Here Comes the Sun…

dressFINALLY! At byTavi we are so ready to be DONE with the snow and sub-zero temps! We want to frolic in the sun in the new Imprint Collection, hand-made by at-risk women and survivors of trafficking. Whether you are going on a casual walk on the canal, a date with your significant other or a night out with the girls, Imprint is ready to dress you for any occasion. Check out our adorable new sundresses and zipper dress–you’re going to love them.

Stay tuned to byTavi in the coming months as the women in our program have been hard at work on a new line of bags! These include a casual, modern hobo bag and a patch-work rice bag mini duffle. You won’t want to miss these new items or our Spring Cleaning Sales!

Thanks again for supporting the women of byTavi and the Imprint Project. Your purchases truly do change the direction of these women’s lives.

A Better Ending

betterEndingSometimes, people are exposed to the truth about trafficking and they are overwhelmed. They want to run in the opposite direction, because learning how dark and present the problem is, can make us feel powerless. Those feelings are natural, and we’ve all felt them.

But sometimes, people are exposed to the truth about trafficking and they choose to move toward the issue, fighting back against it. They know that change won’t come unless we act, whether we act as one person or one million on behalf of a righteous cause. Those feelings are supernatural. They are God calling us to lay down our fears and skepticism and fight for Kingdom justice, one step at a time.

Nadine Hill is a person who came face-to-face with the realities of human trafficking and chose not to run away. Today, she runs the Ecumenical Women’s Coalition Against Human Trafficking in Indianapolis, and works each day to combat sexual slavery and provide hope and relief for its victims. She’s teamed up with CGI to empower the women of byTavi, sharing their stories and using her networks to sell their products and pave the way for a stable future.

Read Nadine’s story below and be inspired to act! You may be only one person, but you have the power to bring healing, hope and a better ending.

Click Here to Read Nadine’s Story

Want to find out ways you can be involved? Contact us at bytavi@gmail.com.

Host an Exclusive Shopping Experience!

IMG_4834Want to host a byTavi show without the hassle of getting your home ready for guests to enjoy? Then our new Exclusive Shopping Experience is perfect for you!

The Exclusive Shopping Experience allows a host to invite a minimum of ten friends to come to our byTavi store after hours to shop!  Hostesses are welcome to bring refreshments for their guests to enjoy.  All guests will have access to shop our entire inventory in both our storefront and our warehouse AND receive 20% off their entire purchase.  As a host, there will be extra incentives available to you.

byTavi held our first Exclusive Shopping Experience with host Suni Johnson a couple of weeks ago.  We had a successful evening with Suni and her guests and we were able to make new connections with her group of friends.   The shopping experience provided a relaxed and enjoyable setting for us to share who Center for Global Impact is and what we are doing through our vocational training programs.   Many of Suni’s guests were touched by the ministry of CGI and will continue to support our programs through purchasing byTavi and Imprint products and spreading the word!

The Exclusive Shopping Experience is perfect for girls night out, fellowship groups, birthday parties, or to have a fun way to introduce Center for Global Impact to your friends and family.  Contact us today at bytavi@cgidev.wpengine.com to host your Exclusive Shopping Experience!

by Hali Mynatt

36 Women

Last week, 36 Cambodian women went out for pizza. But it was so much more than that.

It was 36 women with a stable job and the freedom to turn their backs on the sex industry as an option for income.

It was 36 women with re-written futures and a new course for their families.

It was 36 women who can smile and laugh with no fear of tomorrow.

Praising God for the byTavi program and those who make it happen.

Imagine. Then Act!

Imagine never feeling safe.  Imagine never having that place where you totally relax and feel completely secure.  For most of us, thankfully, this is merely a mental exercise.  But for many impoverished girls and women in Cambodia, it’s a daily reality.

Last summer, my daughter and I had the opportunity to travel to Cambodia with CGI and a group from Grace Church.  The stories from that trip are many and my observations are probably similar to most others. Yes, I was appalled at the pervasiveness of human trafficking.  Yes, I was overwhelmed by the extreme and rampant poverty, and experiencing that poverty first hand was truly indescribable. However, after being home for several months and reflecting on my time there, one thing made a lasting impression: the total absence of a safe environment.

Particularly when you’re a child, you should have that “safe place”. Unfortunately, the children of Cambodia don’t have such a safe place and too frequently don’t have people to protect them.  It is so difficult to convey in words their living conditions.  Their homes would not qualify as such by our standards.  Their walls are made from salvaged pieces of wood, metal, and cloth that have been pieced together. There is no security or sense of safety.  Generally, anyone at any time has access to these children.  Add to this the violence and criminal activity that pervades these poverty-stricken areas and you start to get a feel for the world they live in.

The question becomes – what can we do? Most of us were fortunate enough to be born in the United States where we have safety nets to assist those in poverty, an imperfect but great legal system, and a culture that arguably supports the family.  These girls and women were not.  CGI promotes change in the best possible way.  It empowers the girls and women through training, education, and spiritual development.  I met these girls and women, and saw the real difference CGI has made in their lives. The women in CGI’s programs are coming to realize that they have the ability to control their lives and that they are special and valued.

So…. NOW imagine. Imagine the differences that could be made in so many lives if we all made it a priority to assist these girls and women in whatever ways God may lead us.  The possibilities, like His love and grace, are limitless.

Julie and her daughter with Tavi in Cambodia

Julie and her daughter with Tavi in Cambodia

By Julie Payne

Empower the Poor on Black Friday!

cm2013ABlack Friday? This week, it’s more like Black FIVEday!

That’s right! byTavi is extra affordable this Black FIVEday as so many of our byTavi classics are only five dollars this week! (don’t live near teh byTavi store?  check out our Cyber Monday deals too!)

And that’s not all. Read more

Riyon’s Journey Upward

 

Riyon

Riyon

The events of that day are still clear. I was scheduled to leave Cambodia on a flight later that night. But before the work day was over I wanted to visit the workshop, pray with the women, and say goodbye.  As they began to move into their version of a prayer circle I noticed that Riyon was walking with a noticeable limp. I asked her what was wrong – but honestly I didn’t get much more than a comment that might have been translated “my leg hurts.” Sensing an opportunity, I asked her to sit on one of the cheap plastic chairs and then called on the entire group to connect together and pray for her leg to heal. But now I know that I should have done more.  In a few short weeks I would receive word that Riyon had a stroke. The pain in her leg had been a sign and maybe had we gotten her to a doctor all of this could have been avoided.

It was only a few months ago that I heard Riyon had been brought back to the city. After months away, receiving “treatment’ in the village, it was only when I saw her then that I realized the truth.

Riyon’s family had simply given up on her and now she had been brought back to die.

Angie Harris, a nurse from Indianapolis and a part of the team from Center United Methodist Church, was with me last summer when we made that first visit.  She quickly realized that Riyon was being given the wrong medication and encouraged her family to start simple physical therapy. My job was to encourage the caregivers and to let them know that giving up on Riyon was not an option and that CGI would help them as needed with the cost of food, medicines, and even adult diapers.  It was obvious that our willingness to share the burden was enough to encourage the family at least for a little wile. Then we prayed. We prayed from a deep place. And we prayed specifically for healing and for restoration. We asked for nothing short of a miracle – and God said “OK”.

Now for those of you who have a hard time believing in modern day miracles I have both photos and video clips of Riyon before and after.  And while I know that there are ways to reduce or expand just how “miraculous” this event has been all I can say is that on the following day Riyon was actually standing on her own and taking a few steps. Within another day she was eating better and could recognize people around her and even smile.  In recent weeks she has begun walking down the street to a neighbor’s house.  She has gained back her weight and is regaining both strength and confidence every day. So much so, in fact, that I did not immediately recognize her when I arrived at her home today.  She looks so much better. Her recent photo shows that life and hope have returned.

Before I left today Riyon said that she was hoping to soon return to the byTavi workshop. That may actually take longer than she would like but I, for one, believe that she will.

If you have read this far I want to thank you but I would also like to ask you to do one more thing. Would you say a prayer specifically for Riyon asking that she regain an even greater use of her left arm and hand?

Until ALL have heard,
Chris

Great Potential Partnership!

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This week Alan (Beringer) and I met with Mark Kelly and Kimbra Smith of Destiny Rescue.  Destiny Rescue does some direct interventions in Karaoke Bars to “rescue” girls and then provides a safe house situation.  Their current facility is actually only a couple of miles from where the cgiDaughters house was formerly located.

Currently they are caring for close to a hundred formerly trafficked girls.  As is common to nearly all safe house based ministries they excel in the area of care but struggle in the area of reintegration.  Their interest in CGI is to see if there might be a possibility to partner.  The meeting was very productive and I feel that the possibilities are pretty strong that we will come to an agreement in the next week or so.  If that happens we will sign an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that will identify specific roles and responsibilities.  Basically the MOU will say that they will be responsible for the residential side of the program and we will be responsible for the vocational training, spiritual formation and life skills components.

It is likely that eight girls from Destiny Rescue will enter the Imprint Project on December 1st.  The program will be for 12 months.  At the end of 12 months the girls who have successfully completed the course will be offered the opportunity to contract with byTavi as a seamstress or move out on their own.

Thanks for being a part of CGI. You ARE making a difference.

Until ALL have heard,

Chris

(So Much) More than a Fashion Statement

My name is Lindsey Green, and I am the intern for CGI working under the lovely Kristen Baynai and Whitney Vance. I get to assist with CGI events and connect with byTavi and Imprint reps. I’m also the assistant manager at JenDaisy boutique in Greenwood, where Friday, October 25th we will launch the Imprint clothing line in our boutique!

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Jenny Russell (JenDaisy owner) and our staff are excited to introduce an affordable and stylish fair trade clothing line to JenDaisy customers. We strongly believe in the mission CGI has to empower the poor in Cambodia. Each article of clothing in this line shares a story of restoration and hope that will serve as a conversation-starter to raise awareness on extreme poverty and human trafficking.

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I was able to travel to Cambodia four years ago where I met the beautiful ladies and talented seamstresses in CGI’s programs. For four years now they have held a special place in my heart, and I would have never imagined the opportunities I would have to share their stories. Even though I am thousands of miles away from Cambodia, CGI has kept me connected to these women. Having this line at JenDaisy will impact families in Cambodia and I am so thankful for that, but these women have truly impacted me greatly as well. I feel blessed to be a part of the Imprint launch and combine my passion for these women and fashion into one big picture.

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By Lindsey Green

Influence Conference

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Jessi Connolly speaking at the Influence Conference

This past week, byTavi staff member Whitney Vance and I had the pleasure of attending the Influence Conference. I must be honest in saying we had no idea what we were walking into. Personally, I wondered how all these women could walk into Indianapolis from all over the country and instantly feel comfortable in a sea of 300 other women. I am secretly an introvert so it all seemed way crazy.

But after meeting the leadership, and several of the women working to make this event a success, I understood better. You see, these are all bloggers and social media gurus. They build relationships through the truth of their writing and posting. I started to think about how many face-to-face relationships I have that are shallow and even fake, because it is so easy to stay surface level in front of people. But when you really start digging into the truth of life, and open yourself up on paper (or computers), relationships are built without ever meeting that other woman. It’s truly a beautiful thing.

Thank you, Influence Conference, for opening up my eyes to deep and personal relationships, a new way to look at social media, and for allowing us to share the story of our girls and women at the Center for Global Impact. It was refreshing to tell you all about our friends, our programs, and our mission. We hope that you feel empowered to engage the world and empower other women.

By Kristen Baynai