Before I became ill, I would get a call every two or three months to meet with a delegation of people touring the US with the State Department’s International Visitors Program. Generally the people I met with were activists in their own countries working to advance democracy and human rights or elected and appointed leaders in newly formed democracies. I would talk about activism and organizing, explain how we choose issues, organize volunteers and our efforts to combat racism, sexism and economic oppression in the United States. It’s hard to explain the excitement of teaching Get Out The Vote methods and strategies to someone preparing for their countries very first election in 41 years or discussing ways to frame gender oppression issues in terms of widely held values with women activists advocating for women’s rights in Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan, but it is intoxicating. These are people who risk far more than I ever will to make fundamental changes in the lives of their people.
A firm believer in the pedagogy of the oppressed as a teaching method, I learned as much from the visitors as they learned from me. One of the most inspiring and fascinating visitors was a volunteer at Médecins Sans Frontières who lead their work against human trafficking. Before I met him, I knew trafficking existed, but had no idea how extensive it is. MSF, or Doctors Without Borders, won the Nobel for their work providing aid to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. It’s exciting that the huge fashion event Culture Shock that begins on May 1st will be raising funds for this wonderful and courageous worldwide charity.
There will be 174 stores participating in this huge event – all producing three exclusive items for the event and donating 50-100% of sales to MSF. In today’s outfit, the dress and hair are items you will be able to find at Culture Shock. Sissy Pessoa of Baiastice created this stunning Mattina dress for Culture Shock. It comes in several colors but I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful parfait colored dress – the hot colors version of the dress. I shot the pictures at Dragonfly, a magical sim where you cannot shoot a bad picture.
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