Fair Trade
Marketplace: For home goods, specialty items, gifts, and more, start your shopping with the Marketplace of Together Women Rise. You support the hard work of artisans from around the world, and a portion of your purchase is returned to further the work of Together Women Rise. See the full list here. If you are a vendor and are interested in participating, review our Cause Marketing Guidelines and submit a proposal here.
Investing in women is the basis for prosperity and peace in our world, and the Women’s Peace Collection is doing its part. Each item in this online, fair-trade store speaks to this hopeful vision: women’s hands are a force for peace. The site sells jewelry, scarves, baskets, bags and more made by women from around the world who are rebuilding their lives in the shadows of war, civil strife or crippling poverty. All of the products are handcrafted, sustainable and will help empower women entrepreneurs. Together Women Rise receives 10% of the purchase price by mentioning Together Women Rise in the “Note to Women’s Peace Collection” during checkout. Visit Women’s Peace Collection here.
Books
Fiction
By Eucabeth A. Odhiambo
Auma has been running all her life. In her small Kenyan village, she’s a track star with big dreams. A track scholarship could allow her to attend high school and maybe even become a doctor someday. But a strange new sickness called AIDS is ravaging the village, and when her father becomes ill, Auma’s family needs her help at home.
Soon more people are getting sick — even dying — and no one seems to know why. Now Auma faces a choice. She can either quit school and go to work to support her struggling family…or leave her loved ones behind to pursue her own future.
Auma knows her family is depending on her. But leaving might be the only way to find the answers to her questions about this new disease.
Non-Fiction
Women Like Me: Strong Women in Kenya
By Julie Fairhurst
This book was written by 21 women from Kenya. These women are living hard lives, lacking food, water, and housing. Many of them have never attended school. Almost all are widows.
When you buy this book, you’re supporting the woman who wrote it. The money goes to them to assist with food and everyday necessities. These powerful women from Kenya have taken control of their stories by sharing their experiences.
The majority of these women have lost their husbands. They lack employment, nourishment, funds, and other necessities of daily life. These women must struggle every day to provide for their youngsters. Without shoes, a school uniform, and school fees, their children are unable to attend school. However, despite their difficult lives, they continue to persevere.
Their stories are about their lives living in Kenya. They are Women Like Me!
Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya
By Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson
Through artful prose and beautiful illustrations, Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson tell the true story of Wangari Muta Maathai, known as “Mama Miti,” who in 1977 founded the Green Belt Movement, an African grassroots organization that has empowered many people to mobilize and combat deforestation, soil erosion, and environmental degradation.
Today, more than 30 million trees have been planted throughout Mama Miti’s native Kenya, and in 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari Muta Maathai has changed Kenya tree by tree—and with each page turned, children will realize their own ability to positively impact the future.
RefuSHE’s Fashion Challenge – On Oct. 7, 2023, RefuSHE celebrated its 15th anniversary with a one-of-a-kind fashion show in Nairobi, Kenya inspired by the resilient stories of refugee girls.
Nairobi Orchestra – Nairobi Orchestra is an amateur orchestra that plays five sets of concerts per year. Learn more at nairobiorchestra.org.