The Rev. Ann Walling, left, and Chantha Nguon wear Mekong Blue scarves at a fashion show in Nashville. (FILE / THE TENNESSEAN)
May 8, 2010By Marjorie Mason
Tennessee Voices
The TennessianBefore I had kids, I dismissed Mother's Day as a Hallmark holiday — a harmless but relatively insignificant occasion to let greeting card companies and florists help you honor your mom.
Then I had kids, and my attitude changed. I work hard for my kids, picking up toys, washing dirty laundry and enduring extended arguments about the merits of regular tooth brushing. Now I think, "Heck yeah, I deserve a day!"
I know I am blessed. But within the last year I have begun to appreciate just how fortunate I am. I have my mother-in-law, Ann Walling, to thank for that. Ann introduced me to Chantha Nguon and the women of the Stung Treng Women's Development Center in rural Cambodia.
Chantha is a founder and head of the center, which works to empower women to escape lives as virtual slaves in the sex trade — their only option for income — through job training and meaningful employment. In Cambodia they have a saying, "Man is gold. Woman is a skirt." Our friend Chantha set out to alter that to: "Man is gold. Woman is a diamond." Beyond the work to support women, Stung Treng also provides child care and education for their children, building a brighter future for their daughters and sons.
Over the past year, our family, led by my mother-in-law, has worked with Chantha and the women of the center to market their line of silk scarves in the U.S. under the brand Mekong Blue Scarves. Through word of mouth and an online store at www.bluesilk.org, in less than six months Mekong Blue has made a world of difference for the women of Stung Treng Women's Development Center. Sales for the center are up 76 percent. Seventeen more women have jobs because of demand. Salaries for the weavers increased 20 percent. The center's school will be able to enroll 50 more children because of the year's success.
All of these numbers bring me deep gratitude, but the most uplifting show of success came in an email from Chantha after a near sell-out the week of Christmas. She wrote that the weavers were overjoyed by the success. "Now they feel like diamonds."
As I reflect on the prosperity we could so easily take for granted, I am humbled by the thought of our friends in Cambodia who are literally weaving new futures for themselves and their families. Mother's Day reminds me that women and mothers do need to be celebrated, lest we undervalue them. This year I'll give cards and flowers to the special women in my life, but I'll also celebrate the millions of women for whom such an expression of appreciation would be a great luxury. I'll celebrate Chantha Nguon, the SWDC and everyone else working to change the lives of women and mothers around the globe.
Marjorie Mason and her husband, Tom, are the owners of Bluesilk.org.
