photos: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com
“She was an educated and powerful woman, but it only takes an abuser to diminish that,” explains Sophia. Lily died in 2010—a totally preventable death. Overcome with grief, Sophia channeled her sadness into founding the Blooming Lily Foundation, named for her sister. “A vision came to me of a lily. We are all flowers that need to bloom, give off a fragrance and help others. But in order to bloom, women must overcome social, physical, mental and economic barriers. Then they can fulfill their destiny and give back to the community.” Eighteen months after she submitted the application for 501(c)(3) status, Sophia’s Blooming Lily Foundation was approved as a tax-exempt charitable organization. The foundation supports the immediate needs of the villagers as well as a series of health fairs in Kenya. These day-long events serve to empower villagers to take control of their health by learning about their body, health risks and mental/physical/emotional health, plus how to seek help for problems. She hopes it will help to remove the stigma attached to emotional and mental illness, which Kenyans link to witchcraft, demonic possession or laziness. A six-month research project proved to Sophia that mental health is an issue in Kenya. “Poverty, hopelessness, the stress of feeding the family—all of these factors weigh on the people.” Since much of the stress stems from poverty, Sophia came up with an idea to teach Kenyan women—who are already master beaders—to knit and
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Inside New Orleans