Art Harvest LA - November 14, 2000

4pm-10pm
November 14th, 2009
The Stephen Cohen Gallery
7358 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles 90036

Bringing together good food & libations, music, art & photography from emerging international and local artists

all to benefit local non-profit organizations' current grassroots projects working with refugee children and other vulnerable populations in Africa

The Niapele Project
and
Voices for Umoja

At the door:
$20 donation includes open bar, appetizers and 5 raffle tickets
$10 donation includes open bar and appetizers

Featuring:

Drinks

Food by A Catering Company

Sweet treats by Whipped, Beat & Battered

Music

Silent auction and raffle with awesome prizes

Fair trade sale featuring items made in Kenya and Ghana

Photography & Art by: Chris Leombruno, Pierre Letulzo, Kenyan youth, and an exhibition of work from emerging Los Angeles artists curated by Alexis Hudgins and Laura Kim.

For more information & pre-sale tickets contact celina@theniapeleproject.org.

The Birth of the Opuk Jakinda Cooperative

In the last year, Kisumu has undergone a social transformation over as it grappled with the effects of a bitterly contested presidential election that resulted in extreme cases of violence. Unfortunately, the women and children bore the brunt of the violence. Given that the society is patriarchal in nature, many women were victims of sexual violence, others lost property, while still others lost their breadwinners in the violence and since have been exposed to increased poverty and ill health. At this time of economic recession, the country is unable to adequately provide its people with basic needs and food prices continue to skyrocket. This has lead to cases of increased incidences of HIV/AIDS and food insecurity as women are forced to use various means to make ends meet.

Following the trauma, fear, and injustice of the December 2007 elections and their aftermath and given the economic challenges facing the community, Voices and its partners have facilitated trainings and networking for groups comprised of primarily women in the Kisumu area in an effort to develop viable and sustainable income generating projects to assist them in providing livelihood for both their families and orphans in the community. Through these trainings, the Opuk Jakinda Cooperative was born.

Opuk Jakinda means hardworking tortoise in the Luo language. Opuk Jakinda Cooperative makes marketable products such as jewelry, paper products, and woven mats from recycled materials and the water hyacinth plant, a plant that spreads over Lake Victoria at an alarming rate and is linked to increases in vector borne diseases, reduced supply of clean potable water, blocking irrigation canals, and a decrease in biodiversity. Voices is working to connect this cooperative and others with partners in the U.S. to earn them a fair wage.