International Partners for Education

Meet IPE, International Partners for Education.  IPE is a locally-organized nonprofit that supports AIDS orphans in Malawi while they attend secondary school, paying their tuition, cost of supplies, uniforms, and other basical essentials so that they can attend school.  Their mission is simple:


IPE’s primary mission is supporting the secondary education of girls in St. James Presbyterian Church of Blantyre, Malawi who have been orphaned (lost one or both parents) by HIV/AIDS and support them as they matriculate. 

In addition, IPE offers support to the Women’s group at St. James Presbyterian Church for emergency health and food needs of families with orphaned children and group’s administrative costs related to grant goals. 

Sometimes girls in secondary school might have needs you and I wouldn't think of.  Sometimes the most basic of necessities simply are not available to these young women.  One evening, while we were talking, a board member of IPE remarked that what the girls that they are supporting really need are washable cloth sanitary napkins so they don't have to miss school during their menstruation.  That might sound preposterous to some of us, who can simply run to the store and pick up any number of convenient, cheap, disposable--even fragranced! essentials to minimize or eliminate any incovnenience that our body's cycle may cause.  But what would we do with those sleek and fancy things if there were no waste or sewage management to deal with the garbage they create? I doubt we would use them at all; very soon they would become useless and we would find ourselves again fettered by our functions-- afraid of the embarassment of leaks and unable to spend eight hours a day at work or at school in a row.  Such is the situation of many of the girls that IPE supports, for whom missing important school days while menstruating is a sad fact of life.  

That's where RootsUp comes in.  Since we backlogged in homework: combing through demographics, making contacts, organizing action plans, and working to create partnerships and raise funds RootsUp decided to take on a more hand-on project to give our members and our group something to chew on for a while.  We have offered to hand-make cloth washable sanitary napkin kits (complete with carrying bags and changable inserts) for up to 15 of IPE's female students.  This project, challenging as it may be, has offered RootsUp a welcome break from the books and a great opportunity to get our hands busy doing something good for women.  

Half the Sky

Back in December RootsUp got involved with the Half the Sky Initiative at Rockford College.  We hosted several book discussions around the book Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn and helped promote events linked to the Half the Sky Initiative.  We met a lot of great people in the process-- people from all kinds of backgrounds and perspectives who are making a difference in this community and in communities around the world.

The Half the Sky Initiative culminated in a day-long visit to Rockford College by Sheryl WuDunn.  I was fortunate enough to attend a Q&A session with her in the afternoon.  Topics covered in the discussion delved deeper into subjects that were discussed in the book and many questions that I had gnawing on my brain after reading Half the Sky were answered or explained.  The only question I wanted to ask but didn't was how Sheryl and her husband have found balance between their very successful careers and their families.  It didn't exactly fit in the conversation, but I'd love to know nonetheless! 

Later in the evening was the patron reception with Sheryl which Rachel, Zoe, and I were graciously invited to attend by Jim and Pam Keeling.  Again, we got to meet and talk to some very interesting people who have dedicated their lives to bettering their communities. 

Finally, Sheryl WuDunn gave a public lecture which basically encapsulated the themes of Half the Sky, ending with the idea that we have all "won the lottery of life," by finding ourselves in a peaceful, bountiful, and comfortable position in life so we have a responsibility to watch over and care for those who have not been so lucky.  

Half the Sky was a great experience for RootsUp-- it really propelled us forward in our pursuits, connected us with a network of people who will be great resources for our work, and gave us something meaningful to work on while we worked on the background organizational structure of RootsUp.  We excitedly look forward to what will happen next for Half the Sky as the Keelings hope to bring the message of the book right here to Rockford by organizing networking opportunities for local nonprofits and other events that will strengthen charitable, community building, and women's issues work here in Rockford.

School closings effect communities...

We understand the dismal situation the district finds itself in right now. The term being used—'budget crisis'—seems to be accurate. The economy sucks right now so the state of Illinois is in a budget crisis and scrambling to figure out which programs it can cut to stay afloat, meanwhile not having the money it promised to our school district, who'd been counting on the money. The situation in Rockford is also quite grim with our high unemployment rate. People out of work are often unable to pay their taxes, which means there is less money the district has to work with. The questionable spending habits of the district, and our superintendent in particular, aside (though perhaps the distribution of our tax dollars is pertinent) cuts inevitably need to be made. The targeted proposal to close area neighborhood schools, however, is troubling. What is a neighborhood school to a community? It's a question we may not be able to answer until the school is gone and the building sits like a rotting piece of fruit. It is like a magnet for troublesome teens who find spray painting obscenities amusing. Windows are broken and graffiti plagues the walls and suddenly the neighborhood isn't what it once was. I know this because the school I attended as a child, my neighborhood school growing up, closed down. It was rumored to have become home to squatters who shot up in the old classrooms and pissed on the gym floor. The neighborhood crime rates soared and the climate went from saying hi to strangers to avoiding eye contact in fear of who this person might be, what this person could be capable of. It became a dirty, run down, distrustful neighborhood—a stark contrast to the clean, lively, friendly neighborhood when the school was open. Because we are interested in working with communities here in Rockford, I do think the proposed school closings are of concern to us in RootsUp. The schools that close may be communities we want to explore working in to preemptively stop the negative neighborhood effects of a closed school. When we are working on projects to advance early literacy and the district proposes to close an early childhood center and move to half day kindergarten, it makes me think the need for our work will be that much greater should the proposal be actualized. Whatever the school board decides will have a deep impact on Rockford's community and may define the direction of our projects in the upcoming years.

By your Bootstraps

For all of human history, community has been inescapably linked to the individual.  The health, well-being, and success of the individual is hinged on the community of which they are a part and the community's health, vibrance, and strength can only be the sum of its many human parts.  This important balance has been the fertile soil from which humans have sprung for ages untold.  

Until today.  America's young rough and tumble history, full of pioneers and pirates coupled with the relentless flow of consumption-driven media and the country's strong capitalist ethos has changed the face of society and transformed the concept of community. The ever-famous "American dream" has everything to do with the individual and nothing to do with his community.  With every generation, the concept of a place in one's community becomes more foreign as the individual is expected to be able to create his or her own personal wealth and happiness apart from the burgeoning shackles of one's environment, connections, or ties.  A person is to pull himself up by his own bootstraps!

Even as this individualist-driven mindset has taken root in the American consciousness, big business, industrialized farming, the internet and automobile-centric sprawl have moved into many of the spaces that used to be occupied by humans, creating a barrier and a disconnect between people and perpetuating widespread withdrawal from community-oriented thinking.  But there is a problem with this.  We have evolved to grow within a community setting.  The urge to need and be needed by a strong network of people is natural to our bodies and minds; the breakdown of strong community in America-- particularly in suburban America-- is the antithesis to what is natural to our species. 

At RootsUp we believe that building strong community is the first and foremost factor in unearthing strong people.  We know that every person has interests, talents, and skills to bring to the table and without a community that needs their skills, a person can easily lose self-esteem and confidence.  A person without confidence about his or her role and importance within a group is prone to abuse and exploitation. Whether in the workplace or the home, without a strong community monitoring the health of its individuals, it's easy for abuse and exploitation to go on unnoticed indefinitely. Worse, lack of confidence tends to be family value, handed down from generation to generation.

It's no wonder use of antidepressants is on the rise.  But while drugs may alleviate some of the symptoms for some people, it won't fix the problem. A person simply cannot pick or pull himself up alone; physics won't allow it.  So we need to fight to bring community back to our people and bring our people back to community.

Upcoming Book Discussions

There are a number of book discussions on Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide in the community. This book is what inspired the formation of RootsUp and we really encourage everyone to read the book and attend a discussion. One of the authors, Sheryl WuDunn will be coming to Rockford College to speak on March 15, 2011. It should be an inspiring lecture!   Book Discussion dates and locations: January 25, 2010: Book discussion at Rockford Public Library main branch 6:30 -7:45p.m. February 16, 2011: Book discussion at Wired Cafe on State St., 6-7:30 p.m. February 22, 2011: Book discussion at Katie's Cup on 7th St., 6-7:30 p.m. February 24, 2011: Book discussion at Carlyle Brewery, 7-8:30 p.m.   Email rootsuprockford@gmail.com with any questions.

A Reason to Celebrate!

After three brainstorming sessions, Emily filed the paperwork to make RootsUp an official nonprofit as of December 13, 2010. Thanks to everyone who came to these meetings and shared their ideas and energy to help get RootsUp off the ground. We appreciate the support and look forward to working with everyone. There is a great diverse group of people interested in working with the group and with everyone's help, we know RootsUp will be a success!

Our next meeting will be January 20, 2011 at 6pm. Please contact us if you're interested in getting involved in RootUp, email us at: rootsuprockford@gmail.com