Happy Birthday, My Dear Sweet Amilia

  

  

Dear Sweet Amilia,

Today would be your 18^th birthday.  While you were only with us five short years, your shining light lives on in the legacy created in your name.

Eighteen years later, new life begins again.

This month, thanks to generous donors and volunteers, ten young women, whose lives have been brightened, are getting ready to give birth to a new enterprise.  The Empowerment Program preparations are in full swing; the girls have attended a business training workshop, they are learning computer, bookkeeping, inventory and sales skills. Boutique items are being purchased and inventoried, handmade items are being crafted, the salon is being set up, and there have even been a handful of haircuts given.

Teddy, whose future was bleak, just six months ago, is now being trained to give haircuts, and will be able to afford stable and safe housing for her and baby Michelle. 

And just like when you were born, names are being considered. Names which will reflect the hope and joy your legacy is giving these girls, whose lives might have otherwise been kept in darkness. 

Though you’re not here with me, I know you are among us.  You are with these young girls, and you are with your friends from pre-school, and the seniors at Medfield High,  who are starting the A5 club, to bring awareness to the blight that trafficking leaves here on earth. 

 I know you are with our family and our friends, and that if we remember to keep our eyes open, we’ll hear your voice, and recognize the rainbows and hearts you point out to us, as reminders to
illuminate our world. 

Love, Mama

Michelle Luhrmann,  Founder, President....Amilia's Light

What's in a name? A LOT!

Jackie and I recently had the opportunity to meet Jasmine Grace Marino at an event in Dedham.  She is an amazing young woman, mother, mentor, and survivor of trafficking from here in the Boston area.  She spoke so openly about the torments her trafficker inflicted - how he was able to completely control her way of thinking, her self-image, and her life. He even went so far as to give her a new name…..instead of Jasmine, she became Brittney - she even lost control of what people called her.

She painted a vivid picture of how hard it is for victims of trafficking to get out of “the lifestyle” and start a new path.  So many times they fall back into the pattern of trafficking and prostitution due to lack of viable options and employment.  She ended up being “in the life” for many years until she couldn’t even recognize herself.

She explained that when a victim of trafficking wants to get out of “the life,” they need a safe person to be able to turn to as well as a good job in order to support herself.  She was very open about the struggles she faced and continues to face. 

I could not help but think of our friends in Uganda and Destiny Women.  (The organization that Amilia’s Light is partnering with to help survivors of human trafficking.)  Together we have begun the Empowerment Program which gives these young girls an opportunity to work in a safe center that will give them hope and dignity.  This one stop center will host a variety of businesses, starting with a hair salon and fashion boutique.  The girls have received business training and very soon will start their new jobs.

But they need your help to name their new one stop center. 

They want a name that reflects the hope, empowerment, and restoration that the girls now have.  A name that reflects the sparkle in their eyes from doing a job that will support them in a way that they can be proud of.  Can you help us name the center? We will send our three top choices to the girls and then they can pick their favorite!  They have the power to choose a new life, a new hope, and a new name for their workplace!

Please email your suggestions to JodiHolman@AmiliasLight.org today. The girls want to hear from you!

Jodi Holman

Communications Director

For more on Jasmine’s story and the work she is doing go to: http://jasminegrace.org/

When you Step Up, Step Out and Do Something, Dreams Can Come True

We did it!!!!

Dreams are coming true.  At our first Light the Night, just a little over a year ago, I said that I dream big.  That was quite a statement… and perhaps a little bold. But without dreams, how can you envision a future filled with light and possibility?  

Dreams create possibilites for the future

That statement helped propel our small start up non-profit to inspire our supporters to step up, step out and do something to illuminate our world. And they certainly did! 

The Empowerment Program campaign exceeded it’s goal of $25,000!

The Empowerment Program isn’t just a dream – it’s become a reality.  

The one-stop business center will be opening within a few months.  Former victims of trafficking, who have completed Destiny Women-Uganda’s Rehabilitation Program will have an opportunity to receive training, learn job skills, receive business mentoring and psycho-social support, have steady employment and participate in a savings and loan program. These girls will break the cycle of trafficking and walk a path toward with integrity and grace. 

Dreams are coming true.

Funds raised:  $29,886 

Here’s the Update:

Amilia’s Light hired liaison Rachel Tumwine, former World Vision Staffer, in Uganda.

Destiny Women-Uganda formed an Empowerment Program Task Force.

Site Selection will be completed by end of January.

The Empowerment Center will open in a few months.

Fashion/Tailoring Boutique and a Hair Salon will be the first two businesses.

Two Rehabilitation Program graduates hired as social workers and mentors.

Three Rehabilitation Program graduates hired as business managers.

Five to Ten Rehabilitation Program graduates will be employed in the Empowerment Center.

Social Workers Esther and Barbara, Destiny Women Co-Founder, Miriam Enyaga

Woo Hoo!!!  It’s been an incredible year and I can’t thank our donors, volunteers and our team enough.  The Destiny Women Board and girls are thankful too.  Mostly, I thank God, for the presence of spirit, a force within all of us, that with a little dream, a little faith and a lot of perspiration and gusto can help make dreams come true.



Thank you for making this New Year, a dream come true,

Michelle Luhrmann,
Founder and President, Amilia's Light

#Illuminateourworld, #Empower, #shineyourlight

My wish for you this Christmas.

Feeling blessed…My wish for you this Christmas. 

The last few weeks I've been 'consumed'  by doing what matters most to me this holiday and I’ve been blessed by the experiences I’ve had while doing so.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Amilia’s Light’s first anniversary at our Light the Night Celebration.  Blessings abounded. There was hard work and camaraderie and meaningful moments shared in the preparation and in the celebration.  Simple moments, like sitting down in the front yard with two of the A5 volunteers, girls that would have graduated with Amila, but that I’d only met this year.  We shared the simple joy of sitting in solitude for a few minutes and taking it all in.  The lights, the meaning of the work, the message of spreading the light, and how the money being raised is changing the course of life for young women in Uganda, by creating opportunities for empowerment.


The lights had a similar affect on the party guests, when Amila’s garden was lit up  and the very loved, hand made wooden angel appeared from the dark.  Coincidentally, Light the Night was planned the same night Compassionate Friends organizes a world- wide candle lighting for children who have passed away. As guests walked up into Amilia’s garden and placed tea lights, I was reminded of how blessed I was to celebrate the evening, with new and old friends, many who never knew Amilia but share the dream to change lives, one girl at a time.

This week there have been so many moments to feel blessed; I’m blessed to be on vacation with my children in the Teton’s.  I’ve gotten to ski, snowshoe, sled and snowmobile. I even get some considerable air  -without injury to myself or others!  I’ve seen elk and moose and taken pictures of Bison that were standing  just 20 feet from the car.



I sat in on a graduate class at the Teton Science School and was impressed with the caliber of the instructors, the students and the course work. I felt great hope for our future as I could envision how these students would step up, step out and illuminate our world, by teaching others to care for and steward this precious gift we live in.

Most of all,  I feel blessed that I can set my light out on a dark night for those that need a step up, so they can step out and continue to illuminate our world.

My wish for you this Christmas, is that you may feel as blessed as I do, and that you too, can find a way to light a candle in your world.

Michelle Luhrmann,

Founder and President, Amilia's Light

It's becoming real

A couple of weeks ago, our team was working on a new project, another first for us, and we were trying to figure out the best way to go about it.  We gathered information -- piles of documents covering every surface, 3 computers, white board, and lots of coffee.

I logged into the crowd fund campaign that Jodi created just 6 weeks ago and looked at the number -- $15,025.  I could barely contain myself. I realized it was a milestone, we raised more than half and it hit me -- WE CAN DO THIS!

It was a turning point.  A shift in the energy, you might say.  All of a sudden it became real: the Empowerment Program, the girls, Sandra and Christine and Teddy and Barbara all working hard in their new businesses.  I could see how their lives would change, how they would gain confidence in their talents, and with each passing day, learn more about themselves - their strengths, their weaknesses, their courage, their grit and their power to provide for themselves and their families.

I held that vision with me as I composed our Thanksgiving message.

Thinking about Teddy, and her newborn child, Michelle, it hit me again, another milestone.  While I’ve been so focused on the plights of these girls, wanting to see them safe and secure, I had not realized how the impact of a dozen people in Uganda and Denmark and the United States and the supporters like you who believe in them were truly changing not only the lives of these young women, but changing the course of history for their children.  

And yet again, I am blessed with the opportunity to be a part of this and to know that because of our donors Baby Michelle will grow up in a home where her mom, fully restored and with resources to start a business will be able to love and provide for her.

Update:  Thanks to our supporters, The Empowerment Program has now reached $18,080.  We have sent $12.5k over to Destiny Women, and have hired a liaison in Uganda to act on our behalf.  Destiny Women has begun to look for property and to put a team together to set up and manage the program.

Ubuntu, 

Michelle Luhrmann,  Founder and President

#ILLUMINTEOURWORLD  #EMPOWER  #DOSOMETHING

Learn more about how Amilia’s Light got started in "A Spark of Light" 

and Destiny Women-Uganda in "It Takes Courage To Step Out"

Feeling Thank-Full

Feeling Thank FULL that I 'stepped up, stepped out and did something'

During the month of November everywhere we look, there are reminders for us to give thanks.  At Amilia’s Light, we are doing the same thing, reminding everyone, to consider the blessings in their lives and to ‘step up, step out and do something' to make a difference in another’s life.  

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and it’s a perfect New England fall day; sunny, clear skies with a slight chill in the air - just cold enough to start a morning fire and warm the house.

 I’m blessed to have the time and resources to sit and reflect on my own life and what I have to be grateful for… God, my children, my friends, my dog, my work, my health, my home, my garden…  

And while things are not perfect (is it supposed to be?) my life is full. Maybe not as full as I dreamed it would be, I’m learning though, for it to be enough. 

My family is changed, not by choice, but by circumstance.  The word ‘family” has expanded to include dear friends and those who have touched my life.  One such young lady who has had the courage to step up, step out and do something positive with her life, is Teddy.  She is one of the original five young women our family sponsored to attend Destiny Women’s rehabilitation program.

When I visited Uganda last March, I had hoped to see all five of the girls we sponsored.  By the end of week two, I was able to see three of the girls.  One, had moved out of the country, and we had been praying for her safety.  But Teddy was just a no-show.  Her school was not in session, and we just could not locate her.  I was sad and worried about the burdens of what she was facing at home.

The last night we hosted a gathering for the Destiny Girls. I resolved to enjoy the night of celebration.  As I was handing out bibles, Vicki, who had been searching everywhere,  all week, came in with Teddy right behind.  I could not believe my eyes! What joy!  We sat together, talked and made plans.  We talked about the possibility for her to switch to a vocational program and getting her resettled into a safer family hostel.



Later that night,  she was tearful, upset and afraid.  And we were afraid for her.  I begged her to stay the weekend with Miriam,  but she insisted on going home.  Home to what – I wasn’t sure.  To be honest I'm not sure I wanted to know.  I was praying that she had not been forced back to her old life. I gave her some money for the ride, and told her we would be there for her, but that the choice was hers and hers alone.  I couldn’t make her choose what I thought was the “right choice”.   I left the car, headed up to my nice, clean air-conditioned hotel room, took a long hot shower and just sobbed.

I found out more details later.  Teddy’s mom, living and working in a dangerous situation elsewhere, left Teddy in charge of her two younger siblings, with little resources to care for them.   

Months later, more details - Teddy was 7 months pregnant.  Immediately, I thought FAILURE.
How would I tell our followers about this?  What would they think???
That’s NOT the model we are working toward.

And then… I was humbled

As Miriam noted that Teddy was stepping up and taking responsibility for this beautiful child of God.   

And then…I found a bit of grace

Despite little prenatal care, Teddy’s baby girl was born this summer, and we are happy to report that both mom and child are healthy and safe.  Teddy gave me the courage to step up and out of my comfort zone,  to share the story in church, not knowing what kind of reaction I would get. 

And then...I was grateful

When I asked for prayers,  I was astounded, at how many people expressed gratitude that I shared this story of courage of Teddy and her new daughter.

Introducing, Baby Michelle

And now...I am full up

Michelle Luhrmann

Founder, President, Amilia's Light 

#Illuminateourworld