Advocacy 101

Throughout my college years, I have become increasingly interested in and passionate about advocating for social and political change. I live and breathe for politics and social justice, yet at times, I find that even the most dedicated individual can feel a little disheartened and discouraged by the lack of immediate results and the disinterest and apathy of others. Friday’s WILD session “Advocacy 101” was a refreshing change.

As we sleep-deprived WILD members trudged into the North Dining Room at 8:30am, after braving hurricane-like weather in our signature business casual outfits, the main thought on everyone’s mind was what is being served for breakfast and how fast can I inhale a cup of coffee. After finishing a fabulous breakfast and bracing cup of coffee, we were greeted by a cheerful and energetic Catholic Relief Services (CRS) organizer named Candice.

Far from the standard presentation I was expecting to receive about the merits of advocating on the behalf of others, Candice explained that we would be focusing on women during the day’s presentation. After briefly illustrating the difference between charity and justice, we were told that our topic for the day would be advocating for justice for women. We explored a range of topics, from trafficking in women and immigration, to conflict minerals in the Congo (think “Blood Diamond”) and severely lacking maternal health care services in Sierra Leone and Nigeria, to sweatshop conditions of women in India and the advances Fair Trade certified products are making in their communities, to microlending to women.

We are a very diverse group of women, and soon enough questions about cultural practices and motivations for them were flying around the room. Everyone felt very comfortable in asking questions and sharing their own life experiences. One student originally from Sierra Leone shared her personal testimony about the civil war in the early ‘90s. Although these were emotionally taxing issues, rather than walking away feeling depressed, we began to feel energized and empowered. We were offered so many opportunities to play a role in addressing these issues, that you couldn’t help but feel that you needed to do something positive as soon as you walked out of the room.

Candice engagingly shared with us the many efforts CRS is making in country to work with local populations to resolve the issues at hand. We were presented with various resolutions currently before Congress aimed to correct these dire situations and educated about how specifically those resolutions would help. We discussed protests and tips for visiting your local representative’s and senators’ offices. We shared with one another the keys to a successful lobby trip. By the end of the session, we were all fired up to go out and make our political mark and advocate on behalf of women suffering cruel indignity world-wide. Just hours later, we already have several WILD women preparing to take part in a march/protest for immigration reform in Washington D.C. this coming Sunday. I can’t wait to see what my fellow WILD women and I will achieve in the near future as we combine our considerable strengths, talents, and passions together on the behalf of our global sisters!

God Bless,

Amanda Brown