About

Emerge Global supports Sri Lankan girls, ages 10-18, who are housed in protective shelters due to sexual abuse or the threat of abuse and are courageously testifying in court against their perpetrators, who are often male family members. Through collaboration with these shelters, Emerge provides a comprehensive curriculum that emphasizes leadership, life skills, and business knowledge and helps each girl generate a financial foundation by creating and selling her own unique jewelry. Emerge sells jewelry created through the program in the U.S., Sri Lanka, and online, with 50% of the sale price going back to the girls who created the pieces.

Emerge Global’s ultimate goal is to empower a generation of young women who have survived abuse with the personal, social, and financial capital needed to support themselves and their children and to solve their own community's most pressing problems.

Founded in 2008 by Alia Whitney-Johnson (a student at MIT at the time), Emerge Global is largely run by a dedicated team of volunteers based in the U.S. and Sri Lanka.

Emerge operates three programs:
1) Beads-to-Business: The girls learn to make high quality jewelry and use this skill as the foundation for practicing setting up and managing their own small businesses. The curriculum tackles concepts such as budgeting, inventory management, product development, marketing, branding, and financing.

2) Life Skills: Through a weekly workshop series, girls learn about:
· Goals and future planning
· Health (including reproductive health)
· Money management
· Finding safe work
· Community development

3) Mentorship: Each girl has a peer mentor who helps her navigate the curriculum. Former participants return as “Peer Educators” to relay their own personal transition into society and to help teach various workshops. Emerge also runs an adult mentorship program to support girls in planning for their adult lives.

Sales Information:
· 50% of each piece of jewelry’s selling price goes back to the creator’s individual savings accounts so that when she turns 18, she will have money to take care of herself and, in some cases, her children.
· Out of the remaining 50%, $0.25 per product goes to a Community Fund, through which participants design and implement their own community projects.
· The rest covers the cost of materials and product distribution, so that Emerge Global can support the healing of more survivors.
· Emerge sells jewelry online, through college campuses, and through a dedicated network of Emerge Agents, individuals who become champions of our cause by selling Emerge jewelry through “jewelry parties” with their friends, at their work place, school, church, etc.
· To date, Emerge has sold more than $85,000 of jewelry, directly benefiting hundreds of girls in Sri Lanka.

General Impact:
· To date, Emerge has worked with more than 200 girls, coming from all parts of Sri Lanka.
· Girls have learned to count and do basic math through our programs:
· They have spoken their first words after weeks of being removed from their traumatic pasts.
· They have made dear friends to support them in their transition to society.
· They have developed a renewed sense of confidence in themselves and their own goals.
· Every $1 invested into a girl’s materials helps her generate more than $3.80 in savings.
· Some girls have made more than $1,800 in just one year of participating in Emerge’s programs. Girls have used this money to finance future education, take care of children, pay for medical support, run businesses, and even build homes.

Givology is proud to welcome Emerge Global to our network - in particular, we find the sustainable model of economic empowerment truly inspiring.

In this partnership, Givology will support Emerge’s education programs - to provide the girls with necessary basic skills to take advantage of their newfound economic opportunities!