Getting Emerge Global business cards was the best decision I made before coming back to Colombo. In the time I've been back , I must have handed out at least 30 cards. It's hard to believe I didn't have them when I first got to Sri Lanka, and they're proving invaluable right now.
This week has been the week of networking. I've been meeting with individuals from all sectors - from Project Managers at USAID to freelance consultants - in order to explore the various options Emerge Global has in setting up a legal entity in Sri Lanka. And when introducing myself and our programs to said individuals, handing them a business card with our beautiful Emerge Global logo on it gives me an added boost of confidence. It's as if I'm saying "Yes, I am legit. You can respect me, and my organization because of this little 2 x 3.5 inch piece of card stock."
It gives people a different perception of who I am and what I'm trying to do in Sri Lanka, and is one very small indication of Emerge Global's overall evolution from a small project to an international presence. Read more »
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Emerge in the Field
Very quick little update... I'm sitting in a wonderful coffee shop in Colombo being VERY productive. I think this may be the key to my research efficiency... get out of the house and away from the usual distractions and it's easier to focus for long periods at a time.
I'm flying to Kolkata, India (formerly Calcutta) for the week starting tomorrow to research a few other organizations with comparable programs (art therapy+education+income generation) and many, many years of experience behind them. I will also look into bead/finding sourcing if I have spare time. I'm actually very excited for this trip... initially I wasn't too keen, but have learned so much about these organizations and their incredible work, I can't wait!
Apologies for the shortest blog entry ever, but can't stop researching, I'm on a roll!
Every week the girls at Ma Sevana and the VTC make a personal goal. The past couple of weeks several of the girls have vowed to overcome laziness... hence this photo represents only a tiny fraction of the new jewelry created at Ma Sevana this Monday! (One of our girls made 19 bracelets!)Every Monday and Thursday Nirukshi runs Emerge Bead Workshops at Ma Sevana and the Suwasetha Vocational Training Center (VTC) respectively. Since I've been in Sri Lanka, I have also traveled down to Moratuwa twice a week to participate in and improve these workshops.
Today was my first day back at Ma Sevana and I wanted to take a photo of my welcome. This picture is classic Sandeep. He is an incredibly playful child, as evidenced by the photo below. In this picture, he has hijacked April's sunglasses and is practicing for his future career as a rockstar.
The colorful orange bag on the left of the photo is our combination jewelry workshop/grocery bag that Aaron and Sheena bought and donated to Emerge when they were in Sri Lanka in October. Read more »
In remembrance of Barcelona.........
It was only yesterday I had a chat with Alia on SKYPE and I told her that I want to blog about my two orphaned squirrels "Barcelona" (elder of the two) and "Tobias".
It was the habit of their mother to have her babies in our letterbox, two months ago “Barcy” for short and his brother “Tobias” were born, after a month a Cat living in the neighbourhood ate the mother and these tiny ones were left alone to fend for themselves, Nadiya my daughter and I decided we must give them a home.
It was a tedious task feeding them and many a times I had to carry them around to Ma Sevena and the Vocational Training because of their feeding times, the girls used to have such fun with “Barcy” and “Tobias”.
One day Tobias passed away as he was the smaller and the weaker one of the two and it was difficult for him to survive, as they had not opened their eyes, however Barcy was doing fine and so very well until today…….
I gave him his feed last night which was milk and papaya juice with a ¼ drop of vitamins and glucose mixed all together and he had a wonderful feed and when I woke up this morning he had his feed again, I used to love when he played his trick when I scratch his head he used to do something funny with his leg and it was so much of fun.
My biggest fear was that if anything happened to Barcey it would break Nadiya’s heart and it was today that it happened….
After feeding him he went to sleep and when Mafaz, Nadiya’s boy friend came home for lunch she wanted me to give Barcey to him to play with and I showed him the trick he plays and it made him laugh too, and then when Nadiya had her bath and came and looked in his cage; that we had got him, an exclusive one, he had passed away…….
Nadiya wailed and cried and though I didn’t show it, there was this big lump in my throat as I was sad because it was I who took all the trouble to look after
him for this long and I used to take great care of him and he even slept in his cage near my bed. In fact I had introduced Spaghetti our dog who licked him this morning and not forgetting Fudge my cat who was slowly getting used to him….
It was the habit of their mother to have her babies in our letterbox, two months ago “Barcy” for short and his brother “Tobias” were born, after a month a Cat living in the neighbourhood ate the mother and these tiny ones were left alone to fend for themselves, Nadiya my daughter and I decided we must give them a home.
It was a tedious task feeding them and many a times I had to carry them around to Ma Sevena and the Vocational Training because of their feeding times, the girls used to have such fun with “Barcy” and “Tobias”.
One day Tobias passed away as he was the smaller and the weaker one of the two and it was difficult for him to survive, as they had not opened their eyes, however Barcy was doing fine and so very well until today…….
I gave him his feed last night which was milk and papaya juice with a ¼ drop of vitamins and glucose mixed all together and he had a wonderful feed and when I woke up this morning he had his feed again, I used to love when he played his trick when I scratch his head he used to do something funny with his leg and it was so much of fun.
My biggest fear was that if anything happened to Barcey it would break Nadiya’s heart and it was today that it happened….
After feeding him he went to sleep and when Mafaz, Nadiya’s boy friend came home for lunch she wanted me to give Barcey to him to play with and I showed him the trick he plays and it made him laugh too, and then when Nadiya had her bath and came and looked in his cage; that we had got him, an exclusive one, he had passed away…….
Nadiya wailed and cried and though I didn’t show it, there was this big lump in my throat as I was sad because it was I who took all the trouble to look after
him for this long and I used to take great care of him and he even slept in his cage near my bed. In fact I had introduced Spaghetti our dog who licked him this morning and not forgetting Fudge my cat who was slowly getting used to him….It is truly is a sad day for me today as “Barcy” …… my baby pet squirrel passed away……
Aiyo, so much to talk about! I'm not really even sure where to begin as it seems I've lived many lives in the past couple of weeks. A mish mosh it is then... stream of consciousness will be the order of the day.
Rewind to Christmas. Things have been a bit chaotic here throughout the holidays, and Christmas itself was a particularly fun and bizarre time. As I may have mentioned before, this is the first one I've spent away from my family, and my first spent away from the cold. This year my whole experience was rife with dissonance- hearing Christmas carols blasting in 90 degree weather and seeing Sri Lankans clad head to toe in Santa outfits, wearing white gloves and masks over dusk colored skin.
Christmas eve was spent mucking through rice paddies and cow pies, as I participated in an organized group run (think an hour of fun and easy running, and food and drink and socializing afterwards) then we were off to a small get together at the fulbright fellows' house. We had more rice and curry, then hot chocolate and fudge. We talked of politics and health, of culture and customs.
Christmas day I was invited to a family lunch at my friend Niranjala's house, it was beautiful, and lovely to be integrated into a family during this time of year. She even bought me a present knowing that I would probably not receive any from back home! That eve was equally pleasurable and I (along with a bucket of KFC) hosted my friend British Cathy, and several members of an international band based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They hail from Trinidad and Tobego, Malaysia, New Zealand... the missing members were from South Africa and Los Angeles. It is through dialogue with this type of world traveller that I realize how we might positively impact the world.
Last week I was thrilled to host Michelle, a "young old soul" and one of my best friends for the past 8 years. Michelle is the Microfinance partnerships manager for Kiva in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Not only was it a pleasure to host her and travel with her as a friend, but it was wonderful to bring her to our Ma Sevana workshop and hear her expert insight on our current status, our past, and our future. Michelle fell in love with the babies at the orphanage, and the girls fell in love with her for her utter goofiness and unfaltering energy.
Michelle and the twins
Speaking about more quantifiable progress, Emerge work has been fun, challenging, and has been keeping me on my toes. I've been revisiting our inventory system as it is appropriate to our current homees, and exploring how it will develop if we extend our programs to work with women outside of the homes. I've been researching how we can function best within Sri Lanka, if it would benefit the organization to establish a for profit or not-for-profit entity here, as the political climate is not hugely friendly toward foreign NGO's. I've been speaking with the export manager at the National Gem and Jewelry Authority about the logistics of our expansion- evaluating the pros and cons of import/export as a for profit or as a not-for-profit.
I've also been spending much time with hands on development, from assembling and reorganizing all of our inventory accumulated since the program's inception to creating documents to track and best distribute tools and other program materials. I am happy to know that all of the girls now have the tools required to do the job (seemingly an easy task, but we've encountered all kinds of speed bumps with sourcing, maintenance, quality...) One of my next focuses will be on the Bead Program's "welcome" and "goodbye" materials, as turnover is picking up and often we are unaware of a girl's departure until after it occurs.
One such girl, SR, was sort of my first partner in crime. She was one of the first to welcome me and smile warmly- it was she who showed me how to make my first necklace. I was so sad to hear that she was gone, but thrilled to hear that she was back with her family and would be coming to collect supplies at our other workshop. I was so happy to see her at our workshop on Thursday- she brought her sweet baby and her mother. SR looked relaxed and happy. I'm so glad we'll be in touch.
On other notes, I took a bit of time to myself the other day and made my first bracelet. It's actually a lot harder than in looks, and in my opinion requires much more mental planning than the 60 inch necklaces, as you need to not only think about how the beads look consecutively but also how each loop fits into the design as a whole.
My first bracelet
And last but certainly not least, I am so grateful for the bead donation sent by my grandparents in the states. Getting over to the post office to pick up the package was an adventure of its own, but I know the girls will be thrilled to have additional variety to play with. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!
Beads donated by my grandparents
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Today is my last day in the United States before heading back to Sri Lanka, and my emotions are somewhat mixed. On one hand, it has been incredibly refreshing to be back home: I feel like my energy level and enthusiasm is at an all-time high. In addition, I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to pick up the phone and call Alia when an idea pops into my head or a donation comes in. Living in the same time zone is completely underrated.
However, there is one thing I won't miss one bit: the cold. Sitting in my friend Nicole's apartment in Brooklyn as I'm writing this with the space heater whirring beside me, I can proclaim my new-found love for these small heating devices. In two days I know I'll be hit by the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka and wish for the cold again ... but until then I'm working on turning this room I'm sitting in into a tropical climate of my own. Read more »