Interview: The Boot Girls Campaign To Support Our Troops…One Boot At A Time

By Stacey Gualandi

Several months ago, a friend invited me to attend the Boot Ride in Los Angeles, a charity event to benefit the Call of Duty Endowment Fund. As hundreds of bikers rode down Sunset Blvd., I noticed several people in the crowd all wearing the same military boots. What I thought was a strange coincidence was actually the work of the Boot Girls.

“Our goal is to have a pair of boots on an American civilian for every active duty soldier oversees.”  The Boot Girls

The Boot Girls you ask? Well, they are actually five Texas-based mothers, wives, and career-minded women who just decided one day in 2009 to find a great way to support the men and women in the military serving our country. That’s when the grassroots “boot campaign” was born.

Thanks to Ginger Giles, Sherri Reuland, Leigh Ann Ranslem, Heather Fordham, and Mariae Bui, the boot campaign raises money, awareness, and appreciation for our troops when they come back from war.

The Boot Girls motto: “When They Come Back, We Give Back!”  After meeting several of the Boot Girls in L.A. that day, I wanted everyone to learn how to “get their boots on,” so I spoke with Ginger in Dallas, and Leigh Ann in Houston, on The Women’s Eye Radio Show about their selfless cause, our troops, and what it’s like to walk in their shoes…or boots…

Interview: Roz Savage On Her Record-Breaking Row Across Three Oceans

By Laurie McAndish King

UPDATE:  5/9/12:  Roz is about to row from Newfoundland to London to land there in time for the 2012 Olympics.  We wish her well!!!

UPDATE 4/4/12: Roz has a brand new website with loads of news about her newest rowing adventure to London and her acceptance into the World Fellows Program at Yale University this fall! 

UPDATE 3/3/12: Roz has just announced she will be rowing the North Atlantic to land in time for the 2012 Olympics in London

TWITTER: @rozsavage

Adventurer and environmentalist Roz Savage is the first woman to row across the “Big Three” oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian. Even more impressive, she did it solo, in a 23-foot rowboat, without a support vessel.

“I have battled twenty-foot waves, sleep deprivation, self-doubt and depression, but I have never been happier.”  Roz Savage

I interviewed Roz back in 2007 when she was launching her Pacific passage, and learned how she’d transformed herself from an ordinary office worker into a world-class ocean-rowing athlete. She’s accomplished quite a lot since then, having rowed more than 15,000 miles and spent nearly a year and a half of her life at sea.

Arriving Mauritrius after rowing Indian Ocean/Photo: Colin Leondardt-10/3/11

And she has the credentials to prove it.  Roz now holds four world records for ocean rowing, and in 2010 was named Adventurer of the Year by the National Geographic Society.  She was recently invited by the Queen’s royal command to a reception at Buckingham Palace.

I was thrilled to catch up with Roz recently at a coffee shop in San Francisco, just after she had set her new record by completing the last of her three ocean rows, the Indian Ocean crossing… 

Interview: Carie Lemack On The 10th Anniversary Of 9/11 And Ending Terrorism

By Stacey Gualandi

Facebook: globalsurvivorsnetwork
Twitter: globalsurvivors

It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since 9/11. I remember a panicked phone call I received that morning from my office. I went to work (for Inside Edition) and covered the events that unfolded, never fully comprehending what had taken place or how the country would move forward from such tragedy.

“My life’s mission is to live a life that my mom would be proud of.  And that’s what I try to do everyday.”  Carie Lemack

Now as we approach the tenth anniversary, we meet Carie Lemack, one woman who never stopped working tirelessly on behalf of survivors of terrorism and their families.

Her mother, Judy Larocque, was on American Airlines Flight 11 that tragic day.  Carie’s devastating loss took her on an unprecedented journey to make sure no one else suffers as she has.

Carie visits London school to warn against extremism/2009

In 2009 she formed Global Survivors Network, an organization that helps people directly affected by terrorism to reach out across the globe in hopes of preventing future terror acts. Their first documentary short, “Killing in the Name,” received an Oscar® nomination last year. The film will be making its television debut on HBO this Fall.

UPDATE 9/9/11–“Killing in the Name” about one person’s mission to expose the true cost of terrorism debuts Sept. 14, exclusively on HBO2.  It can be seen there on other playdates during September.

On the eve of the 10^th anniversary, Carie spoke candidly to me about her loss, her work, and the new face of terrorism…

Interview: Maman Marie Nzoli, A Congolese Unsung Hero

By Amy Ernst, Contributing Writer and Photographer/Congo

Amy’s Blog

I arrived in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo in April, 2010 from Chicago.  I was introduced to Maman Marie Nzoli through a local Catholic priest who knew of my desire to help survivors of sexual violence.  I work alongside COPERMA, the NGO that Maman founded in 1983, raising funds, doing identification of new survivors of rape, and helping arrange medical and psychosocial support for all victims of the war.

“I want so badly for the violence against women to stop.”  Maman Marie

The work I do is miniscule compared to that of Maman Marie and the loyal COPERMA team.  She has established 12 centers that have assisted thousands of men, women, and children over the years around Butembo.

Maman handing out food

Even though they often aren’t paid, Maman Marie and her team work tirelessly, never turning down anyone with need nor hesitating to go into a dangerous situation.  They’ve subsisted mostly on selling potatoes cultivated by beneficiaries of COPERMA.

She’s an unsung hero and an endless inspiration to me.  Here is what she told me recently in her small concrete office in Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo…

Interview: Ovarian Cancer Survivor Sharon Blynn Proves Bald Is Beautiful

Photo: Robin Emtage

By Stacey Gualandi

When Sharon Blynn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2000, she was a vibrant music executive living in New York City…and she was only 28 years old.

“One of the most profound teachings has been about learning to truly love myself at my deepest core.”

It was a devastating life-altering moment followed by three years of treatment and the demoralizing loss of her hair.  She bravely shaved her head and eventually conquered this silent disease.  Now eight years cancer-free, the actress and model chooses to remain bald.

Sharon at Revlon Run/Walk--Photo: Brad Ross/2008

In 2003, she created baldisbeautiful.org to redefine beauty and dispel the stigma of hair loss from cancer.  As a result, Sharon inspires survivors and caregivers throughout the world.  She is this month’s Revlon Role Model in an advertisement in People.

Sharon has a powerful message, and after meeting this one-woman ovarian cancer-awareness-advocate in person, it was easy to see her beauty, both inside and out…

Interview: Maryam Bibi Fights To Empower Women In Dangerous Northwest Pakistan

By Farzana Ali, guest blogger in Peshawar, Pakistan

Website:  hotfrontiers.net

I was just a student in 1996 when I heard about Maryam Bibi’s activities in the press. Her mission as founder of Khwendo Kor, meaning “Sisters’ Home” and the threats she was receiving were known throughout Pakistan.  Most of her community centers for women were under attack and her colleagues under fire.

“The vast majority of tribal females are still deprived of the basic rights of education, health, and clean drinking water.”

After 9/11 when I was a working journalist, Maryam BiBi was considered on the side of the U.S. against Muslims during the war on terror. Then I had a chance to meet her, talk to her and watch her leading the womenfolk during the rule of the six religious parties-based alliance MMA.

Maryam protesting for peace/2010

This self-made woman from Waziristan had no family, society, government or community support in the beginning, but now the world supports her. She has an important story to tell, and I found myself the best listener and transmitter for this iron lady of the region…

Interview: Nancy Santullo’s Crusade For Clean Water In The Amazon Rainforest

By Stacey Gualandi

Twitter: @rainforestflow
Facebook:  rainforest-flow

Nancy Santullo calls the Peruvian rainforest her home.  As the founder of Rainforest Flow: A House of the Children Project, she has gone deep into the Manu rainforest to bring clean, healthy water to the indigenous people who live there.

  “Our lives are interconnected…as we help one child, we help all children.”   Nancy Santullo

In 2000, this former fashion photographer embarked on a journey that she says not only transformed her life, but also the children who can now drink safely.  Within eight years, Nancy says her organization served approximately 450 adults and children in remote areas of the rainforest. 

Rainforest Flow has successfully brought clean water and reduced diseases in two remote villages, and she is about to return to help yet another one.

With the chidren of Huacaria, Peru/2009

Nancy puts her life in danger for up to nine months at a time.  To reach these villages takes several days – by plane, by jeep, by boat – with snakes, mosquitoes, and disease always posing a threat. 

The rainforest is the last place I would think of for a life-altering career change, so I wanted to see why Nancy won’t stop until there’s enough drinkable water for all the tribes of the rainforest… 

Interview: Rebecca Welsh On HALO–Her Vision To Help Art Liberate Orphans

Rebecca with children in Uganda

By Stacey Gualandi

“What has happened in Japan is absolutely devastating.  It reminds me of the 2004 tsunami that dramatically rose the number of orphans where we work in India.  At that time we had to quickly make space for children in need of shelter and love…Just one child losing their parents to something like this is an absolute tragedy.”—Rebecca

Rebecca Welsh knows first-hand the overwhelming desperation following a destructive tsumani.  Seven years ago, she created The HALO Foundation–Helping Art Liberate Orphans.  A HALO-supported orphanage in India provided a home for children left parentless after the 2004 tsunami.

This 31-year-old former Taekwondo World Champion is a guardian angel for many young people.   HALO continues to offer support and hope worldwide through determination, donations, and drawings!

The artwork these young boys and girls create has sold at auctions and in turn helps to fund food, shelter, education, water, and the clothes on their back.  HALO now operates in six countries, supporting 11 orphanages and counting.

Photo: Morgan Miller

A mutual friend recently introduced me to Rebecca while she was exploring a possible expansion to the West Coast.  And considering I am a student of tae-bo (taikwondo-light),  I was very interested to see how a world champion in martial arts became a champion for young children in need…

Interview: Susan Edwards’ New Film Salutes Environmental Crusader Marion Stoddart

Filmmaker Susan Edwards

By Pamela Burke

Thanks to Susan Edwards’ new documentary “Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000,”  we get to meet one of  America’s most dedicated environmentalists.   Sue spent four years piecing together the story of how Marion and her supporters took on the challenge of restoring the Nashua River in New England, one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country. 

As we celebrate the 100th Annniversary of International Women’s Day, we honor Marion Stoddart who proved one person can make a difference.

Marion Stoddart kayaking down the Nashua River, 2009

The river in Massachusetts above where you see Marion paddling went from “a hopeless, toxic sludge pit” in the sixties to a waterway filled with fish, birds, and kayakers twenty years later. 

I grew up near this river that winds through the center of the state to southern New Hampshire and couldn’t believe how polluted it became.  When I heard about Marion’s environmental triumph, I had to find Susan and ask her about her fascinating film and this one woman warrior…  

Interview: Dalia Ziada Blogs To Help Bring Democracy To Egypt

UPDATE:  3/1/11:  Dalia to speak at the Women in the World Summit, NYC–March 10-12

DALIA ON TWITTER: @daliaziada

DALIA’S LATEST BLOG

Dalia Zaida is a human rights’ activist and popular Egyptian blogger.  Her writings before and during the current uprising provide insight into the causes behind the revolt and the conflict between pro and anti-government groups.

“I wish my country be the best country in the world. And the only way to make this happen is to first bring democracy and apply it.”   Dalia Ziada

Time Magazine called this translator, researcher, lecturer, and poet a champion of Muslim Rights.   She’s the recipient of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Journalist Award, 2010.

Dalia in Time Magazine

When I saw in the Daily Beast how passionately Dalia took to the streets to protest and read her blogs, I wanted to track her down to ask her about her experiences during these tumultuous times in Cairo.  In spite of her chaotic life right now, she took the time to answer my questions…