Emerge in the Field

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2010-04-30T09:26:00.001-07:00

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Emerge in Malaysia

2010-04-30T04:09:00.000-07:00

Rachael and I (Jennifer) got back a couple of weeks ago from a very productive trip to Malaysia. We made contact with a long-term Emerge supporter who was able to help us find several potential sources for high-quality glass beads. There were several stores, with all of our favorite bead styles and colors, and even better, the price was much lower than we've paid in the past. This is a great

Post From a Past-Program Particpant

2010-04-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

SR is a past bead program participant who now assists at our workshops in Panadura. What follows is her first blog post about her experiences at the Panadura bead workshop: I am an Emerge past bead program participant who has followed the program for the past 2 years since I left the shelter few months ago I have the privilege of teaching some of the girls who are following the bead program in

A Note From Emerge Lanka's Recent Short Term Volunteer

2010-04-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

The following blog was written by Frank Vargas, a recent short term volunteer for Emerge Lanka: “Calm down,” said Rachael, the Emerge Country Director, laughing at my pallid expression as our taxi careened down a dimly lit road, “Things work differently here, but it’s ok.” I spent the hour-long drive from Colombo International Airport to the Emerge Apartment with my hands firmly gripping the

2010-03-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share one of our many, little, victories. It's the curriculum. In Sinhala. Finally! The girls get to see it on Monday. Thanks to our translator and our wonderful typesetter!

Chennai two.....

2010-03-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

When March comes along ever year I get very excited…… this is the time I get to go to Chennai for my annual church retreat. Like last year, this year too, I received a gift of a free airline ticket. Even though I was offered cold hard cash to stay back by my daughter as 9 days without me was too stressful for her, who had to take care of dad, Fudge and Muffin. Of course the girls at the shelters

Before and After

2010-03-12T00:24:00.000-08:00

We painted the home about a week ago, courtesy of a British donor. For a modest amount of money the staff at Panadura were able to buy a truly amazing amount of paint. The girls all chipped in and even Nirukshi and I got involved and the activity room was finished in only a couple hours. I thought I'd share some pictures with you. Unfortunately I had to crop out all the faces that were

Over $21,000 in Savings Generated in 2009

2010-03-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

We’ve finalized jewelry totals for 2009, and begun transferring funds into the girls’ bank accounts. I’ve got some exciting stats that I’d love to share with everyone today. In 2009 the Emerge girls made 2127 pieces of jewelry, generating $21,217.78 in savings for program participants! Our highest earner, RS, made nearly $1,900 USD.To give you a little context: $120 is the average monthly salary

Community Fund at Ma Sevena

2010-03-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

Sometime ago, the girls decided that a certain percentage of their earnings from selling Emerge jewelry would go into a Community Fund that would benefit all the girls. The idea came about when the girls expressed concerned that they didn’t have adequate sanitary pads at the home. If they were making money, why couldn’t they fix this problem? We recently had our first Community Fund project,

Life Skills

2010-03-03T02:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a big month in the homes. At Panadura the girls started the Money and Banking theme. They had a lesson on the cost of living the first day. We used a modified version of the price is right to teach them approximate costs of everyday household items. They learned a lot too. By the end of the workshop they managed to cut their 'spending' by 60% to a more realistic monthly budget. This

Sidi visits the girls at Panadura

2010-02-09T02:41:00.000-08:00

Sidi, my nephew from the US, is one of the main donors who supported Chari, his brother in raising funds for the 2008 and 2009 Emerge holiday parities. On his recent visit to Sri Lanka Sidi visited the shelters Emerge is working with. I was glad he was visiting so that he would understand the work we do. First, he visited the girls in Moratuwa very briefly and later in the day the

Smooth Sailing

2010-02-08T21:46:00.000-08:00

I was so proud of our girls this week. We started work at Panadura in mid-November, introducing girls bit by bit to the program, starting with jewelry techniques, bringing in goals and planning, and finally setting up the full workshop structure for the girls to run.This was the first week when we had the girls run the shop independently and the bank and it was amazing to see how smoothly things

Volunteer this Summer in Sri Lanka

2010-02-01T15:42:00.000-08:00

Emerge Global is currently recruiting highly motivated, creative, and passionate individuals to volunteer in Sri Lanka this summer! As a young organization, this is a great opportunity to shape our evolving work.If interested in a position described below, please send a cover letter, resume, and volunteer application form to: opportunities@emergeglobal.org by Friday, March 12th at 9pm EST.