I was so excited to support The Brave Collection, as Jessica's passion for raising awareness and fighting against human trafficking was evident AND contagious! Exploring The Brave Collection's website, I came across the book 'Half the Sky'. Written by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, 'Half the Sky' shares the challenges to women's rights worldwide, but more importantly, explains how a little bit of help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. After reading the book, I set out to learn more about the Half the Sky Movement and was delighted to hear that there is an upcoming documentary set to air on PBS that follows Nicholas, Sheryl, and six actresses as they visit various nations and face the problems of sex trafficking, forced prostitution, gender-based violence and maternal mortality head on.
Sunday, September 9, my sister and I had the opportunity to visit the 92nd Street Y and see a preview of the documentary, followed by a discussion with Nicholas, Sheryl, and Olivia Wilde, one of the actresses who has joined the movement. The snippets of the documentary that we saw were extremely moving, but the conversation that followed was truly inspiring. Below are some of my favorite tidbits of information that I picked up during the discussion.
"It's not that we are smarter than them, or work harder, or have more virtue. We are simply luckier."
Nick Kristof stated this, and it is so true. I think that so often it is easy to view ourselves as "better than" the victims and their oppressors because we don't encounter issues like sex trafficking very often in our daily life. Yet the reality is that these crimes DO occur right here in our backyard, and the fact of the matter is that we are very lucky that they have not personally affected us. We are even more fortunate that we have been born into, or had the opportunity to move to, a nation where these crimes have much harsher consequences supported by laws that are more seriously enforced.
"Talent is universal. Opportunity is not."
Another great quote by Nick Kristoff, this time referring to a family featured in the documentary. In Kenya, a single mother is struggling to send her children to school, where her son is number one in his class and her daughter is the 'head girl' in hers. These children are obviously very smart and hardworking, but their family simply doesn't have the resources that their American counterparts might have. This reminded me to be thankful for the opportunities that I have on a daily basis that I often take for granted.
After reading the book, previewing the documentary, and hearing from such an inspiring group, most people are left with the question "What can I do about it?" I think some of the best advice for getting involved came from Sheryl WuDunn. I am paraphrasing here, but she shared the importance of giving to small organizations to have a bigger impact. I loved this advice, because I'm a college student. As much as I wish I did, I DON'T have a large budget to make charitable donations, so I want to make sure that the little I give is going to a good cause. By investigating smaller organizations, you can invest in a group that is more likely to be community-based and doing specific work. This also allows you to give specifically to efforts that you feel passionate about.
I know that this is a long post full of a LOT of information. To close, I just wanted to share a few more resources with you that you can check out if you're interested in learning more about woman's rights worldwide, the Half the Sky Movement, and The Brave Collection.
To learn more about the Half the Sky Movement, click HERE.
To learn more about The Brave Collection, click HERE and HERE.
Be sure to check out the Half the Sky documentary, airing on PBS at 9PM on October 1 and 2!
Love,
Sarah
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