By Elizabeth Firg | Founder and President
We just returned from a phenomally succesful trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation. The production of the Sage Braid has made tremendous progress, but A Global Friendship still has a long way to go in our efforts in South Dakota. A large contirbuting factor to this process is face-to-face interaction with our Sioux artisans on the reservation. In order to keep the production process of the Sage Braid streamlined, it is essential for AGF to make at least two more trips out to the Reservation by September. Based on the past relationships between the Lakota Sioux and Americans, the artisans on the reservation are a little hestitant to truly commit to the production process, as they cannot believe an outsider is a making such a concentrated effort to pull them out of their rut. While we have made a extended commitment to them, they are concerned with our the consistency our of short term presence on the reservation and constantly ask, "When are you coming back?" Being there in-person to interact with them while they work allows us to break down the confidence barriers that prevent our women on the reservation from achieving their potential.
To achieve the optimal appearance of the Sage, we only have 2 more months of harvesting time as it is a seasonal crop in South Dakota. When present in-person, we can motivate the women and help them see through small issues that cause them great duress, but are small in the grand scheme of the production.
Tamara and her daughter, Katie, are our current project leaders on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Tamara frequently goes without meals so her 3 children may have two meals a day. She expressed her endless gratitude to AGF for providing her with an income to afford more consistent food supply for her family. As she continues to earn an income from A Global Friendship, she can provide more nutrious food, supplemental and much needed clothing for her family, as well as gas in her car so she can get to the market.
Katie, Tamara's daughter, is 17, and is saving her money to go to college. She would be her first one in her family to go. While Tamara is hesitant to let her daughter leave the reservation, she wants Katie to have the opportunities to improve her life, and she can do so through working with AGF.
Rhiannon is another of our artisans on the reservation. She's a 19 year old single mother with an 11 month old baby. She recieves no help from the child's father and had to drop out of high school to support and care for her baby. She wants to go back to recieve her GED and eventually pursue a degree from a university. Another hope she has is to start a service on the reservation that would provide Native Americans with rehab and counseling services for drug and alcohol abuse.
Given that so little is known about the conditions on Pine Ridge Reservation, we ask you to share our message with your social networks, so more people may become aware of the conditions within America's own borders.
We also ask you to today, reach into your hearts and make another pledge. We need to fulfill this campaign within the next 30 days to keep our commitment to the women we serve.
Thanks for your continued help. Together we can give a small glimpse of hope to a people who most desperately need it.
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