Happy Fernandez Women’s HerStory

March 21, 2015 Women's HerStory Si Se Puede!! Mrs. Happy Fernandez

Have you ever heard thunder walk through your community with no guns? Guess who went ape for the Latino Community, and when i say ape i should capitalize APE because Mrs. Happy Fernandez was a force to be reckoned with and did not stop until the city of Philadelphia respected the Latino community. i advocate today because of Mrs. Happy Fernandez, like North Philly into Kesington were totally ignored and Mrs. Fernandez said enough is enough!! Basta Ya!!
Philadelphia opened those closed doors under Mrs. Happy Fernandez, personally i don’t know anyone who lit a city up the way Mrs. Happy Fernandez did !! Viva La Senora Happy Fernandez!!

Women’s HerStory Fabulous Wendy Williams “How You Doin?”

March 18, 2015 Women’s HerStory Fabulous Wendy Williams, where do i start? Philadelphia Pa. Power 99fm, Carter and Sanborn and The Wendy Williams Show, some of the best morning radio talk shows ever!!

Born to entertain, i have listened and watched Wendy grow into a very powerful woman. i love the real advice she gives to her live audience. Wendy cares for and about her followers which is evident in how she listens to their opinion without trying to influence too much.

Love how she spreads the juicy hot topics non judgmentally!! So down to earth and funny.True joy watching and learning from Wendy Williams!!

Women’s HerStory I’m FREE Females ReEntering EmPowering Each Other Founders

March 16, 2015 Women’s HerStory Founders of I’M FREE Females ReEntering Empowering Each Other, two Strong and Caring Women, Dr. Renaya Furtick Wheelan and Ms. Petrena Young (who also has initials front her name) transform and support women in the justice system.  

i met Dr. Renaya and Petrena from the addictive PHENND newsletter, where a volunteer request was made and i do what i can to assist my sisters with their work.

Dr. Renaya and Petrena are special for various reasons, i will share one or two special quality about each of these women. Dr. Renaya is dyslexia, i learned this while at a workshop with her in south philly. The women she was assisting with transformation bought out of her the fact that she was dyslexia. A healing moment for all in the room. Petrena is the glue that keeps I’m FREE alive, and her way of judging people changed as she got involved with girls and women in the justice system. (you can hear their story when i publish my documentary, if they don’t publish their books first, HINT HINT!!)

i love and adore these women for they are doing the work to assist girls and women with court, incarceration, and transitioning home. Roisin a returning citizen and her mother were able to get connected to much needed resources, assistance with ban the box and other employment concerns. So much love and support is offered at I’M FREE and that’s what needed when working for citizens in the justice system!!

http://imfreeonline.org/

@ImFreeonline

https://www.facebook.com/ImFREEonline

video by Petrena Young

Women’s HerStory Educator Ms. Yvette Mitchell

March 15, 2015 Women’s HerStory All Around Woman Ms. Yvette Mitchell a pillar in our city ready to retire yet still going for her granddaughter Aleasha Mitchell and our communities. i first met Ms. Mitchell at a meeting where she was organizing for Trayvon Martin’s family to come to Philadelphia and receive funds to assist with their legal fees. “It’s not so much about Trayvon Martin. It’s about all the Trayvon’s in Philadelphia and across the county,” says Yvette Mitchell, Chair of the Greater Philadelphia Caucus of the International Caucus of Women of the African Diaspora. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/tag/yvette-mitchell/

A year or so later Ms. Yvette reached out to me to assist in documenting an initiative her and her granddaughter came up with to assist young females in building productive relationships by loving themselves first. Look for workshops and conferences from “A Conversation With Our Daughters”.

Ms. Yvette comes from the 1950s’ lifes meanings were different, values were different. The generational gap is what Ms. Yvette is filling. She is an educational instructor currently conducting workshops in women shelters.

www.aconversationwithourdaughters.com

Mrs. Hillary Kane Women’s HerStory

March 12, 2015 Women’s HerStory Mrs. Hillary Kane Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development Director is truly a remarkable woman in every sense of remarkable!! i met Mrs. Kane thanks to PHENND’s monthly newsletter which was forward to me from my State Rep. Cherrelle Parker office. i can get addicted to PHENND because Mrs. Kane has the ability to think outside the box and in thinking outside the box has created some great partnerships and initiatives within the Delaware Valley region and beyond. i have the honor of documenting the important connections and work of PHENND. PHENND is one of Philadelphia’s best resources, i think of them as incubators, catalyst and the change we want to see in Philadelphia. PHENND provides platforms throughout the year for various topics; public education, public support, free tax sites, , and soo much more all under the direction of Mrs. Hillary Kane. Mrs. Hillary Kane is the change we want to see in our community and she lives the change everyday!! To learn more please visit: http://phennd.org/, WARNING THIS SITE IS ADDICTIVE IF YOU ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE AND WANT TO GET CONNECTED TO RESOURCES!! We need more Mrs. Hillary Kane’s in our world!!

Lady B Women’s HerStory

March 11, 2015 Women’s HerStory West Philadelphia Hip Hop Pioneer Lady B has thirty plus years in the music business and going strong!! The first female rapper ever, i was ten when she first recorded her album but i know her from W H A T AM station. Not many last thirty years in the music industry, especially women. I am bragging about Lady B because she represents Philadelphia very well!!

i was documenting State Rep. Cherrelle Parkers “Youth Town Hall” several years ago when i had the chance to record Lady B being honored by State Rep. Parkers office. Classic woman we have in Lady B. Lady B was also the moderator for a panel discussion on flash mobs. While accepting the state proclamation Lady B expressed her concern and shared her wisdom. She cares about our city and works hard raising awareness about youth concerns. i bumped into her a week or so later at the school district where she testified at an SRC meeting about our youth and the support they need. Real Recognize Real and Lady B is 100% Real Women!!

https://www.facebook.com/TheRealLadyB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwrZkQXvdSg

Women’s HerStory Kurdish Women Fighting For Their Country’s Freedom

March 10, 2015 Women's HerStory i learned of YPJ, The Women's Protection Units in Syria, Kurdish north from a NBC news online story while Googling for international stories on women being the change they want to see in their communities.http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/meet-kurdish-women-fighting-isis-syria-n199821 Very happy to learn of YPJ/YPG and their victories in defending their country from ISIS and anyone who wants to impose unwanted lifestyles on this Kurdish community. The all female army range from 14 to 40 plus years of age and are totally supported by their community. i’m so impressed with their unity evident in the photos shared by NBC news.

i know these women will continue you to grow their forces and i hope that as they grow they  remain loyal to each other. When the danger and war is over that these women remain as a family and are the foundation for women concerns and issues. YPJ is a perfect example of how women can and will defend their birthrights, their home lands and their families. i will be watching these women!!

https://www.facebook.com/kurdish.female.fighters.ypj

Women HerStory International Women's Day 2015 Ms. Lela Lee

March 8, 2015 Women’s HerStory Month, Pioneers in giving voice to women and the cultures that belittle women. Ms. Lela Lee created “Angry Little Asian Girl” while a student in college but was afraid to share her art for fear of how people would react to the story lines. Ms. Lela Lee sets the stage for exploring the voice of Asian women and i am so happy her voice was discovered and produced into various media outlets.

http://www.angrylittlegirls.com/

Women HerStory Another Raw Deal

March 7, 2015 Women HerStory Farmworkers life is a true struggle when you are an immigrant women or immigrant gay man. When they say money is the root of all evil they must of observed the treatment of vulnerable men and women. WE are all VULNERABLE in this world at some point in our lives. That’s not the vulnerability i am blogging on. I talking about folks who for some reason have challenges in life that makes them naked to a world dominated by vultures. Women are abused on these farms, in factories and domesticated labor because they are desperate to have a voice, to provide for their families, and shape our future.

While picking the fruit and vegetables we eat, and packaging the meats we eat, women are being tortured standing in cramped space for long periods of time with dull tools and possibly full safety gear possibly none at all. i’m blogging about immigrant farm workers because i learned that they are beginning to speak up for themselves with the assistance of Friends of FarmWorkers Inc. Attorney Liz Chacko showed a video as a brave woman Malissia was the name she was given, we have to protect the undocumented community, see that’s a whole nother police preparation mind set. Women in the fields are abused because they feel trapped and take the abuse, won’t unite for fear of losing their jobs or worse. Attorney Liz Chacko of Friends of Farmworkers Inc. described a time when such a group stood up for their rights and were fired so they visited FFWI and were successful in obtaining their positions back.

When assisting women of various cultures a major concern is the culture we are addressing. i have seen so much abuse to women in every culture, the attitude of a women being treated as if she doesn’t have a role to play in her home, our society and world needs conversations that leads to adjustment of the mindset.

Friends of Farmworkers

Amigos de los Trabajadores Agrícolas

699 Ranstead Street Suite 4

Philadelphia, PA 19106

(p) 215-733-0878

(p) 800-729-1607

(f) 215-733-0876

Gratis de México:

001-800-51-41-349

http://www.friendsfw.org/

In Friends of Farmworkers, we provide legal representation in labor issues for free farmworkers Pennsylvania. We also educate the community about the legal rights of migrants and migrant workers throughout the state.

We serve communities of workers employed in sectors that rely primarily on foreign workers temporarily invited by H-2B visa ("H-2B Temporary Worker") and who return year after year to Pennsylvania, to work for the same employer. We also provide legal advice to labor organizations which meet certain requirements.

Over the years, ATA has provided legal advice directly to various individuals shape and has improved living and working conditions of many others through its advocacy and impact litigation, including the representation of various groups of workers and collective action.

Women HerStory More Raw Deals

March 6, 2015 Women HerStory, Ms. KaKenya Ntaiya had the courage to stand up for education for girls in her homeland Maasai Kenya. I don’t understand the culture of Maasai Rites of Passage, circumcision of women. i don’t understand the cultural attacks on women. Like if women give birth then why would a culture destroy motherhood for their women? Not that these women can't have babies, just that the entire process is painful.

Raw deal is what Ms. KaKenya made with her father. She would sacrifice with clitoral circumcision if he allowed her to attend school. Her father agreed and now Ms. KaKenya is a mother and mentor to the all girls who attend her school that she runs with the permission of the elders of Maasai Kenya.

Ms. KaKenya is a pioneer in Massai Kenya empowering the girls with education and ending the illegal practice of clitoral circumcision and young girls being married by age 12. Ms. KaKenya is showing her culture that women have more to offer and is very successful at enhancing her culture.

 Kakenya Ntaiya refused to accept the continued oppression of women in her Maasai village — so she built a school that's shifting gender expectations in her community.
Why you should listen

Kakenya Ntaiya was set to follow the traditional path of girls born in the small village of Enoosaen, Kenya. Engaged at the age of 5, she was to participate in a female circumcision ceremony as a young teenager and then be married. But she had a different plan. First, she negotiated with her father and willingly agree to be circumcised -- only if he would allow her to finish high school. Later, when she was accepted to Randolph-Macon Women's College in Viriginia, she negotiated with her village elders to do what no girl had ever done before: leave her village to go to college in the United States.
She didn’t leave forever, though. Deeply proud of her heritage and of her community, Ntaiya returned to the village after school and worked with her elders to establish a school for girls there. The Kakenya Center for Excellence was established in 2009 with 32 students. A primary grade boarding school just for girls, the curriculum focuses on academics, leadership and female empowerment, along with cultural preservation and life skills. While families that can afford tuition do, Ntaiya also works with donors to provide scholarships for others.
In addition to her work with the school, Ntaiya is also a National Geographic emerging explorer.
What others say

“For thousands of families in Kenya, seven cows are more valuable than a girl’s future ... Now, a building rises in one remote village that could change everything: The region’s first and only primary school for girls. Its creation an act of sheer will, stubborn persistence, and inexplicable optimism on the part of Kakenya Ntaiya. ” — National Geographic

https://www.ted.com/speakers/kakenya_ntaiya

http://www.kakenyasdream.org/story.html

https://twitter.com/kenyagirlschool