A very big thank you to Nellie Shani and the Los Angeles chapter of WOGA goes out for a successful WOGA event on Female Genital Mutilation, (FGM.) We had a very nice turn out for the event, during which we were able to view the film "Moolade" by Ousmane Sembene, a film about FGM which is now out on DVD, and also a short demo of "Primal Cries" produced by Dee Smith and directed by Maki. Both Dee and Maki attended our meeting, in what we felt was definitely a God-connection!Both films were an eye opening experience to many who attended, who previously had never been aware that FGM exists and is still going on in many parts of the world.
We were able to spend time in prayer with Nellie, our guest speaker, whose work throughout Africa has put her in contact with many women whose lives have been affected by FGM. We prayed together for a swift ending to this practice.
Nellie spoke of how she asked God what she could do, as one woman, to make a difference on such a huge issue. God led her to consider what was 'in her very hands,' to make a difference, and her answer was her artwork. As an artist, Nellie had not painted for 10 years and after hearing God's answer to her, she picked up her brushes and made a grouping of photos just for our WOGA: LA event in honor of ending FGM. The photo above is from this collection and they are available for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to PACWA's work to end FGM in Kenya. If you are interested in purchasing this artwork, email Cheryl Lovejoy at lovejoyrc@aol.com.
One of the attendees was WOGA: LA member, Kathlee Roscoe, who shared with us that her team was working on forming an NGO that will draw together those who are working to fight trafficking, (more information about her group in the sidebar!). A first time attender, Maki - a young Ethiopian filmmaker/producer shared with us her short clip of the documentary on FGM that she is in the process of raising funds to complete.
We were so glad to have these rare opportunities to share and support the work that is currently going on to end this ritual and raise awareness. Taking action on this, we raised funds for PACWA, WOGA's partner in Africa, in their Kenyan project to train young Kenyan women to say no to FGM.
A great thank you to all who participated, attended the event and gave so generously of themselves! Our continued prayers for the end of FGM! And a special thank you to Nellie Shani for helping us to process this film and answering our questions on this issue.
Contributed by Sharone Goe
