Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Post By Marcia Gates a Recent Visitor and Newest Board Member

Marcia (on right) Interviewing a Current Student with Angie 
Empowerment (noun): the granting of power to perform various acts or duties.

This is a word used a lot by Shining a Light.

When I see the definition of empowerment, the word that jumps off the page to me is “power”. Power is a strong word. It makes me think of lightning, electricity, God, things changing. Basically, something not staying the same because of the power or energy it has been given to change something else. Lightning has the power to start fires. Electricity has the power to make things run. God created the world.

I would say this same power is given to the 15 or so women that have the opportunity to be a part of SAL every two years. Their lives will never be the same, and they are now given the power to change the lives of their families. I saw this clearly when I spent two weeks with SAL in Arusha in January. The back-story of what brought me and my friend Angie to Arusha is incredible, and God’s hand is evident throughout the whole thing. But that’s for a whole other blog post.

Every time I walked into the training center, I could just feel the energy and passion of the women. They are extremely skilled, and it is amazing to watch them work with such ease and confidence.

However, when you sit any of them down to talk, you can quickly tell their culture teaches them to be timid. It’s difficult to get them to tell you anything other than exactly what they think you want to hear, with hunched shoulders and little eye contact. This is so sad to me because women are wonderfully made, and God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power. But that is a cultural change that will take many, many years to address.

It is amazing how their demeanor completely changes when they are working. They confidently bead the sandals, use the sewing machine, and laugh with each other the whole time. They know they are good at something. They know they have skills. They know they are changing their lives, one sandal at a time.

When I was there, I had the privilege of interviewing many of the women, asking them their story. I wanted to know what their life was like before coming to SAL, how they had changed since being there, and what their plans were after graduation. It was heartbreaking to hear the many stories of abuse and neglect. Many are lied to by men who get them pregnant and then leave, leaving them as single mothers. Single mothers with little or no skills to provide for their child(ren). My husband and I will be first-time parents in April, and I can’t imagine raising a child by myself, being solely responsible for all of her needs.

However, their stories made their future seem that much brighter. I could see and hear the sincerity in their voice when they said they were grateful that they now have skills, and how SAL has changed their lives. They are equipped to start their own businesses or get good jobs! Their kids can now go to school. They now have clean drinking water. Their stomachs don’t hurt anymore because of contaminated water. They put food on the table. These are all things that wouldn’t have been possible two years prior (they are about to graduate the two year program in April).

They realize they now hold the power to change their lives. SAL empowered them through business classes, bible studies, english classes, beading, sewing, and teaching them healthcare. They now possess all of these tools, and it is up to them to utilize them.


Empowerment. That is definitely the word I would use to sum up what I saw in that beautiful city in Tanzania.

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