Here are five social justice actions to act on your values today. Keep reading to learn more about each action, and then download your list so you can keep track of your progress! #1: Take action on the issues you care about most Human rights are under attack, and we can do our part …
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The beginning of a new year offers the possibility for a fresh start — to change in ways that will benefit ourselves, the people we love and the world at large. The power to make change is always within us, but sometimes we need a push, like a new year or a significant event in …
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The Muñecas Negras initiative brings together women and girls, largely from communities of Haitian descent, in rural areas across the Dominican Republic — giving them a safe space to connect, take pride in their identity and learn about their history, all while creating dolls that share their skin color. Below, step into Batey Carmona to …
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It was Yanilda Juan, 23, who brought her family to Muñecas Negras. Today, her sisters and their daughters joined: seven Juan women in all. “This project doesn’t just teach us to stitch dolls. It teaches us to love ourselves, our roots, our ancestors, our hair, our skin. To understand that everything we have is gold, …
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Juanita ‘Kika’ Antelis Juan is the oldest Juan sister, at 26. For Kika, Muñecas Negras inspired an extraordinary change in her life. She grew up in a family of 10 and was married when she turned 15 (In the Dominican Republic, marriage is often forced upon adolescent girls by families struggling financially, to lessen her …
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Seventy-five years ago today, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in response to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. The first document of its kind, developed by people from diverse backgrounds from around the world, declares that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity …
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For most of her life, 20-year-old Meriya Alpa Ramjibhai grew up doing what was expected of her: taking care of her siblings, doing household chores and keeping her opinions to herself. She was also expected, like so many young women, to marry when her parents found a suitable husband. But things are changing for Alpa. …
Read More “Change ripples outward.” Those are the words of Felipe Fortines Yen, an activist from Reconoci.do, an AJWS grantee fighting for human rights in the Dominican Republic. Speaking with AJWS earlier this summer, he said: “We understand that our lives are all connected. So we start with the change we want to see in ourselves. And …
Read More Here are five ways you can act on your values for social justice this summer. Keep reading to learn more about each action, and then download your list so you can keep track of your progress! #1: Sign our petition for climate justice From record-breaking heat to deadly droughts, the climate crisis is escalating …
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Nelson Mutugi Silas was born into a Christian family in Meru, Kenya — and from an early age, they say, “there was a conflict in me. I was attracted to boys and I didn’t know why. But I did know it was a sin.” Terrified, they buried these feelings while studying at an all-boys school …
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