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: Siena Anstis On The Growing “Women Of Kireka” Jewelry Business

Siena Anstis, pictured above on Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda,  began the “Women of Kireka” jewelry-making project in 2008 in Kireka near Kampala.  Women with a talent for beading were working in the stone quarry there under arduous conditions.  They had fled from the northern part of Uganda during a brutal war where their husbands were killed and children abducted.

A strong believer in human rights’ advocacy, Siena joined with Project Diaspora to help 20 women from Kireka turn their beading talents into a profit-making venture through the power of social media and the internet.

Photos on this blog were taken by Siena and Kim Bilmer.

“These women faced almost insurmountable obstacles but they have a tremendous ability to adapt.  They are the voice of this business and are making it all possible.”  Siena Anstis

Social media in the name of Twitter led me to Siena.  I read a tweet by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof where he wrote he’d bought all his Christmas presents early from the “Women of Kireka.”   So I got to wondering just who and where these creative people were.  And that search led me to my conversation with Siena in Montreal…