"The Power of Women"

One of the Keynote speakers at Convergence was Willa Shalit, daughter of Gene Shalit. Willa founded the Rwandan basketry partnership Path to Peace. She told the story of the Rwandan women and how they gave their country hope after the horrible genocide that took place.

These remarkable women rather than dwell in their grief at the loss of husbands, children, and family members decided that the country's grief was so immense that they needed to focus on Hope. They decided to do what they do best and that was to make baskets. They started making baskets and began to form collectives and as a result brought their country back from grief and economic despair. This was such a powerful movement that the government changed the seal of Rwanda from farm implements, which had become instruments of death, to the basket which became the emblem of Hope. WOW, what a powerful story!

As Willa spoke, a Rwandan woman was seated on the floor, bare foot and weaving a basket.

Willa has been a spokesperson for these women. She has spoken to the UN and she works to have the baskets marketed in the US. You can find these baskets on Macy's website. They are for sale and the proceeds go to help these Rwandan widowed women. You can find more of the story at http://www1.macys.com/campaign/rwanda/story.jsp.

I was thinking more about these women today and it overwhelmed me to think of the power that women have to change things. We have hands that create, minds that look ahead not back, and love that nurtures. We have a rich heritage of working with our hands, minds, and hearts and we can change the world! We just need to claim that heritage!