@Missy and @Rambo asked us all what kind of business we would run, or to tell us about our businesses months ago, and I finally have a weeeeeeee bit of time to tell you guys a little bit about my non-profit and our India excursion!
So, my good, dear friend and I run a small non-profit here. This was born when she was 19, and traveled to India for the first time to volunteer with women and children. While there,she started working with an NGO in northern India that serves as a women's empowerment group and education society for rural children and children and young adults with special needs.
A couple years later she decided to move from the northeast to the very liberal heart of Texas. We met one day while she was volunteering at the store I worked at, and I was completely enchanted and inspired by her passion, motivation, and experience. She had done the ground work! Volunteering in India, meeting artisans and hearing their stories was my dream! I began working with her in 2012. We were a couple of 22 year old bleeding heart liberal eager to *be the change we wished to see in the world (*Gandhi nerdism.) Since then, we have thrown major events like a Black Friday alternative market, and a humanitarian symposium/ Hindi-Latin fusion dance party, sent several Americans to volunteer abroad in India, participated in dozens of speaking events of volunteerism, fair trade, and women's rights, hosted a kid's summer camp and art exchange program for American kids and our kids in India, and raised thousands of dollars in weekly sales of the products from India at our neighborhood farmers market.
It seems like a fair amount all listed like that, but I felt kinda like a phony having never been to India myself. That finally changed this February when we found ridiculouslycheap flight to India, and impulsively decided to take 20 days in India in March! (insert fire works and dancing puppies and kittens here!)
I finally made it! And just in time for Holi: The festival of Colors!
(right after this picture, a guy smeared black paint all over my face and the joy dwindled a little for me)
Man, that whole experience flew by sooooooo quickly! While we were there, we: traveled to the Taj Mahal, spent time in New Delhi, Mathura- the birthplace of Krishna, and Rishikesh- the birthplace of yoga, legendary for the abandoned Beatles Ashram:
(listening to Across the Universe in the painted hall at the Beatles Ashram)
jaiii guurrrruuuu deeeeeeeeeeevv- anyone?!
We conducted several interviews of the women in the empowerment group on campus, collected school supplies and books for the kids new library, gave feedback and suggestions on new products, and hand selected the products to bring back with us to sell.
They're reading Harry Potter in Hindi! I freaking diiiiiiiieeeed! ^
A couple months after returning to regular life in Austin- after a horrrrrrrible week of jetlag!- I'm excited for the future of our organization. I vowed this year to live my life to the fullest, and accomplish as many diverse experiences as possible. In a couple months, I plan on visited my home town, and going back to Mexico to see if I can find other women's groups to work with so we can spread the love of empowerment to the Mexican communities nearest and dearest to me.
Our organization is non-religious, and focused on those most in need. We believe in empowering others to empower themselves, and the value of education and literacy for the world's poorest. We believe in fighting for the rights of the marginalized and abused, and particularly for the rights of women worldwide.
Small non-profits like ours usually don't have much of a shelf life... you accept that you come in, make your difference, and either merge or step down when it becomes to much, and you can't offer anymore. Before our time comes, I want to continue to foster the humanitarian spirit in others, and provide what little financial opportunities we can for the women makers of the world!I guess that's my business dream, and I'm so excited to be on this path <3 <3 <3
I love what I do,
thanks for letting me share @missy and @rambo and the SG community!
-Hypatia
