Support Marta Resource Centre for Women!

When I lived in Latvia as a Fulbrighter in 2007-2008 I was able to volunteer for a year at Marta Resource Center for Women, a non-governmental organization working for gender equality and against gender violence located in Riga. They were kind enough to welcome me into their organization when I had no real world experience with the issue of trafficking. I learned a lot from my time there and my experiences there have forever shaped my view on anti-trafficking NGOs. You can read more about my work there on my previous blog Adventures in Latvia. Every time I go back to Latvia I always try and stop by to see how everyone is doing and hear about the issues and projects they are working on. Last time I stopped by on my birthday for the open house in their new office located closer to the city center. They sang me Daudz baltu dieniņu, the Latvian birthday song and even made me take pictures with the staff and the US Ambassador to Latvia Mark Pekala since I used to work there. Here is the picture

This organization has done so much to demand equality in Latvia and I am always very impressed at the work that they do for that country. They have been fighting for many European issues such as the abolition of prostitution and LGBT equality before many other organizations were willing to even discuss them. While Latvia is a socially conservative country Marta Centre has championed a number of issues related to equality and constantly keeps the Latvian government on its toes! They are looking for support so I wanted to write a post asking my readers to think about donating to this wonderful organization that stands up for equality and fights for what is right even though sometimes it makes them unpopular in the small country of Latvia. Here is a link where you can make your tax deductible donation and support Marta Resource Centre for Women.