Spring is here at Global Village, and we have busy month ahead of us.  March is Women's History Month.  Celebrate with us and save 25% off jewelry, bags, and accessories.


Wednesday, March 9, 7 pm, we will be joining members of Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance and other environmental groups at the ICC Performing Arts Center  for a showing of Merchants of Doubt, a 2014 documentary that looks at pundits-for-hire who present themselves as scientific authorities and speak about topics like toxic chemicals, pharmaceuticals and climate change.

While the subject is sobering, the movie has a satirical tone that will keep you  entertained.  It's informative: the filmmakers interviewed people on both sides of the debate, but there is no doubt where their sympathies lie. 

The showing is free.  Bring your friends and family.

Thursday, March 17, 7pm, we will have guest at our monthly board meeting at Forrest Hill Methodist Church in Peoria.  Oliver Koh will talking briefly with us about the educational system in his homeland in the area of Mentang-Fundong in Cameroon, West Africa.  Join us for Oliver's program and then stay, if you like, for our business meeting
 
The school system includes nursery, primary, secondary, high and professional schools.Mentang has two primary schools and one secondary school. There are 69 primary schools in the Fundong council, which is like our city council and mayoral system, has provided basic minimum didactic material, text books, benches, some solar lamps and most importantly scholarships for the children to go to school. The scholarships range between $ 5.00 and $ 10.00 per student. The council has also constructed 2 classrooms, supplied roofing sheets, constructed pit toilets, and extended water pipes. As you can read from these items the villages are in need of the most rudimentary items especially, education.

This spring volunteers and customers of Global Village will be raising money for these children and the classroom.  This can be done in two ways 1.) Donate through the bird cage in the shop while you are there or 2) come to the World Hunger Dinner  on April 5 at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Peoria where all entry donations will go to support these children.  The World Hunger Dinner will be part of our Annual Board meeting.  We will also have guest speaker Jim Goetsch from Friends of the Third World that evening.  More details to come.  Like our Facebook page or give us a call at the shop 309-681-8180

From the GirlsEmpo website:  "In January 2014, ASOEMPO in partnership with the Village of Barra de Lámpara and the parents of ten villages founded a secondary school and started operating school boats  to address the high rate of adolescent girls and boys out of school. We put the word out on the river: If you want to go to school, we’ll drive by your village and pick you up.

"More than 100 children ages 12-18 from ten rural communities enrolled—half of them girls. Within only two months, the school was recognized by the Ministry of Education as a public school and within five months, the Ministry and the municipal government of Livingston committed to help fund teachers beginning in 2015.

"And so the Instituto Nacional Educación Básica de Barra de Lámpara came into being. Together with many collaborators and supporters, we have created a sustainable solution for secondary education in our rural area—essential to empowering girls and benefiting all youth."

Moms are ambitious for their children.  Fair Trade provides a living wage for an artisan or small farmer.  In addition a Fair Trade premium is paid to the community, which can be used to build schools, to improve housing, land or the water supply, to upgrade equipment or medical care.  Through participation in a farmer or artisan's co-op, a woman can find her voice and make decisions for her community.  And all of these benefits will give her children opportunities for a better life--whether the child follows in Mom's footsteps, becoming a better prepared farmer or crafts-person, or launches a new career.

Read how Fair Trade is making difference in the lives of mothers and their families.

World Fair Trade Day is Saturday, May 10.  Join us at Global Village for a sidewalk sale, door prizes, and coffee and chocolate samples.  We will also have bluegrass duo "Josh and Keith" performing  in front of our store from noon till 3:00pm.  Find the perfect gift for the Mom in your life.

This week, April 6-12, we are celebrating National Volunteer Week.  For ten--almost eleven--years, volunteers have been the lifeblood of Global Village.  Our board members, our shop staff, our friends who work our tables during special events...all volunteers!  And we are grateful for the hours of service our volunteers donate to Global Village every year.

This year our annual Global Village board meeting comes during National Volunteer Week.  April 10 we will welcome in new board members and say goodbye to retiring board members Elizabeth Imtairah, who has done our purchasing for several years, Clare Tschirn, who has worked to organize our yearly store inventory, and Elijah Samson, our newsletter editor for the last two years.  We give thanks for their time and their talents.

You are invited to join us on Thursday evening at Forrest Hill United Methodist Church for soup and dessert.  Dr. Martha Willi, Medical Director of Haiti Mission Connection,  will speak about Haitian culture.  Haiti Mission Connection, Inc., based in Peoria, seeks to help the people of the Haitian village of Bodarie by helping to provide medical care at a year-round clinic staffed by a Haitian nurse, household water purification systems, and assistance for the school operated by the parish of St. Benoit.

Forrest Hill United Methodist Church is located at 706 E Forrest Hill Ave in Peoria.  We have a very brief board meeting at 6:30 pm to formally elect our slate of board members, then food and our program.  Please help us celebrate our invaluable Global Village volunteers.

It felt like Spring was a long time coming, but here we are!  And whether you celebrate Holi (the Hindu Festival of Colors), St. Patrick's Day, Ostara (Wicca), Purim and Passover (Jewish), Nowruz / Naw-Ruz (Baha'i, Zoroastrian, Iranian New Year), or Easter (Christian), this is the season of renewal and hope.

It's time to get outside and revel in this newmade world.  Check out the Events page:  In April we will be at Forest Park Nature Center for Earth Day, and the next weekend we are going to Party for the Planet at the Peoria Zoo.  May brings us World Fair Trade Day, and we like to open the front door and move our goodies out to the sidewalk.  And June 7th brings us both the West Moss Avenue Sale and the Fire Arts Fair in Peoria Heights.

And you come see us at Global Village!  We have new merchandise arriving almost every other day.  Yay, Spring!