May20

Shop For Good With Indego Africa

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Shop For Good With Indego Africa

fabric patterns on set of note cards

When I was in my early twenties I spent six months traveling through the African continent on a trip that  would shape me in countless ways. The previous year and a half had been consumed working on a television series in Boston called “Against The Law”, which was Fox’s first foray into a dramatic T.V. series starring Michael O’Keefe. I had managed to save most of my earnings working 12 hour days during six day work weeks on the show, so when it was cancelled, instead of deciding to do something practical, like put it towards a car, I decided that I wanted to use that money to go to Africa. When I began to research my trip I realized that I could not pick  just one region, such as the game parks of Kenya and Tanzania, or the Okavango delta, because it would be to miss out on so much else. I finally found a trip that satisfied my budget and my desire to get a good glimpse of the rich and varied landscapes, and cultures of the continent.  It was an overland trip that would take me through Morocco and the Sahara desert, the plains filled with big game, into the Jungles to track Gorillas.  We went to the Ngorongoro crater, the Okavango Delta, Zanzibar, the salt pans, and through countless villages along the way. The trip was run by a company out of London called Encounter Overland, and we drove through Africa in an old revamped Bedford army truck, shopped at local markets, cooked our meals over the fires we would build, and camped in tents along the way. All of my essentials fit into a 2×4 backpack as I set out on my adventure. I have been an Africaphile ever since, the people, the cultures, music,varying landscapes, art, patterns and fabrics, all touched my soul in a way that is difficult to articulate.

“When you see the skies of Africa, they are so huge and you almost look into the eye of God. I can’t explain it, there’s something that enters your soul.”- Nejma Beard in an interview by Alec Baldwin on wnyc radio

Since my trip, all things African have a special place in my heart and I also feel passionate about promoting social enterprise companies, so I was thrilled when I was invited by The Mission List to check out some of the products from Indego Africa.  Indego Africa provides training, education, and access to a global online market to Rwandan women artisans who create beautiful jewelry, housewares, and accessories. It provides opportunities for women so they are able to provide the basic necessities for their families and acquire a skill that will lend to sustainable income.

WHAT IS INDEGO AFRICA?

  • Indego Africa is an award-winning, design-driven 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise that lifts women-owned businesses in Rwanda toward sustainable economic independence through access to markets and education.
  • Indego Africa partners with for-profit cooperatives of more than 400 women artisans in Rwanda and exports, markets, and sells their jewelry, accessories, and home decor (a) on its online store, (b) to more than 80 retail stores across the U.S. and Europe, and (c) at major brands like J.Crew and Nicole Miller through cutting-edge design collaborations.
  • Indego Africa then pools its profits from sales with donations to fund training programs – developed internally from the ground up – for the same women in management and entrepreneurship, literacy,technology, and health.
  • Indego Africa hires top Rwandan university students from socially vulnerable backgrounds to administer its training programs.
  • Indego Africa has offices in New York City and Rwanda and is managed by a lean and diverse team with extensive experience in development, business, design, law, commerce, fashion, and Africa.
  • Indego Africa is a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation and the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.  - From the Indigo Africa website

My love of Africa is apparent in our home as well, in treasures that I brought back, and influences in our decorating style. The Indego Africa online catalog is full of the type of textured, colorful, and richly designed clothing, accessories and home goods that I love. Although I will most certainly go back for more (I’m looking at you batik top!) since we are in the process of decorating our home I selected an item from the housewares selection.  I chose a striking black and white woven bowl, and because I love the fabrics so much, I added a set of gorgeous handmade cards each with a different patterned fabric sewn on to my order.   I was surprised at how quickly my order arrived after it was placed. The bowl is amazing, and I will have a hard time actually parting with the note cards, so if you get one you know you are really special!  I am so excited to share this site with friends, and to have found a great new source for meaningful gifts that give back! To find out more about Indego Africa, the programs they offer, the impact they are having, and that you can contribute to, you can visit their website, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and enjoy the eye candy on Pinterest.

the pretty packet of cards

*I received a $75.00 Redeemable Gift Code to shop on the Indego Africa site for the purpose of this review. As always all of the opinions expressed in this post are my own and not swayed by outside influences. Indego Africa truly rocks.

May15

The BBQ Grilling Hazard You Need To Be Aware Of

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The BBQ Grilling Hazard You Need To Be Aware Of

I love nothing more than to grill our meals when the weather permits.  It saves me a mess in the kitchen and is a delicious way to prepare low-fat, healthful meals for my family.  Last year a few of my husband’s colleagues published a finding about a medical issue  that I don’t think many people are aware of. It can cause severe health risks so I wanted to share the information with my readers as the grilling season begins.

The hazard comes from the wire bristles on the grill cleaning brush that can become dislodged from the brush and end up in food.  The thin wire bristles can be tiny, and hard to detect on food, but cause major internal damage if ingested.  The Radiologists discovered the bristles in internal images taken of six patients who had come in between the months of May and November with severe abdominal pain. All six of the patients had  just eaten grilled meat of some sort before coming in.

Since then my husband has switched our grill brush to the pumice stone type, and we still wipe down the grill before cooking on it. There may be other safe types of grill cleaning brushes out there,that is just what we are trying this season. If you do continue to use a brush with metal bristles the reccomendation is to wipe down the grill after cleaning with the bristle brush before cooking on it.   With a metal bristle brush the likely hood of ingesting a metal bristle is probably very low, but the risks if you do are quite high. All last sumer after learning about this finding every-time I ate at a  BBQ I was convinced I’d accidentally swallowed a bristle. Luckily that was never the case.  As grilling season resumes again I wanted my dear readers to be aware and keep safe, and enjoy their grill!

May12

The Parenting Book For Global Moms

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The Parenting Book For Global Moms

I wish Christine Gross-Loh had written this book about 14 years ago when I was first becoming a mother.  I’m pretty sure it would have been my parenting bible.  There were plenty of  parenting books around back then when I had my first child, but I quickly realized that the philosophies often contradicted each other, and  I would end up following common sense, and ditching the structured advice more often than not anyways. By the time I had my second child I had stopped reading parenting books altogether.  What I like about Christine Gross-Loh’s new book Parenting Without Borders is that it looks at the results, the way kids behave as an outcome of cultural child rearing practices that point to real success in various areas of development.  The author became aware of differing international parenting styles after living in Japan with her small children and then moving back to the U.S.. Suddenly what she would have previously taken as normal parenting, stood out to her as distinctively American parenting, and she realized it wasn’t always the best way to do things. This set off years of international research on parenting styles around the world for her. Eventually it informed her ultimate international patchwork of parenting style with her own kids.

It  makes so much sense, we share best practices in many ways cross-culturally, why not parenting?    Sure, I had done a ton of traveling before having kids myself,  but as a single young woman for most of the time, I can’t say that I was absorbing much parenting advice along the way.  Along with Documama, I write and Edit for World Moms Blog,  a community of bloggers and moms from around the world.  We learn so much, and gain such understanding from each other by sharing our experiences, and advice as technology is making the world a smaller place.

The book illustrates how other cultures can show us how to bring our children up to expect less stuff  like the kids in Japan, be more healthful eaters as in France and Italy, or more independent thinkers like the kids in Sweden. There aspects in which the author believes our American parenting style is superior too.  The point of this book is that we can pull together lessons from around the world for the most balanced possible outcome. Our children, the children of this upcoming generation, will inevitably  be global citizens weather brought up that way or not. We might as well get started!

*I received a free copy of Parenting Without Borders for the purpose of this book review, as always my opinions are honest and my own, and are never swayed by outside influences.

May7

My Birthing Story & The State of the World’s Mothers

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My Birthing Story & The State of the World’s Mothers

Each year Save The Children produces a report on the  State of the World’s Mothers. I am sharing my birthing story here in honor  of Mother’s Day and the release of the 14th annual report in hopes of raising awareness on this important issue along with other members of the Global Team of 200 . In the report the best and worst countries in which to give birth are ranked , and I think readers will be shocked to learn where the USA stands in that regard.  It is also shocking to learn that 1 Million babies die the very day they are born each year. The majority of which could be prevented.  It is that first twenty-four hours of a baby’s life that are most critical, and although annual child mortality has declined 40% world-wide since 1990, the numbers are not so favorable for the newborn.  The 2013 State of the World’s Mothers report focuses in on newborn health and the theme “Surviving the First Day.”

 Here is my story about giving birth:

I have always loved babies, and growing up I dreamt of the time when I would become a mother myself someday.  Although I also grew up believing that I could be anything I wanted to be career wise, and was lucky enough to find a career I loved, I always knew that Motherhood was personally the goal that I held most dear .  I sometimes pinch myself that all these years later I have been blessed to have become the mother of four children from a wonderful husband. People often comment on the great planning of the two-year spacing of each of our kids, and I laugh, because when we were not trying I got pregnant, and when we were trying I did not. Prior to my first pregnancy I’d heard that when you were ready to get pregnant you should stop taking the birth control pill a few months ahead of time to let your body adjust to its natural cycle. When we began thinking about starting a family I took that advice to “give my body a chance to regulate”.  Ha! We were surprised, and thrilled to find ourselves expecting that very next month!

A week past my first baby’s due date my obstetrician started to suggest induction.  I knew then that the carefully crafted birthing plan, full of all those silly quick in and out practice breathing exercises, was out the window.  It dawned on me that planning how my baby would be born was not quite as easy as I’d expected.  Sometimes nature has a way of foiling carefully laid plans like that, doesn’t it? At the same time, I was concerned enough that I did not care; I just wanted a healthy baby, and would do whatever it took for that outcome. How the baby got here lost its importance over just getting the baby here safely.

Although I had also been determined to give birth without an epidural, the anesthesiologist seemed to be sure I would cave.   He kept coming back into the room to see if I had changed my mind. He may have known a bit more about induction than I did because eventually I said, “If you tell me it will be one more hour I can do this, if you tell me five more hours, then give me the epidural!” Of course he said there was no way to be sure,  so I received the epidural.  I have to admit that things went pretty smoothly after that, and an hour later our beautiful, healthy baby girl was born.

I had lost my own mother just three months before I became a mother myself that day.  The last words she spoke to me were “I will always hold your hand”.  It was odd to me that I had not felt her presence as she’d promised since she passed away, but I was sure I would feel her there now.  I’m not sure exactly what it was that I expected, some sort of magical sign from my own mother, or spark of recognition I suppose.

Right away my newborn was put on my chest skin to skin.  I remember looking at her little face in awe, the tiny hands and feet, and thinking how miraculous that she had just been inside of me.  And here she was, her own unique little person blinking up at me. Amazing how in that instant our world shifted to revolve around her.  It sounds silly, and I’m not sure I can even articulate properly, how overjoyed as I was, I was also a bit amused and surprised that she did not look like me, or my husband, nor was she the image of my mother reborn.  She was this beautiful tiny unique individual all her own. This was one of the happiest days of my life, and my wish is that it should be for all mothers.

 

“It’s hard to imagine the depth of one mother’s pain in losing her baby the very day she gives birth, let alone a million times over,”  said Carolyn Miles, President & CEO of Save the Children.  “Yet, this report is full of hope.  It shows there is a growing movement to save newborn lives and growing evidence that we can do it—saving up to 75 percent of them with no intensive care whatsoever.”

 

See the full rankings, learn more and take action at www.savethechildren.org/mothers

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in 120 countries, including the United States. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.

Our Motto: Individually we are all-powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.