February 23 - Creating Beauty...Inspiring Change.

Seven days of silence. Can you imagine? She was small for her age, a mere 16 years old but pregnant. For years, her brother and “caring” uncle had repeatedly sexually abused her. One day, she became pregnant.

Medani was sent by court order to Ma-Sevana, a home for mothers aged 10—18 who are the survivors of rape or incest in Sri Lanka. While this place would protect her, she had been taken from her home, friends, education... her childhood. The result was seven days of silence and longing stares that could not be overcome by counseling. However, there was a glimmer of hope, and it came in the form of small glass beads. Medani took an interest in stringing together colorful beads supplied by Emerge Global. After one day of beadwork, she spoke. Three weeks later, she had become a leader in the home, helping other girls create beautiful beadwork.


The Backstory:
During the summer of 2005, MIT student Alia Whitney-Johnson arrived in Sri Lanka as a tsunami-relief volunteer, sponsored by a fellowship from the MIT Public Service Center. During this trip, she encountered a heartbreaking reality: Girls as young as 11 and pregnant from rape or incest had been cast out of their own families, denied the right to formal education, and imprisoned for their own protection.


A jewelry-maker since age seven, Alia decided to host a beading workshop to better acquaint herself with the girls. 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. The Emerge Bead Program was born as a way to sustain the girls' work, connecting the young women to supplies and training, a global market, and a global community of support.


After incubating her programs through the nonprofit Universal Awakening, Alia founded Emerge Global in 2008 with the goal of empowering girls all over the world who have survived sexual abuse to rediscover a sense of hope and celebrate their personal beauty,build a strong community, and fulfill their own visions of the future.



Emerge Global is a non-profit organization registered in the United States that enables Sri Lankan girls who have survived abuse and sexual violence to become jewelry designers through a curriculum that emphasizes self-esteem, leadership, and business knowledge, while generating savings for their futures. Design and entrepreneurship are combined to develop confidence, teach life skills, and strengthen the community’s capacity to affect change.

Get Involved:

Donate to Emerge Global.

Purchase Emerge Global Products:

Beautiful, handmade jewelry- each piece is 100% unique, just like the girl who made it. Check out their online jewelry boutique: http://emergeglobal.etsy.com/

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Source:  http://emergeglobal.org/