SistersGeographic (SG) was conceived in 2000. The founder and editor of SistersGeographic (SG), Siobhan Fitzpatrick Austin, was inspired to create SistersGeographic based on an article she wrote about a women's artisan cooperative in a developing country that was created for impoverished women. The cooperative saved these women's lives by providing a sustainable way to earn a living by selling their crafts. The article was written for a former indie magazine "Speak."
After writing the article, Siobhan traveled to India and Thailand where she visited numerous women's artisan cooperatives that helped many once disenfranchised women, including those who had been in physically abusive relationships, earn a living wage in a safe way. By extension, the children of these women were helped too.
Originally, SistersGeographic was going to feature these and other women's crafts from developing countries on SG's website and link them directly to the cooperatives' individual websites, but at that time, many of the cooperatives did not have websites and it proved to be logistically challenging. As a result, for many years, SistersGeographic lay "dormant," but SG came to life again a few years ago, when it received official 501C3 status, and changed its trajectory. SistersGeographic now dedicates its efforts to helping women and girls in need throughout the globe by raising awareness about issues they face with links to organizations that help them directly, through articles and our nonprofit database.
SistersGeographic still emphasizes developing countries, but it also spotlights leaders and organizations in the U.S. that help women in need, in addition to other vulnerable groups including the LGBTQ community.
Through its “Sisters In Action” arm, SistersGeographic raises awareness and sometimes funds for organizations through artistic means. A play that Siobhan wrote, "REHAB" raised awareness about the issue of addiction. And another play she wrote, "Waking Kya,” the story of an African refugee woman, that has been produced at numerous colleges and other venues throughout the U.S. including Northwestern University, Florida Atlantic University, New Rochelle College, Symphony Space in Manhattan and many more, has helped raise awareness about the plight of displaced persons throughout the world, and shines a light on the particular challenges that women face in refugee camps. Its debut performance raised funds for the Women's Refugee Commission in Manhattan.
SistersGeographic is planning on sponsoring the production of another play sometime in 2021 (stay tuned) that will raise funds for a nonprofit based in Manhattan. Specifics will be provided as soon as a concrete date can be set for the performance (it depends on when theaters can safely open up due to Covid-19) .
SistersGeographic truly hopes that in its very small way, it might inspire readers to support the organizations SG highlights, either through volunteering for a nonprofit that really resonates with them, donating to it or simply spreading the word about it. Please note that SistersGeographic does NOT accept any funding for these organizations - readers have to contact each nonprofit directly. The only thing SistersGeographic respectfully asks is that individuals let us know through our contact page if they were moved to contact an organization by reading about it on our website. This kind of feedback fuels us to continue our mission!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and have a wonderful day!