Crafting for a Good Cause

This week I had an auction of 34 pairs of earrings that I designed/made to raise money for North Koreans. At the close of the auction this afternoon, I had made a profit of 415,000 won to donate towards North Korean aid! The school's Amnesty chapter (that I help sponsor) has been focusing on the hardships that North Koreans face both at home and abroad. The kids have been working hard to raise awareness and support. Here is just a bit of background for those of you who are presently unaware:

A few startling facts about North Koreans in North Korea:
*According to the World Food Programme, there are about 23 million people living in North Korea and many of them suffer from malnutrition. Approximately 37% of children currently suffer from stunted growth, a statistic that reveals the overwhelming need for these kids to obtain basic nutrients.
*North Korea ranked last in the Southeast Asian region with regards to economic freedom in 2008.
*Floods in 2007 sparked a large food shortage that has contributed to widespread hunger and malnutrition.
*The GDP per capita is $1,800 (meaning that people live off less than $5/day). The average person in South Korea makes 15 times as much money. The average American makes 27 times that. (CIA factbook, stats from 2008)
*According to reports from people who have escaped North Korea: people are imprisoned/executed without fair trials, there is a huge shortage of resources, government forces people to perform large amounts of "volunteer" work, people are harshly punished if they try to escape, and communication is highly censored. There is no room to criticize the government in any way.

Life for the North Korean Refugee:
Life is not much easier for North Koreans who manage to escape (legally or otherwise). Most North Koreans escape along the Chinese border. While the Chinese government has publicly stated that they do not return refugees to North Korean government, their practices have not always lined up with their words. Most refugees spend years trying to get their families out of China. By the time families make it to South Korea (a common final destination), they are poor, malnourished, and suffering from extreme culture shock. They often face severe discrimination in South Korea and have difficulty getting jobs. Many will take large risks to send funds back to their families. I had the privilege of meeting a woman and her twin daughters a few weeks ago who escaped from North Korea. Her young children were having a very difficult time adjusting because they struggled to speak any language fluently (in their 6 years of life, they have been exposed to North and South Korean dialects, Mandarin, and Cantonese). The girls also lacked the education that most kids their age have received.

Anyhow, I'll get off my soapbox. I just want to do my part and help raise awareness. Here are a few pics of the earrings I made:








If you want to donate, here are a few places that you could go to contribute:
World Food Programme

LINK North Korean Crisis (helps raise awareness)