Dear Friend,
I have somber news to share.
There are 303 children separated from their families at the US-Mexico border.
I invite you to join me in doing something about it--and to have fun while we are at it.
As of September 22nd of this year there were 303 children separated from their families at the US-Mexico border.
Wait, only 303? I thought there were thousands.
On the one hand, 303 doesn’t sound like many when we consider where we were a few years ago or when we consider the hundreds of thousands of people who are displaced regularly due to natural disasters, wars and other traumas.
But when we consider that each of those 303 children has a family that is searching for them, when we consider that, in a different time and place, any one of us could have been one of those 303 children, then it becomes painfully clear that 303 children separated from their families is 303 children too many.
And we can do something about it. Rather than fall prey to the temptation to avert our eyes, here is a project we can get behind, support, and impact in a powerful way.
Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) is a US-based organization working internationally to support children through all the steps of recovering their families. Our focus is their work with the 303 children caught in the crosshairs of the crisis at our southern border.
Not only does KIND make sure the children are safe, but they also provide free legal counsel as the children go before courts in their attempts to connect with their loved ones.
Here is one of thousands of their stories:
KIND met with a single mother who fled to the United States from Guatemala in May 2018 with her surviving family members after her adult son and a grandchild were murdered and one of her daughters and another grandchild were shot and injured. The mother presented at the El Paso port of entry to seek asylum and was separated from her 17-year-old daughter and an adult daughter and her children...She returned to the United States twice after her original deportation, fearing for her life and desperate to reach her daughters and was deported for a third time in October 2019 and forced into hiding. In April 2020, KIND was able to secure counsel for both the mother in Guatemala and her daughters and grandchildren in the U.S. They dream of one day reunifying safely in the Unites States.
I think of the sheer and utter confusion, the bewilderment, the long-lasting trauma, of being one of those 303 children—of having it be one of my own children.
In my own small way I am determined to contribute to the health and well-being of these families.
My vision is for a world of love and light where everyone gets to play and I am offering a half day virtual Creativity & Wellness retreat on October 30th to honor our own inner children in support of these 303 children.
In exchange for a donation of $100 to KIND, you will get to enjoy a rejuvenating, energizing, and mind-opening experience from the comfort of your living space.
I am determined to fill the screen with your beautiful voices and faces and raise $3000 to support the children in need at the border--that means I have only 30 seats.
The love and joy, light and play we create will reverberate into the world lifting and empowering all of us.
Our time together will be filled with meditation and visualization, micro-yoga, play and exploration with our inner children--and our very own special guest full of stories for the occasion.
Join me for three hours of sharing joy, love, and light.
I hope you can join us and that you will invite a friend!
Here are the details:
Sign-up and donate here. I’ll send you the zoom link and workbook by email.
*If you cannot make the retreat and still want to support the kids, please do!*
Thank you so much, dear community,
Helen, your Cartwheeling Sage, Creativity & Wellness Coach <3
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