Week 2: September 17th

-The section of the article called “Marginalized Workers Gain Dignity at Winery in South Africa” is about Stellar Winery and an employee Marie who has had a positive experience working there. The story starts by talking about Marie’s life before Stellar. It says she dropped out of high school, had to endure the passing of her mother, and care for her family including four orphans. Once getting a job at Stellar Winery, Marie now has good income, electricity, and sanitary systems. This allows her and her family to live comfortably, unlike before. Through her hard work she has become a partial owner of the company, and a farm manager. She was also given other awards for her outstanding work.
-I enjoyed reading this because it seems like a great success story for a fair trade worker. Reading about Marie’s hard life before Stellar and all that she has accomplished reflects on fair trade. I think the fact that she is able to achieve so much is because she truly likes her work environment, and the fairness is so high that if a person wants to he/she can be successful. I think the recognition that she has received for her hard work is also nice because it will make any worker proud, and is encouraging.

-The Cameron Russell talk gives her experiences as a model, and the way people perceive modeling. She gives examples and pictures of some work she did in the industry and the behind the scenes of what was happening at the times of those pictures. She also speaks about the statistics of profiling and how young girls feel about their bodies. She relates this to her treatment by others based on her looks, and talks about how they should not matter.
-The part of Russell’s talk that made an impact on me was when she talked about little girls wanting to be models when they grow up. The fact that she encourages pursuing a career where your looks are not everything says something about her character. It reveals to me that there are models that are not all about the industry, and are down to earth. Another interesting piece was when she gave a few stories where her looks benefitted her. She talked about getting a dress for free, and getting out of a ticket because she was attractive. She makes the point that not everyone gets treated this way, and that things should not be like that. I liked the honesty that she had in this talk, and how she isn’t afraid to give her opinion.

More blog posts in this category Common

• The Wound & the Blessing/The Economy of Communion Project Post
• The Crest- Jewel of Wisdom & Work as a Spiritual Practice Post
• "What Money Can't Buy" Blog Post
• Blog Post Ni: FTRN Booklet & Arithmetic of Passion
• Work as a Spiritual Practice (The Transformation of Work)