About the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital

First some background on what this condition is, and why this hospital is so important.

Simply put, a fistula is a hole that develops during obstructed childbirth, occurring between a woman’s birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. During an obstructed labor, the pressure of the baby’s head against the mother’s pelvis cuts off blood supply to the tissue in that area. The dead tissue then falls away and the woman is left with a hole between her vagina and her bladder, and sometimes between her vagina and her rectum. The result is permanent incontinence, and thus, a terrible accompanying smell.

Women who develop this condition during childbirth are usually banished from their villages to live and die alone in a hut, both because of the smell, and because they can no longer bear children.

In developed countries such as ours, obstructed labor is quickly identified and treated, and thus, women here do not suffer from fistulas. In under-developed countries, however, where medical care is often non-existent, and women are often undervalued, fistula is a widespread problem. It is estimated that there are currently 2 million women suffering from fistulas in third world countries.

In 1974 a caring doctor named Catherine Hamlin opened the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia, after realizing what a widespread problem fistulas had become. Since opening, the hospital has treated 25,000 women. It provides pre-surgery hospitalization, surgery to correct the fistula, post-op care, as well as a new dress and bus fare home. I find the last two services to be especially heartwarming, as so much of what is associated with this condition is a lack of dignity. The hospital literally gives the women back their dignity. In 1999 a rural village was constructed near the hospital so that women who cannot be cured are able to live out their lives with dignity. These women make fabric and silk, as well as farm the land for produce used to cook meals at the hospital. All because one woman cared enough to make it happen.

I am only recently able to explain this to people without crying. It reinforced for me the idea that we are SO LUCKY to have been born women in this country and not Ethiopia (or Afghanistan, or Iraq, or any other country where women are only slightly more valuable than livestock).

What a wonderful luxury it is for us to be so concerned with our hair – I doubt the women living and dying alone in those huts have given any thought to what kind of hair day they are having. While I love the business I have created, and LOVE what Jessicurl products do for my hair, I was struck at how much of what I do is about vanity. When I compare that to the life these women have been forced to lead, I get knots in my stomach.

As a result, Jessicurl created the Women Around The World program, building into our shopping cart an opportunityfor customers to donate to our featured charity (updated every month or two) in exchange for Jessicurl discounts. This will bring some balance to the focus on vanity, as well as raise awareness that we ARE so lucky to have been born in the free world. I’m reminded here of one of my favorite Spearhead lyrics: “No life worth more than any other, no sister worth less than any brother.” I feel this statement is SO true, that it is for this reason we created the Women Around The World program.

It costs just $450 American dollars for the Fistula Hospital to cure one woman, including the new dress and bus fare home. For the month of May 2004, 5% of all Jessicurl sales were donated to the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. Combined withthe generous donations of our customers, Jessicurl was able to contribute $900 and save the lives of two women.

For more information on what you can do to help, click HERE.

Adopt-A-Minefield®

Adopt-A-Minefield® works with community groups, individuals and businesses in the United Nations by raising funds for removing land mines and assisting survivors of landmine accidents.

There are somewhere between 45 and 50 MILLION landmines in the ground in at least 70 countries around the world. This leads to the unnecessary maiming or killing of 10,000 innocent civilians every year. Surviving a landmine accident often means a lifetime of physical, psychological and economic hardship.

Jessicurl strongly supports Adopt a Minefield® in their difficult work and we want to raise lots of money to help them solve this problem. Children across the world risk sudden death simply for taking a wrong turn. What we really appreciate about this organization is that every dollar raised is forwarded to the United Nations for mine clearance.

We appreciate your support in helping us help Adopt-A-Minefield®. You can read more about this wonderful organization at http://www.landmines.org

About the Florida Freedom Partnership

The Florida Freedom Partnership is working hard to end human trafficking in the United States. That’s right – in THIS country human beings are being bought and sold into modern day slavery. On July 8, 2004, The Miami Herald(free registration required) reported that the US Senate and Justice Department areinvestigating this "abhorrent offense." Here are some shocking statistics I found on the Florida Freedom Partnership’s website.

*Victims are trafficked into the U.S. to work in many different sectors: domestic servitude, garment manufacturing, sweatshop labor, food services industry, agricultural labor, sex industry, hotel industry, construction, forced marriages, begging, and peddling trinkets.

*The United States is one of the top three destination countries to which people are trafficked into modern-day slavery.

*18,000 to 20,000 persons are trafficked annually into the United States.

*Over 200,000 youths are victims of commercial sexual exploitation (including trafficking) within the United States.

The Florida Freedom Partnership is working hard to end this practice. They realize that often the only time victims are alone is when they are in the bathroom – so the FFP has started a campaign placing matchbooks with a toll free number in public bathrooms in hopes that trafficking victims will call for help. The hotline connects victims to much needed resources, such as medical care, psychological care, legal services and housing.

Human beings should not be bought and sold – that is what the 13th Amendment is all about. We need to do what we can to ensure that groups like FFP are successful at their goals. Every donation helps stop the cycle of slavery, and you’ll get Jessicurl discounts as a thank you! I urge you to read more about this at the FFP website.

We want to thank everybody who donated to the FFP during Juneand July. Your generosity made it possible for us to send them a check for$400. We also sent along some Jessicurl products for the women FFP ishelping.

About The Florida Hurricane Relief Fund

As we all know, Florida was hit EXTREMELY hard with multiple devastating hurricanes in the late summer of 2004. Many people lost everything and were faced with the difficult task of totally rebuilding their lives. I cannot even imagine how awful that must be, and once again, it tends to put my own personal hair obsession in perspective.

For this reason, our featured charity for October and November 2004 was The Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, which was established in response to Hurricane Charley and continues to provide support for victims of Frances and Ivan as well. Each community decides how their allocations from this fund will be spent, and the most heavily impacted communities receive the greatest percentage of funds. An official report on donations accepted and funds distributed will be issued every six months until this fund is no longer needed. I personally like to know where our money is going, so I am pleased at this level of accountability.

Thank you to all who donated to this worthy and timely cause.  Through your generosity, Jessicurl was able to contribute $305 to The Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. I’m sure the victims in Florida thank you too.

About Food For People

Food For People is an organization working to feed hungry people in Humboldt County, CA. Food For People is the largest food bank in the county, distributing over 1,566,188 pounds of food each year. They provide food to 11,000 households PER MONTH in Humboldt county, each with an average occupancy of 2.5 people. That’s a LOT of hungry people for a county with a population of 127,000.

Humboldt County is the 3rd hungriest county in California when it comes to adults and there are more hungry children in Humboldt than ANY other county in California.

Food For People has seen an increase in requests for their services over the last few years and they are now finding themselves turning people away during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the month, as they just don’t always have enough to go around.

Hunger is an issue all over the world and there are many organizations working to eradicate it in their areas. Jessicurl raised $250 for Food For People to help give something back to our community which has given SOOO much to us. Thank you not only to the local stores selling Jessicurl but to Jessicurl customers around the country who contributed.

For more information about Food for People, please visit www.foodforpeople.org

Hurricane Katrina Relief

When hurricane Katrina left so many Americans homeless, people across theworld pitched in to help out. Jessicurl and our customers were noexception, and in 10 days we raised $1730 for Katrina victims! That brokeall previous records for donations through the Jessicurl shopping cartand it was amazing to be a part of it. We also donated 2 big boxes of HairCleansing Cream and Aloeba for people who needed it.

Those days after the hurricane hit were emotional for everybody in thecountry and it was always so uplifting to see another donation come in. Sofor that, I thank you for helping to lift OUR spirits too.

"As a Jessicurl user (LOVE the products!) and a refugee from New Orleans, it means a lot to me that Jessicurl is supporting the relief efforts here in the Southeast. Thank you. Just wish I could get back to my house for my HCC, Aloeba and RR - I only packed trial sizes! :( "

"I've been a loyal Jessicurl customer since the inception of your excellentproducts. I'm also currently displaced, as my family and I had to evacuateour home due to Hurricane Katrina. Currently we're safe in Arkansas, buthave no idea when our lives will resume anything close to 'normal.' It's byfar the most chaotic and frightening time in our lives - we have no idea howour home has faired, let alone if we'll have jobs anytime soon. We'vediscussed relocating, as Little Rock is quite beautiful and the people herehave been more than kind. (We've had offers from complete strangers forlodging for my husband, myself and our big, crazy Labrador Retriever - talkabout generosity!) I'm amazed by the expressions of humanity we'veexperienced. I had the rare opportunity to check my email this morning andsaw that you are taking steps to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Myeyes well with tears with each new encounter of kindness such as yours.It's overwhelming, touching, and leaves me almost speechless. From thebottom of my heart, and the hearts of all of those who have been effected bythis tragedy, thank you, thank you, thank you. Keep up the great work."

North Star Quest Camp

North Star Quest Camp is a five-day, overnight camp for girls entering thesixth through eighth grades and it is associated with the Humboldt Countychapter of Girls Inc. (www.GirlsInc.org)

Located on the beautiful Mattole River in Petrolia, Calif., North Star Questprovides a safe place for early adolescent girls to start a quest todiscover who they are, explore the issues and pressures they face in ourculture and to learn the skills needed to develop their own values.

Daily activities include centering exercises, swimming, journaling, crafts,games, singing, campfires, workshops, as well as free time.

Workshops cover such topics as communication, personality types, conflictresolution, healthy relationships, self-defense/assertiveness, careeropportunities, stress reduction, tolerance, labeling and forming your ownbody image and expression through music, dance and poetry.

I feel SO strongly that this camp is special that I’m going to be acounselor this year! :-) Part of each counselor’s job is fundraising – we’reeach responsible for raising the $300 that it costs to send one girl tocamp. Since no girls are turned away if they’re unable to pay, it’s VITALthat the money is raised to ensure that any girl who wants to go is able to.Thank you so much for supporting this AMAZING cause – don’t you wish YOUcould have gone to this camp when you were a girl?? :-)

I sure do! :-) --Jess

About the Foundation for International Community Assistance

The Foundation for International Community Assistance provides micro loans to poor women and their families in an effort to help them out of poverty. By providing destitute mothers with small loans, FINCA enables them to start or expand small businesses. The result is women who were formerly dependant on charity are now financially independent.

Since the poor often have no collateral, they cannot qualify for commercial loans. FINCA provides these people with access to loans through what they call Village Banking groups – collectively run credit and savings groups of 20-50 women. A typical first loan to get women started in business is $50.

Village Banking programs grant loans for four month cycles, which are repaid in weekly installments. Once a member pays off her first loan, she may borrow again. Over a period of three years, the typical member will not only finance a new business, she will accumulate around $300 in savings. That may not sound like much to us, but to that woman, $300 is enough to ensure her continuing financial self-sufficiency.

Village Banking programs provide more than loans. They empower women by strengthening their initiative and creativity. These loans are not handouts. The women are well aware that they must work hard to repay the loans and continue on their path to success. But they provide the jump-start without which the women would remain in poverty.

Personally, I am very moved by the work being done by FINCA. I am aware of how lucky I am to have my own business – the sense of accomplishment that comes from a hard day of work. The joy in hearing positive feedback from customers. The awareness that I am contributing to our local economy by providing jobs and creating a product that sells well for our local retailers. I was lucky to have the support of my friends and family and would love to help in providing a start for other female entrepreneurs around the world. I urge you to read more about FINCA at www.villagebanking.org.

Through the generosity of Jessicurl customers, at the start of October 2004, we were proud to send FINCA a check for $150.

About The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is a national non-profit working to serve families, friends and military service members who have been affected by a death in the armed forces. They provide crisis response and intervention, grief care and counseling, peer support, long-term survivorwellness and community and military outreach.

TAPS was founded in 1994 and serves surviving friends and family members of anyone who has died while in the military, whether in battle or not.

TAPS also holds Youth Camps for children who have lost parents or other loved ones who served in the military. Here, children can share learn the tools needed to deal with such tragic losses at such a young age.