Emerge works with teenage survivors of sexual abuse in Sri Lanka, helping them to heal, develop skills for self-sufficiency, and build a better future for themselves and others.
Investing in courageous girls
At Emerge, we invest in strong girls, girls who we know will rock the boat and fight for a better future. Emerge works with girls who have survived abuse, often in their own families, and have had the courage to speak out, to work to protect their younger sisters, and to create a safe reality for their own children. What if these courageous and resilient young women had the skills, resources and networks to enact their own visions of change? At Emerge, we believe this is the best investment we can make.
OUR STORY
During the summer of 2005, 19-year-old Alia Whitney-Johnson arrived in Sri Lanka as a tsunami-relief volunteer. During this trip, she encountered a heartbreaking reality: Girls as young as 11 who had survived rape or incest and had the courage to stand up for themselves in court were cast out of their own families, denied the right to formal education, and locked-up for their own protection.
A jewelry-maker since age seven, Alia decided to host a beading workshop to get to know the girls better. The act of creating jewelry soon became a tool for transformation, uplifting the girls’ spirits and ultimately helping them to overcome the emotional, social, and economic obstacles they faced. Emerge was born as a way to help girls heal while learning critical life and business skills through jewelry design. Bead by bead and girl by girl, Emerge has enabled hundreds of girls to develop healthy, self-sufficient lives.
Programs
Beads-to-Business
The girls learn to make high quality jewelry and can use this skill as the foundation for setting up and managing their own small businesses. The curriculum tackles concepts such as budgeting, inventory management, product development, marketing, branding, and financing.
Mentorship
During Emerge Mentorship sessions, girls are paired with adult role models who cover a curriculum on topics such as body image, childcare, mental health, social responsibility, goal-setting and more.
Life Skills
The Life Skills program teaches girls about goal setting, reproductive health, job readiness, money management, communication, crisis management, and community engagement. The curriculum includes outside speakers, demonstrative activities, and journal entries.
Reintegration
Our new Emerge Center provides a residential empowerment program for young women as they transition from Emerge programs in shelters into their independent, adult lives. Emerge also supports this transition by connecting young women to a variety of local resources and service providers, providing general support and check-ins, and hosting annual alumnae reunions.
Words from the girls of Emerge
Beading frees my mind.
, Age 14Every Monday, we were waiting for Emerge with a heart full of happiness.
This money I earned form Emerge have contributed to building my house. This money will be reimbursed to me as my family is involved in a housing project spearheaded by the Government. When I get my money back I hope to re-save it for the future of my family.
An unexpected event changed my life one day. It left me at my lowest, heart broken and lonely. At that time, when I was without any help, feeling sad, it was the Emerge beading workshop that helped ease my pain and loneliness and helped me make up my mind and console myself. The satisfaction I feel in combining beautiful colors, designing and completing a beautiful necklace or bracelet is hard to describe in words. These workshops have helped me succeed in life and face life as a successful human being to this day. Now as my career, I have dedicated myself to teach girls that have faced the same challenges as me. I do it with immense happiness.
My favorite part of the program was playing shopkeeper at the Emerge Store. I calculated the supplies vouchers to check if other girls’ math was correct. I like to teach others and it makes me happy to share what I have learned.
