A few weeks ago I blogged about the game Pretty Pretty Princess, and I often do blog about how my students love to be princesses and the Ballerina Birthdays I do can be centered around much loved fairy-tale princesses that little ones can't get enough of; princesses have universal appeal. (I mean, who doesn't love Kate Middleton)? Not long after my Pretty Pretty Princess post I came across he International Princess Project on Hello Giggles. Hello Giggles is a favorite site of mine (I've garnered a few DIY crafty projects from them in the past, click here to check it out), it's witty, girly and full of beautiful things, like The Princess Project. International Princess Project is a non-profit that works to encourage empowerment of women formerly enslaved as prostitutes. The women who are able to escape this horrible life have a hard time finding work or family members and the route to reinstating themselves into society can be a rough one. International Princess Project helps these women to become self-reliant, teaching them marketable skills and giving them tools to support themselves.
That's where the pajama part comes in: Punjammies provide savings accounts, fair-trade wages, and recovery care for the exceptional women who made them. I thought this was such a wonderful project I wanted to share it with you. I feel so lucky to be able to teach little girls how to be and feel graceful, special and powerful - all the qualities we think a 'princess' would have.
For those other little girls and women whose reality is something quite bleak in comparison to what most of us know, and who don't have those people, such as teachers, or an outlet or culture in their life that supports and cultivates those 'princess' qualities, this is a wonderful way to give some hope to the women who are striving to find those qualities in themselves and in their lives again. Please visit the Hello Giggles site here, and the page of the International Princess Project here.
