{"id":13370,"date":"2013-08-04T03:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-08-04T10:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.afterhoursagency.com\/wgc\/?p=13370"},"modified":"2019-10-06T15:09:30","modified_gmt":"2019-10-06T22:09:30","slug":"ethiopia-here-i-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.afterhoursagency.com\/wgc\/ethiopia-here-i-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia, here I come! {Giveaway!}"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve had a serious “thing” for Africa for as long as I can remember. I’m absolutely fascinated with the country, the people, the culture, the animals, basically everything about it. I’ve been wanting to visit for years and for a while, when I was still doing the whole pre-med thing in college, I was toying with the idea of living there for a few months and volunteering at a clinic. I literally just can’t get Africa out of my head.\u00a0My mom even lived in South Africa for a while when she was in high school and has yet to take me back to any of her reunions. Rude. Just kidding mom, I know you’ll take me next year \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I think you get the picture. I just feel this strong connection to Africa and I’d love to visit and learn<\/em>. \u00a0This dream became a reality when I met Barrett a few months ago at Big Traveling Potluck<\/a> when he invited me to come on a trip to Ethiopia, I literally freaked out and signed myself up\u00a0on the spot\u00a0.<\/p>\n

{Fast forward a few months….}<\/p>\n

\"Feleku_working\"<\/p>\n

In less than a week (we leave on Friday), \u00a0I’ll be hitting the skies and flying over to Ethiopia with a few other fantastic bloggers, Mocha Club and\u00a0fashionABLE to kick start our blogABLE trip!<\/p>\n

So what on earth am I doing there? For starters I’m there to learn, to share, to help and then bring back all these amazing \u00a0stories and spread the word! Here’s the deal….<\/p>\n

About Mocha Club<\/a>:
\nMocha Club is a community giving up the cost of a few mochas a month to fund development projects in Africa. Committed to locally developed projects where the community identifies the needs and the response, Mocha Club\u2019s end goal is to always create real, sustainable solutions. They work in 5 main project\u00a0areas: Clean Water, Healthcare, Orphan Care, Education, & Economic Freedom.<\/p>\n

About fashionABLE<\/a>:
\nThe fashionABLE mission is to create sustainable business for Africans so they aren’t dependent upon charity, but instead earn the dignity of a job. Born out of Mocha Club\u2019s Economic Freedom project, they offer opportunity to everyone, with a primary focus on empowering women. When fashionABLE invests in a woman, statistics demonstrate that she will have a life changing impact on her family and community\u2026 and herself.\u00a0fashionABLE\u00a0provides sustainable business opportunities, like making these amazing scarves, to exploited and vulnerable women in Africa.<\/p>\n

About blogABLE<\/a>:
\nblogABLE is a collaborative effort of fashionABLE and the Mocha Club to\u00a0take a group of bloggers to see their work in Ethiopia. In early august,\u00a0the team will travel to Addis Ababa and Nazaret, Ethiopia to spend time with\u00a0the women both companies work with. Lacking meaningful resources and a\u00a0sense of hope, many women in Ethiopia resort to prostitution as a means of\u00a0supporting themselves & their families. They are often desperate to leave the\u00a0sex industry but remain trapped by a lack of opportunity and rehabilitative support. Through our\u00a0visits and storytelling, we hope to engage and educate our followers on what is being done to bring\u00a0hope through creating jobs and sustainable business here.<\/p>\n

It’s going to be a pretty life changing experience and I can’t wait to come back and share all the stories from the women we meet in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

So, with all that said, I’m pumped. Pumped actually doesn’t even begin to describe it. I literally cannot even wait to get over there and learn. And what’s a trip without a healthy dose of sharing on social media? You guys can follow along on instagram<\/a>, facebook<\/a> and twitter<\/a>! \u00a0I’ll do my best to post as many updates as I can on the blog in my free time. Woot woot, Africa here I come!<\/p>\n

{Giveaway!}<\/p>\n

In honor of traveling to see the work first-hand, I’m giving away 2 amazing fashionABLE products (both made by the women I’m about to meet!): the Meseret scarf<\/a> (perfect for these warmer months – I’m obsessed with every scarf but this one is particularly amazing) and the\u00a0brand new<\/b><\/i>\u00a0Tigist leather clutch! One lucky winner will get both products!!<\/del><\/p>\n

Congratulations to Kate on winning the scarf and the clutch \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"blogABLE<\/p>\n

Here’s how to enter:<\/p>\n