This year I have invested much of my time in helping develop an organization known as To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA). It has been a major change from all the work we have been doing over the last five years in Africa, especially since TWLOHA deals with such seemingly different issues as depression, addictions, self injury and suicide. Jamie Tworkowski the founder has been a friend of mine for several years and he, along with other TWLOHA leaders, had asked me to join the TWLOHA team, adding my stability and wisdom to a rapidly growing company. My season with TWLOHA has now ended and I am glad to report that the company has emerged beyond its growing pains and has become a very significant voice in bringing support and awareness to mental health issues. Just this week Jamie won a Woodie Award from MTV and TWLOHA is soon to be featured in a three page article by Rolling Stone magazine.
If you go to the website www.twloha.com you will read the account of Renee Yohe and how she found help in her struggle with addiction and depression. This is the girl that we speak of when talking about ‘love on her arms’. Renee and I have become good friends and I would like to offer words from a recent email she sent me after reading my blog about abused young girls in Africa.
“Jim, I’m not sure why, but just reading their names; Melody and Innocence, brought tears to my eyes. Such a stark contrast to their lives, to the world they know, their pain and suffering, a song, purity, it’s a beautiful image. What you’re doing for these people, these women, it’s so beautiful, powerful. It makes my heart swell and move. Someone, I believe it was Josh Loveless (a young local pastor) asked “What makes your heart say , No!” and posed the idea that perhaps that this is what you are called to do….this story, these young girls it makes my heart cry “No!”…. I don’t know the time or place in my life, but I want to effect a change in their lives somehow, be it soap or anything else. I feel something in my heart when we speak of Africa, empowering those women, those young girls, my God, how it moves my heart.
Thank you for sharing this with me. I‘ve been enjoying the very fragrance of the soap and have not used it yet. It seems so precious I don’t want to waste it, but I will put it to good use.
With utmost respect Renee.”
Here is an abbreviated version of the blog Renee is referring to:
Bring Plenty of Soap
“The market is dirty and disorganized. Clouds of flies land at will on the dried fish we are about to purchase. Haggling with the vendors allows us to secure a fair price on the fish and many other items needed for our distribution the following day. We load the truck with cooking oil, maize flour, candles, school supplies, seeds, baby clothes, medications and locally produced blankets. A new item on the list draws our attention written in large letters…..bring plenty of soap.
The day is already hot as we pull into the first village. Gathered in front of us under a giant spreading mango tree is a large group of women and children (mostly orphans). We begin distribution, taking care to make sure no one miss out on their allotted supplies. Most of the children are orphans that do not respond to their names being called. These are the lost children of Africa. They have no voice and carry the stigma attached to children whose parents died of HIV/AIDS. They do not smile when given food and their heads are faced downward. We continue distribution until most of the supplies are gone. Standing silently at the back of the crowd are two young mothers, Melody and Innocence. My wife Bronwyn discretely hands them each a package. In it there are baby clothes, cloth diapers, food supplements, t-shirts, medications and soap. Both mothers are orphans, aged 13 and 14. We have learnt from other villages that girls this young will exchange sex for half a bar of cheap laundry soap. The girls before us have never seen individually wrapped soap before and lift it slowly to smell the sweet fragrance. This soap costs a little more but it is well worth it. We pause for a moment and think of the thousands of vulnerable girls in villages all across Africa. How can we possibly make a difference? For now we distribute soap”.
The Work Continues in Africa
My good friend, Pastor Dragan Zondani, tells me the work of Effect the Cause has progressed in Africa in spite of our absence, with distribution continuing to several schools and villages. Thank you to all those faithful friends that have helped us keep this work going. We do look forward to an extended trip to Africa next May and have begun making plans already. The dream is to create the opportunity for many soap business’s to be set up in Africa to provide work for women, and funds to be raised for girls and other vulnerable children to get an education and to live in a safe place. Some of the soap would be exported to the USA and could become our main fund raiser. Just like Renee say’s “we truly want to empower women and girls in Africa.”
ETC Soap Campaign
We have launched our ETC soap campaign bringing attention to abused and neglected girls in Africa. Groups have been formed that want to aid the cause by arranging evenings together wrapping soap and helping us with soap sales in the USA. The soap is ready for distribution (it is made in Australia from all natural ingredients) and is now in wrapped form with the story you have just read on the inside of the wrapper. We have set the price at $5 with discounts for large quantities. There are several ideas floating around, including one for one sales (for every bar sold in the USA we donate one to a girl in Africa) Of course we don’t want to limit our distribution to soap only. Anyone with ideas let us know?
Interns and Sponsors
There are limited opportunities available for those that would like to work with us as interns both here, in the USA, and helping with distribution in Africa. We are also looking for sponsors to both fund and bring attention to the potential of this soap idea.
Contact Bronwyn or I if you think you might like to help on any level.
Jim’s Book…………..Tears of the Elephant
The book continues with the good news that Renee has agreed to do the Foreword. For those that have not heard, this book is an attempt to bring together the issues facing an emotionally abused young girl in the USA and a young orphan girl from a village in Africa. The two girls are brought together over the plight of the African elephant being killed for ivory to fund the war effort in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The book will highlight the conditions that allow child soldiers, human trafficking and sexual abuse of young girls in Africa. It also gives direction on how people in the West can make a difference. We will begin to post excerpts from the book on the ETC website early in 2010.
p.s Thank you to those that helped raise US$1000 to send to people in Samoa that lost 12 family members in the recent tsunami.
With Much Love and Appreciation Jim Hoyle
