Nuru Project is one of our partner brands. This post was originally published on their blog.
Producer Cooper Miller and I met yesterday to flesh out a video he is creating for Nuru Project. We brainstormed single terms about each of his favorite Nuru images, including Lana Slezic’s print, which has drawn comparisons to M.C. Escher drawings.
Cooper suggested the terms ascent and peril. That Slezic’s girl is walking up stairs whlie returning to school after the fall of the Taliban suggests both her ascendancy and the difficulty of what lies ahead. Cooper also noted that we have an unimpeded view of the girl because there are no guard rails. Her path is perilous. She could easily fall off. And yet she strides confidently upward through her bombed-out shell of a school.
To celebrate the launch of Slezic’s print, we’re offering 20% off all purchases of her print before midnight EST tonight. Just enter the code Slezic_01_Launch during Step 2 of checkout.
To further celebrate the launch, we bring you a second dose of reflection on Slezic’s print from friend of Nuru Project and former Deputy Editor of CFR.org, Jayshree Bajoria:
You won’t allow me to go to school. I won’t become a doctor. Remember this: One day you will be sick.
This is a rubaiyat (Arabic word for a Quatrain) addressed to the Taliban by Lima, a 15-year old girl living in Kabul. I read it in this wonderful piece by Eliza Griswold. When I saw this print by Lana Slezic, it was Lima who first came to mind. The photograph reminded me of the same spirit that I heard in Lima’s defiant poem. For me, the photo is a powerful depiction of courage and hope amid war and destruction; I see determination in this little girl’s step even as I take in the haunting desolation of the abandoned building.
- Jayshree
Jayshree Bajoria is former Deputy Editor of CFR.org, the website of the New York-based think tank, Council on Foreign Relations. She is also a mean bhangra dancer.
Nuru Project is one of our partner brands. This post was originally published on their blog.
Father Steven Depolo gives his adopted Haitian daughter Lourdie a print from home.
With Father’s Day approaching, we bring you a story about gifting Nuru prints that is sure to melt the heart. Feeling the spirit? Enter FathersDay2012 in the field marked ‘Discounts’ during Step 2 of Checkout for 20% off any Nuru Project print! Offer ends Father’s Day.
Enjoy the story:
Introduce Yourself!
My name is Steven Depolo. I’m from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Tell me about your daughter.
My daughter’s name is Lourdie Bizou Divine Clarke. She was born in Haiti six and a half years ago. My girlfriend Caroline and I decided to adopt a child together and the agency we were working with had relationships in Haiti. When we were in the process, the earthquake happened. Lourdie is a real survivor.
What ties Lourdie to Nuru Project?
I’m always looking for cultural groups and support activities for Lourdie, given her Caribbean Haitian background and that we live in Michigan. About two months ago she turned to me and said she wished she had ‘normal’ hair and white skin. So I always try to reinforce that she’s beautiful and unique and that everyone is different.
I wanted to give her art work about Haiti but there really isn’t much. Etsy has a few things, but not museum-quality photographic artwork in my price range. Plus, it seems like everything out there is either ‘earthquake porn’ or all sparkles and angel dust all over the place. I wanted something that was girls and uplifting but also not erasing what happened, where’s she’s from, what she survived. And hopefully what she’s going to go back to and help rebuild in some way.
Brendan Hoffman’s print of girls praying in the wake of Haiti’s earthquake is uplifting, but the fact that they’re worshipping outside subtly suggests what these girls are going through and how resilient they are.
That my print purchase doubled as a donation to Partners In Health sealed the deal and made it a lot easier.
Lourdie opened up the photo and was very interested in the scene. She studied it intently which is something she rarely does. She is pretty hyper. When I said it was from Haiti, her first response was to ask why she wasn’t in the photo. She was also mad that their hair was nicer than her hair. She likes their braids. She immediately knew the girls were from Haiti. She liked the photo very much.
For every sling sold, Rockin’ Baby (one of our partner brands) donates a sling to a mother in need, making it easier for mothers to care for their baby while continuing to gather food and water for their families. Check out this guest post from Rockin’ Baby owner Kathryn Wiley.
As a mother, I value being able to have my children close. I put my role as mother first, and I believe that is what drives Rockin’ Baby to its success. For almost eight years and through five children I have come to love my role as mother above all. My husband and I chose to adopt before we tried to have any children biologically, and I remember thinking then about what it meant to become a mother. What kind was I going to be? I had no idea, but I knew that I didn’t want to read a ton of books or articles to learn. Rather, I wanted to follow my instincts of how to be a mother.
My instinctive desire for closeness led me on a search for different child carrying methods. I did not know anyone who had “worn” his or her baby, but it seemed so natural and so right. In my research online, I came across a Rockin’ Baby Sling. I received my first sling for my oldest son, Abel, as it was the only gift I requested for my baby shower. I took it with me to Kazakhstan, and loved the feeling of attachment that I received from wearing my son in a sling. Seven months later, I welcomed Cyrus into our family by birth, and wore both he and Abel as often as I could. I was the biggest advocate Rockin’ Baby had, because I felt beautiful and close to my children!
My husband saw how the sling calmed our babies, so he decided to try it out early on. Each of our children have a special sling, all of which I have retired one by one into special keepsake boxes. The first four have one sling, but now that I own the company, my fifth child, Aspen, has about ten! It is such a treat for me!
When I hear that some kids aren’t “sling babies,” it is difficult for me to understand. All of my kids loved it! My daughter, Sabina, came home from Kazakhstan when she was 19 months old. The sling was critical over the first several months, as I believe it helped her distinguish who her mother was during such a confusing period of time.
In August of 2010, I received an e-mail that changed my life. Rockin’ Baby was for sale! The Los Angeles-based company was ready for someone to breathe new life into it. Thrilled, I inquired immediately! In just six short months, I found myself the new owner. I could not wait to bring more mamas and papas closer to their babies. The TOM’s shoes and ONE-FOR-ONE business model had always inspired me, but I didn’t see how I could fit that business model into my newly acquired business. As soon as I knew I was going to purchase Rockin’ Baby, I began to see a connection in Haiti. Even though they have African roots in Haiti, they do not wear their babies in slings. With Haiti having the highest infant mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere, I knew there was something that Rockin’ Baby could do to affect change! I wanted to use Rockin’ Baby as a vehicle for change, and Haiti was where I began.
After partnering with different organizations, I took my first giving trip to Haiti in August of 2011 to actualize my Mother to Mother movement. It was amazing! To be able to provide slings to women who wanted to keep their babies close and who wanted to breastfeed their children was an experience I will never forget! Rockin’ Baby cannot wait for our next giving trip to Haiti this August where we’ll take thousands of slings down to educate and empower more Haitian women! Whether it is my child or someone else’s child, Rockin’ Baby is making a difference one mother at a time!
Join Roozt and Rockin’ Baby in the Mother to Mother Campaign.
Dave and Morgan Hansow are passionate about Uganda – so passionate that they moved to Uganda with their young son Asher to meet their adoptive daughter, Jadyn.
While in Uganda, the Hansows founded Light Gives Heat (LGH), which allows displaced Ugandan women to earn a steady weekly income as they create beautiful handmade products which are sold in the United States and throughout the world.
The Hansows are firmly convinced that our relationship with Africa can not and should not be one sided. To portray this message, LGH produced the feature length film Moving On, which encourages people in the West to take risks and change the world.
Along with 29 other brands, LGH has entered Cultivate Wines’ contest, “The Give”. The grand prize is $50,000. With this money, LGH could take Moving On on a U.S. tour, inspiring people across the country to take action for a better world as well as increasing product sales which help pay the salaries of the Ugandan artisans.
LGH has been very closely trailing another brand for weeks now – and they need your votes in order to make a breakaway to first place!
