Evelyn Mejil Crosses Cultures to Give Children Hope
Evelyn Mejil (right) Crosses Cultures in India to Help Children Grow Stronger and Enrich Their Lives
What do you or your project do?
My name is Evelyn Mejil, founder of Project H.O.P.E. 360. Project H.O.P.E. 360 was founded to give a voice to survivors. We serve children and women victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, violence and social injustice. We serve the global community. We identify areas of high risk and great need of volunteerism and advocacy, and then... [EDIT – It currently reads nicely but very (too) general. People would love to know specifics. Include what you actually do "on the ground" in areas you visit... specifics are key... for example what do you specifically and physically do each day, week, or month you are in a community... do you teach, help survivors tell their stories by interviewing them, help build schools, etc]
Who do you do it for?
We do it for children and women who... [EDIT – Include more about the people you serve, who your project is open to, how you locate / connect with them, etc.]
Why do you do it?
I created Project H.O.P.E. 360 because I know the need for survivors to have a voice. Victimization can steal your voice in a way that not even silence can capture, because even in silence you can still hear our cry. It is one of the most devastating impacts of victimization. I learned this once I became vocal about being a survivor. When people pressed on for me to share more of my story out of curiosity, because it makes for a better story on print or in the media, or even because they could relate, I can still feel the iron grip of victimization tugging at my very core. I know that for me and for all victims, we need to create a voice so loud it will shatter the stigma of victimization and give rise to a new identity found only in face of survival because we shouldn't have to keep fighting to survive even after our victimization. My hope is that our voices will become louder than any victimization or stigma, until no victim is overlooked and we are invisible no more.
How did you start?
I founded the project after my resignation as CEO of Senator Wynona Lipman Child Advocacy Center. After twenty years of a traditional career, I felt it was time to do more and to do different. I decided that I would combine my two greatest passions, service and travel, and I embarked on a global humanitarian tour. I set out to travel the world, while also volunteering my time to causes that serve children and women victims of abuse and injustice. I've been serving and volunteering my time since I was seventeen, for me this is a way of life, with no start date or no end date. However, my travels with Project H.O.P.E. 360 began in January of 2017.
What makes it unique?
Project H.O.P.E. 360 is unique because it is one of the only travel based organizations created and run by a survivor to raise awareness...
[EDIT – Add more about what makes your project especially unique today in the world of raising awareness for survivors ... the social media aspects are not necessarily unique because almost every other project uses them as well... in other words, almost every project today uses social media, but how does your project stand out in the world?]
[EDIT – Skip following for now since it's "future" and we'd like to highlight the work your already/currently doing today.] Project H.O.P.E. 360 will soon become an interactive project. People with my same level of experience and expertise will have the same opportunity to volunteer their time and help organizations without ever leaving the comfort of their home. Project H.O.P.E. will seek to work collaboratively with a global network of experts in children and women issues and social media content, that are willing to volunteer their time from the comfort of their own home and help strategize and provide technical assistance for the support, expansion, advancement and sustainability of agencies Project H.O.P.E. is actively collaborating with and helping to promote causes impacting the global community via social media.
Today social media is one of the most powerful tools of communication. I decided to use it in the most powerful way, to educate the public about causes that matter. Raising awareness through social media about issues that need the support of the collective minds and hearts of the people is engaging and effective. Topics such as the victimization of children and women can be difficult to bare, but with social media, people can spend their leisure moments using the social media applications they love, catching up with loved ones and latest news, while also coming across information that is educational, informative and learn it, so that together we foster a hope for peace and empowerment of all people.
What do you love about it?
I love that when someone joins Project H.O.P.E. 360, they are uniting their voice to our existing family so that together we can do great things. I love that in the simplicity of unity, hope can be birthed. People coming together with just a heart of service, can unify the experience, talent, skills, knowledge, creativity and expertise needed to bring forth the hope of peace and empowerment for our community across the globe.
How do you / does it make learning awesome?
It makes learning awesome for survivors because we aim to shatter taboos and misconceptions rooted in unworthiness and powerlessness often associated with being a survivor. Survivors can unlearn the shame of being a victim and learn the courage of being an overcomer. Through service and advocacy for peace and empowerment, we learn that we are not voiceless and that we are not powerless.
We make learning awesome by... [EDIT – Add more about how your project makes learning awesome for children. For example, do children of abuse have a harder time in schools / education because of things like low self-esteem or challenges in focusing, and by your project allowing them to share their stories of survival and hope and form friendships with you, help them focus, or otherwise help them do better in school/education?]
Anything else you’d like to share?
Project H.O.P.E. 360 is not just a service project, it's a way of life. My great hope is to change the collective consciousness so that one day we will all honor our children and our women. This effort began with me, I had to learn the most beautiful lesson of all, to love and to honor me. Above all, my great hope is that survivors will also learn the beauty of self love and to honor themselves, so that the world may also love and honor them. In life, this is the greatest lesson of all, to learn to love, be loved and be love.
My greatest personal lesson has been, always follow your vision, even if you're the only one that can see it. My vision was to be the change I want to see in the world. The moment I decided to live authentically, I became the change I want to see in the world. As a survivor, I am hope realized. As an overcome, I have peace. As a bond servant to those still in great need, I am empowerment.
Project H.O.P.E. 360 is hope.
