Global Solidarity Challenge Returns!

Last July, I and my good friend @AliaK_ spent one week living on $1.25 a day to raise awareness on poverty and inequality worldwide and raised $1650 for the Victoria International Development and Education Association. It was a crazy week of trying to cook cheap food, feeling pretty hungry and realizing that we both would be very bad at being poor.

The Global Solidarity Challenge is co-ordinated by VIDEA (my Canadian partner organization). For one week, people from all over Canada raise awareness and support for ending extreme poverty.

Your Long Distance Neighbour will be spending five days this week, getting down and dirty in the markets, working alongside women market traders, sharing their stories and learning from their life experience and wisdom. I'm in for some pretty long days and I will try and share as much as I can about my experience with you all through this blog.

My goal is to raise $500 dollars during this challenge. The money that I raise will go to VIDEA to support programs that build partnerships between Canada and local African organizations to end poverty and make a more just and equitable world for everyone.

We hope you are interested in supporting my activities. To donate please visit our Fundraising Page on the Global Solidarity website and help us reach our goal.

Disclaimer:  I do not get any money from this venture nor does this blog. This is just one of the ways I hope to give back the Canadian community and overseas organizations that are supporting me in all my work.  

New Finds in the Online Land of Ethical Fashion

Sometimes, you have to write the story in front of you. Have been madly trying to figure out a short post I could do as the writing chaos of my job right now is leaving me disinclined to blog. Luckily, a find of a whole bunch of new ethical fashion people on twitter this morning provided me with a little inspiration. I'm taking an easy out today and sharing with you all a list of some of my recent finds in the world wide-web, mostly to do with ethical fashion.

Fashion Revolution

On April 24^th, the anniversary of collapse of the Bangladesh Factory, Fashion Revolution is organizing a “Who Made Your Clothes” online event to encourage people to think about where their clothes come from. Participating is simple, photograph the label of at least one item of clothing your wearing with the hashtag #inside! I'll be joining and you should too!

{Think} Boutique

Online ethical fashion, accessory a shop in the UK. It also has a running blog which I really enjoy 

Glove Love

I found this through the blog of {Think} Boutique. This combines my love of mismatching with my love of asymmetry... must own a pair!

Aura Que

Bags, scarves and top. All ethically made and fair-trade out of Nepal. Can personally attest to their products as I got one of their bags for Christmas!

Will be back soon with more Dar stories!

Three Things I Wouldn't Change About How I Live

Last weekend, I hit the one month point of my return to Tanzania. While I was traveling through Canada, there were a number of things I really missed about Tanzania. Some of them came as no surprise (sun, beach, warmth!), others took me by surprise.

What to Eat?

Before returning to Canada, I really missed the variety of food. But, when I was back home, I actually felt rather overwhelmed by all the choice. I would freeze up trying to make a choice from a menu (and in grocery stores and department stores). Turns out that choice can be overrated and I'm perfectly happy to buy my breakfast from the same Chapati lady everyday I can.   

Nice Place but I Wouldn't Want to Live There

When I first got back to Tanzania, I stayed two weeks in the fancy part of town. This is an area I visit all the time to get a bit of an escape from the crazy city life. The peninsula, as its affectionately known, is full of higher end shops and restaurants and dominated by the expats. However I didn't feel like I was really back in Dar es Salaam until I hit my crazy market neighbourhood - Karikoo. Its all what you're used to I guess and the peninsula feels like a holiday to me, rather than my daily existence.

Love Dar, Hate the Traffic

Transport can be a love/hate relationship but its a rare day I have to wait for a bus. Though sometimes buses take a while to fill-up, at least I can sit down while waiting. And, if you are going to be stuck in traffic, why not be only paying 25 cents? And anyone who follows my twitter feed knows, that some of my favourite/funny moments happen while riding the bus.

You Gotta Fight for Your Right to... Trade?

Where you trade in the market has a big impact on how successful your business is. This is even more important in the really big markets. Two weeks ago, several of the women vegetable traders in Ilala market were shifted from their spots to a new location on the outskirts of the market. They had been petitioning the market committee to place all vegetable sellers closer to the other food vendors so that customers would have easier access.

This move was not what they had in mind.

The new location of the sellers was muddy with pools of standing water (even though it hasn't rained in days). Stalls are located along the edge of drainage ditches that haven't been cleaned in ages. We watched as one woman lost some of her pumpkins when they rolled down into the dirty ditches.

Some women have tried to move to one of the side-streets, but they're paying double taxes as the street committee and the market committee disagree about whose territory this is.

So what happened? Reports from the women say that they were moved by the market committee after a group of tomato vendors from another market bribed the committee and officials to take their place.

This sort of corruption does not make the news, but it does have a major impact on women's lives. This is why working with market women isn't just about economic empowerment and business skills. That is not enough. Business plans and good accounting are great, but if your business can be uprooted at any time you can't get ahead. Knowing your rights, knowing where to go and how to demand accountability from the very people you elected to be in charge, is just as important.

And these women are fighting back. They've mobilized and begun an organized response working from the market committee up to the municipal government. Its probably going to be a battle - no one wants to claim responsibility or even knowledge of what happened. But then, knowing your rights doesn't mean you automatically win. Its about having good tools and the confidence to be able to fight. And the 20 women who are showing up in the councillors' offices know the system, they know their rights and are there to get answers. I say more power to them.