, getting tested for HIV. She was eloquent and frank with her own experience and I heard her message. Sheryl Lee Ralph gave the keynote address with great power and creative beauty. An actress and magnificent singer, Ms. Ralph was passionate about this same issue - HIV/AIDS prevention and testing.
Oakland also has a Get Screened Oakland Program, a public health initiative designed to support a community-wide goal for everyone to know their HIV status, to get tested for HIV, and, if necessary, to be linked to care and treatment. It is estimated that there are 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, with nearly 21% not knowing that they are infected. Tests take as little as 20 minutes and can save lives. Know your status! Get tested!
Thank you to everyone who has joined with me in support of Daraja Academy in Nanyuki, Kenya. A student there wrote, "I accept the realities and never give up. The purpose of this life is to be useful. Everything is achievable if we have passion and energy towards it."
I share these same sentiments with you, my friends. Your power is in your heart.
For information, call 1-888-8ENDHIV, or go to www.getscreenedoakland.org.
May, 2010
Since my return from Kenya in March, I have been feverishly working to find new connections on this continent for the Daraja Academy, planning a fundraiser to support scholarships for the school, and working on a documentary film showing the brilliance of the secondary school girls, staff and administration.
Spring took me on travels to visit my own children in three different states; Daraja founders, Jason & Jenni Doherty came to California; the International Museum of Women held a spectacular gala, and the Global Fund for Women presented a "Day of Shared Learning," with reporting from their staff about the global political and economic climate for women’s rights in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and other parts of the world. The comprehensive outline of how women and men experience war and peace differentially, suffer from violence differently, and how being displaced from homes affects women in a more powerful way was enlightening. The fact that internally displaced populations (IDP) is 26 million people in 52 countries shows how wars have dismantled and destroyed lives.
Once again, Do A Little is privileged to support the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) in Los Angeles. Dr. Astrid Heppenstall Heger reports, "Just this week, I was able to help a mother and her eleven children and grandchildren avoid homelessness because of [people's] generosity. And they won't have to live in a one-room apartment anymore because [supporters] remember VIP every year."
At the dinner for The Feminist Majority Foundation, a Los Angeles group founded in 1987 that works for women’s equality, I was inspired by honorees Gloria Steinem, Dolores Huerta, Khaled Hosseini, and Esha Momeni (http://feminist.org). Women's rights and equal access to education and freedom continues to need our attention and dedication as evidenced by graduate student, Esha Momeni, who was arrested on October 15, 2008 in Tehran for videotaping interviews for her master's thesis with feminist activists in the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality. She was held in solitary confinement for 25 days in Evin prison and detained for almost a year. Eloquent and powerful, Ms. Momeni told us how brave the women in Iran are – to speak out when they may be imprisoned for their defiance.
Dolores Huerta remembered that United Farm Worker founder Cesar Chavez asked the activists on the picket lines, "Where is your power?" And he would answer the question himself: "It's in your person," and point to his heart.
Thank you to everyone who has joined with me in support of Daraja Academy in Nanyuki, Kenya. A student there wrote, "I accept the realities and never give up. The purpose of this life is to be useful. Everything is achievable if we have passion and energy towards it."
I share these same sentiments with you, my friends. Your power is in your heart.
Please visit to view the "Girls of Daraja" video.
February 19, 2010
With great joy and gratitude, in just three days, I will leave on a pilgrimage to visit grantee Daraja Academy in Nanyuki, Kenya. The intent of this journey is to meet the 26 girls who began their secondary education at the school last year, and to welcome the new class of 26 girls who will arrive while I am there. From various tribes and villages across the country, these girls have been chosen from 100 who applied this year. Without Daraja and the dedicated work of the directors, teachers and staff, these girls would not have the opportunity to expand their minds and create dreams that they will be able to fulfill.
This year, the selection process was especially difficult because of the high level of grades and test scores of the applicants. Some of the girls live in Internally Displaced Peoples Camps, and others are from the slums of Likii Village. The words of one girl are quite remarkable: "...the only thing you [can] carry is your education."
It is humbling to have this opportunity to connect with people I have only communicated with through photos, letters, and video. I hope to offer my deep respect and oneness to these girls. As my friend said, "One of those girls might transform Africa and maybe, the whole world."
I will send more news from Daraja after I touch the land near the equator...
January 2010
Haiti
I was introduced to Haiti many years ago through the heart-opening work of a former nun and school teacher, Barbara Wander. She has served Haiti with the Little Sisters of St. Therese who work with over 125,000 Haitians each year. Barbara was with the sisters and some of the students who live at the main center, Riviere Froide, when the earthquake struck. We have heard that everyone in this particular group is fine, although there are no services to the orphanages or school. I believe that the nuns I have come to know through letters and photographs will survive with their great faith and hard work.
If anyone is able to send funds to help the Sisters at Riviere Froide and the children they take care of, please, please send a donation to: Sisters of Loretto Development Office, 4000 South Wordsworth Blvd., Littleton, CO 80123-1308 and indicate that your contribution is for the work of Barbara Wander in Haiti.
Another trustworthy, selfless person I had the privilege to hear speak about Haiti is Dr. Paul Farmer of Partners in Health. Dr. Farmer has been working to eradicate TB and AIDS in Haiti and around the world for over 20 years. Do A Little made a contribution to their Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund and we encourage you to do so, if you can: www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti.
Our prayers and hearts are with the people of Haiti...
January 2010
Do A Little has started the new year with support for the San Francisco Art Commission Gallery's 40th Anniversary season. All of the municipal gallery's exhibitions are free and open to the public, and the gallery displays the work of emerging as well as established artists, and serves independent curators who encourage thoughtful dialogue. Please visit their website to peruse the fascinating information about their projects. www.sfartscommission.org/gallery
I am most excited for their summer 2010's Economica: Women and the Global Economy, which partners with the International Museum of Women. This exhibit will be at SF City Hall.
I heard an interesting definition of stewardship: one who uses her/his resources to soothe the life of another. We all have gifts to share with others: an inspiring word, a helping hand, financial support, in kind services, love.
Happy 2010...
November 2009
November begins the season of giving, of remembering what is most important, which to me is love, and times of gathering together. Do A Little has had a remarkable year of meeting new humanitarians and activists, of partnering to support lives, and of cherishing the freedom and light of our grantees.
In Oakland, Covenant Sisters serves women who have suffered from addictions. Ninety eight percent of the women were sexually abused as girls, and Covenant Sisters helps them heal from the pain and become successful in their lives. When I asked the director for statistics on their recovery program, she reported that they have charted a 78% success rate for clients maintaining sobriety, and the women serve their community by preparing and giving away groceries for 300 people each week.
DrawBridge is a Bay Area arts program for homeless children. I have known about this program for many years, and it was founded by Gloria Simoneaux, who is a current grantee of Do A Little for her yoga and art programs in Kenya through Harambee Arts : Let's Pull Together™. DrawBridge gives children an outlet for their feelings and creativity.
I learned about the Cambodian Children's Fund in April at the Yoga Off the Mat, Into the World Workshop I attended. Founder Scott Neeson left a high profile career in Hollywood, the "successful" American life, and moved to Cambodia where he set up a shelter for 45 poverty- stricken children who spent their days laboring in the extremely dangerous 11 acre, 100-foot deep Steung Meanchey garbage dump. Four hundred children later, the Cambodian Children's Fund provides food, clothing, education, vocational training, and healthcare to create a community of strong children and families.
Do a Little is thankful to all of our grantees and to those of you who have generously contributed to us so that we can share our gifts with others.
Have a beautiful holiday season and be filled with joy.
"We are always able to do something, and we are always able to be touched. This is compassion." – Rupert Neudeck (founder of Green Helmets, which reconstructs villages in destroyed regions)
September 2009
I grew up reading Bible stories, fairytales, parables and poetry. Wisdom was imparted from the pages of books and from Sunday School, Girl Scouts, and talks around the kitchen table. Our family had an intention to care for others, which I am so grateful to have learned. I am now reading Half the Sky, a book written by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, who have brought together statistics and stories of human rights violations of women around the world. It is a heartbreaking read, but promises to give me direction and tools to help transform the lives of girls and women who have been oppressed, abused, and stripped of all that is rightfully theirs. The book focuses on "three particular abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence, including honor killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality, which still needlessly claims one woman a minute" (from the introduction).
That women "hold up half the sky" — a Chinese Proverb from which the book's title is taken - is quite an image to behold. It is Do A Little's mission to support women in education, health, and happiness as we raise our arms to the clouds and stand, open and powerful, offering our strength and funds to the world.
~ Deborah
August 2009
Do A Little has started a new connection with World Vision. I have sponsored children through the non-profit for many, many years, and now have an opportunity to specifically support programs for women and girls in Ethiopia for micro enterprise development, a midwifery training program in Afghanistan, and in Cambodia a program where children will be given opportunities to leave lives of danger on the streets. World Vision's programs build up entire communities and assist with food aid, health care services, water purification & supply, as well as psychosocial support for children. More than 2,000 children die each day from malaria somewhere in the world- approximately one every 40 seconds. World Vision offers, for only $3 a piece, life-saving bed nets along with other prevention and education tools to children and families in the hard-hit African nations of Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya and Mali. Online donations can be made at www.worldvision.org/ReadandRespond.
For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, please join the San Francisco Foundation’s Community Leadership Awards program Tuesday, September 22 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the Herbst Theater, War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco. As a former CLA Board member, I can assure you that the evening will be inspiring. Honorees are chosen from hundreds of recommendations, and individuals and organizations whose leadership has made a significant impact in their particular Bay Area communities are awarded monetary gifts to further their work. This work may confront societal or civic issues, address health or environmental concerns, or promote arts and humanities. This year Mary Lou Breslin, co-founder of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Michael Franti, artist, activist and founds of Spearhead, Eugene Rodriguez, founder of Los Cenzontles Mexican Cultural Arts Center, Children's Book Press, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights will receive recognition. Also, Koshland Young Leader Awards will go to eight Bay Area youth.
www.sff.org/programs/awards-programs/community-leadership-awards
I wish each of you great success in every area of your lives.
~ Deborah
July 2009
I am excited about Do A Little's partnership with Global Fund for Women. My commitment to the project: Reclaiming Peace & Genuine Security: Women Dismantling Militarism touches a deep chord of need in our world. Global Fund for Women believes that their grantees have valuable insights into the root causes of militarism and armed conflict. How better to institute paths to peace than through women-led groups who have experienced the brutality of militarism. Do A Little's grant is a founding gift to this new program.
Daraja Academy has welcomed Do A Little as a sponsor to four girls who attend the school in Nanyuki, Kenya. A tuition-free, non-religious boarding high school founded by Jason and Jennilyn Doherty, Daraja has 26 students who are working hard to make a difference in our world, and who are committed to becoming leaders in the fields of education and medicine. Daraja is the Swahili word for bridge. When I met Jason Doherty, I immediately felt a bridge from my heart to the girls in Kenya. Please visit their website and watch the video of the girls arriving at the beautiful academy, studying in classrooms, and playing sports. It is inspiring to see youth excited to learn and grateful for developing their minds.
May your summer continue to be filled with joy and light.
~ Deborah
June, 2009
May 20th I attended the Center for Community Solutions' Annual Tea in San Diego and heard the eloquent human rights advocate Marian Wright Edelman counsel us to create a new paradigm for our world, to reject violence as an answer to our differences, and to be defiant addressing corporate and political rejection of healthcare for all. Her work as President of Children's Defense Fund has brought attention and positive change to policies that criminalize and attack children.
Oakland Tech has produced a video of their amazing arts programs, highlighting the students' work and testimonials from teachers. The Advanced Drama Department has just been selected as one of 50 in the country (of 2,000 nominated) to represent the U.S. with the American High School Theatre Festival at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the largest theatre festival in the world. Our students have been invited to perform next summer!
Cinnamon Girl will host its Fourth Annual Ladies Tea to raise funds and present the success of their programs Sunday, June 28, 2009 at the Claremont Country Club in Oakland. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for 18 and under. There will be spoken word and live music to support a great mentoring program for girls.
These are exciting times for Do A Little's work in the world and I thank everyone who feels the fire to partner with our grantees.