As a writer myself, I can vouch for the power of words, which is why I am honored to introduce our next Blogging for Better charity:
Gender-based violence impacts the lives of millions, forever changing how they experience the world. We hear about the suffering they face, but, far too frequently, those stories are told through the eyes of the legal system, the media, the general public, and not through the lens of the survivors themselves. Fear, shame, anger and resentment often prevents these survivors from sharing their stories; stories that need to be heard; stories that need to be told.
Enter the Voices and Faces Project, a nonprofit dedicated to helping survivors of gender-based violence put their stories into words. Through writing workshops, trained advocates help survivors create memoirs, short stories, poetry and more to articulate their experiences. These creative works not only serve to heal, they bring a humanity to the often cold, statistical experience of gender-based violence. These survivors are not just numbers, they are humans with stories we all need to hear.
“Many survivors of sexual violence, myself included, find that sharing their stories can help them heal themselves, and heal others,” says Lea Grover, Special Projects Associate for the Voices and Faces Project.
“The Voices and Faces Project’s testimonial writing workshop, “The Stories We Tell,” connects survivors to each other and helps them develop the tools to turn their experiences into action. It opens doors to advocacy and activism in many forms, and graduates of the workshop have gone on to write books, found their own organizations, and do the work of making the world safer for both those who have survived sexual violence and those who are at risk of experiencing it.”
The Voices and Faces Project covers the cost of the workshop for everyone who is accepted, which is why contributions to this worthy cause are so needed.
Throughout the month of November, as part of our Blogging for Better efforts, myself and others will be promoting the Voices and Faces Project, bringing attention to and raising funds for this worthy cause.
If you are blogger, writer or social media influencer interested in learning more about Blogging for Better, please email me at maybeillshowertoday at gmail dot com. You can also request to join our private Facebook group here.
