KAYAK 50 MILES FOR WOMEN OF AMIRAH!!
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
Amirah, Inc.I will kayak 50 miles for the women of Amirah, I shall give everything I have for them!
$12,220
raised by 40 people
$10,000 goal
Update #2
Many here are doing a "Move for Amirah." I started out in this way, but since an injury has sidelined my 50-mile kayak, I have been challenged to "Be still for Amirah." I am a war veteran and have always taken the "mission" head on and made it a part of my fiber. I would give everything for the mission, Marines trained me that mission first and everything else is below that. In trauma, we tend to keep a busy mind, pack on the activities so as not to remember or process hard memories. At night we can extend the darkness so as not to dream, because this is where we are most haunted. I am now "being still" for the women of Amirah, in honor of their traumas, constant vivid dreams, lack of rest and all else that comes with the traumas of their lives. This most difficult task of being still is a new objective. May they find rest, peace and healing amidst the "be still."
This year I will be Kayaking 50 miles for the Women of Amirah!!!
Last year I completed 3 half marathons in 9 days, and because of injuries sustained completing the 39 miles in 9 days, on the final day of “Move for Amirah" I was forced to kayak the rest of the distance.
I am a Marine and there is no quit in me, the picture above encapsulates my story of how hard the move was. I felt the effects of this move for the next 6 months as I needed to heal.
Yet, the above photo pales in comparison to the amount of pain a survivor of exploitation, prostitution and/or trafficking goes through. Less than 1% of women stuck in the life ever get out, and for the ones who do, the journey is anything but easy. Because of the strength and difficulty these women have had to face, I am choosing once again to suffer physically by kayaking 50 miles for the women of Amirah.
This feat will highlight how difficult their journey has been but specifically how difficult their healing path will be while in Amirah. As I grind through the move, I'll envision the faces of the amazing and courageous women I've been lucky enough to walk beside.
I am blessed and fortunate to have worked with Amirah since February 2020. In this time, I have witnessed true strength and courage of women on a healing journey. They are choosing to intentionally change everything about their lives, what they were taught, forced to learn, forced to know and forced to do. In Amirah they are reconnecting to who they were created to be, and they are doing so in a safe space with safe people who are choosing to walk by their side.
These amazing women are choosing to step out of the storm and chaos of their former lives, allowing a reshaping to occur where they will become a new creation, hence the butterfly being the image of Amirah.
Witnessing a woman graduate the Amirah Program has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. There is no shortage of emotions and tears in this place, and the strength in the environment is emanating from each individual, especially from the new creation of the Amirah graduate. We can all learn something from this sort of courage.
Thank you for donating to the 2023 Move for Amirah!!!