Sponsors

A letter from an early supporter...

The Kolo: Women’s Cross Cultural Collaboration
Kolo/Circle in Bosnia, Sri Lanka and Washington State
7638 58th Ave NE Olympia, WA 98516
(360) 455-4701
www.kolocollaboration.org

To: Rockpowerforgirls.org
November, 15, 2005

Hello Misty McElroy,
As executive director of the Kolo: Women’s Cross Cultural Collaboration (Kolo: WCCC) it has come to our attention of your availability to continue your valuable work with young women and rock and roll. This is an invitation to do so under the umbrella of the Kolo: WCCC.

The Kolo: Women's Cross Cultural Collaboration (The Kolo: WCCC), a 501© (3) non-profit, focuses on intersecting women's collaboration, representation and advocacy for gender justice to halt gender violence internationally and nationally. The Kolo: WCCC promotes and provides women's trauma counseling, treatment with a feminist and archetypal perspective coupled with cross cultural practices that enable women in war torn countries, such as Bosnia, the Balkans and Sri Lanka to become self-sustainable in their communities.

What has transpired with your work –Rockpowerforgirls.org- is the alignment of values in the Kolo: WCCC. Recently, I was appointed as a Gender Psycho-social Victims Expert for the International Criminal Courts in the Hague, Holland due to my trauma treatment and training work in catastrophic events such as war, war crimes- rapes, and natural disasters. The ever-rising violence globally to include the United States has been researched and documented by Amnesty International with their statistic of 1 billion females raped, murdered and beaten. This means one out of three females has been a victim of crime.

It is nine times safer on the streets for young girls in the United States reports Jane Caputi. Rock power for girls' innovative approach for self defense beyond contact through rock and roll is the essence of "peaceful dimensions against gender violence." The Kolo: WCCC's annual conference, "Peaceful Dimensions against Gender Violence," also has done innovative approaches to stem the violence.

Since it is known that you have suffered greatly from gender violence, the work you do for these young girls is made even more invaluable. With one in three females experiencing extreme violence, the cold hard fact is that many of the young women in the rock camp, in schools, at the job, on the bus or sidewalks are already victims of stalkers, rapists and beatings by someone they know. All of it is totally unavoidable. Your own experience and that of the young women you work attest to the violence that is everywhere.

Perhaps the greatest gift from this is your ability to provide safety and an evolving approach to halt violence with rock power for girls. Your expertise and integrity is greatly needed.

Looking forward to collaborating together,
Danica Anderson