We just finished creating a website for SASA – Sexual Assault Survivors Anonymous!*  Hooray!
Visit at; www.sasaworldwide.org
May the program grow and prosper! The meetings were originally called Rape Survivors Anonymous when I brought the materials to Nairobi, but the meetings were shut down when I left IWD and we’ve had to start anew.

Here’s a testimonial I received from a former RSA attendee;

“Since the ordeal in 2006 I never spoke out until 2008 in a program called Rape Survivors Anonymous (RSA). Through the program I realized people were speaking out without fear and had courage to overcome the shame. It is at this forum that I also decided to speak out for the first time of my rape case.”

I can honestly say that from the moment I got this letter I knew I would try to rebuild this program. I networked with a few friends in Kenya and we all agreed a better name for the new 12 step group would be Sexual Assault Survivors Anonymous – “SASA” which means “NOW” in Kiswahili. This is actually the first week of meetings and I wish so much that I could attend and help support them. Once again, tea is being served in an effort to create a safe, cozy, peaceful environment for women wishing to share their experience, strength and hope.

*SASA Worldwide is not a program of NO MEANS NO WORLDWIDE.  We have provided all necessary support to get the meetings up and running. We also hope  that other groups use the “Meeting Info” at the SASA website to start their own groups across the globe.

Today I read a story in the SF Chronicle about a memorial for Chelsea King. She is a 17 year old girl who was murdered in San Diego. This may sound macabre but I’ve been thinking about someone else in that article. She is unnamed, but this is what it said;

“John Gardner, 30, has pleaded not guilty to Chelsea’s murder and the attempted rape of another woman in December.”

I just want to raise this question rhetorically. Who is this other woman and how did she escape this man? I have seen photos of him and he is formidable, he may be a serial killer and yet, this unknown woman got away. Whoever she is, I’m sure she has a horrific story to tell but it is one of successful defense. I feel so heartened by the fact that not only is she alive, but she can testify against this guy.

F’ing bravo.

So a group heads over to Kenya with my husband to work in his microloan program in Korogocho slum. His companions are young, talented and passionate about the work.
This was me 4 years ago.
This was how the whole thing started really.

I was walking in the slums meeting recipients of the Manasseh’s Children micro finance project.
We were talking and taking photos of the women and their businesses to show donors.
Everywhere I went I heard stories of rape. It was beyond belief. Especially the grandmother stories.

So here I am in the USA, working on a global curriculum. I speak with the group in Kenya.
They can’t get away from the rape issue. It comes up everywhere they go. A woman whose entire head is scarred from an assault. She’s grateful to be alive. A grandmother assaulted, her finger broken and swollen.
They are inundated with stories – just as I was.
They are horrified – just as I was.
They haven’t said a word to me about the microloans – they just can’t believe what they are hearing and seeing.

They want to jump just as I did.
We can’t put it in perspective because there is no perspective.
I spend the day working on the curriculum. I cancel everything I possibly can so I can work on the curriculum.
Invitations come in to teach here and there, to visit this or that country. I say no and I practice what I preach. No.
I work as quickly as I can, but it will never ever be fast enough for me.