Dear Shala Family,
Thanks to Barbara and Kristen, today your practice will help support the work of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, a non-profit organization that I co-founded and lead, that works to uplift the women — mostly women of color — who work in our homes as nannies, home care workers and housekeepers, doing the caregiving and cleaning work that is essential to our families.
Throughout history, this work has been undervalued and invisible. Excluded from some of the most basic protections most of us take for granted, most domestic workers work incredibly hard, and struggle to make ends meet. Today it is also one of the fastest growing professions in our entire economy, especially in light of the growing need for elder care in our country.
Through grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, culture change and innovation, we work to uplift this workforce, and all women, particularly women of color. And because the women who do this work are often also women of color and immigrants— we work on a range of issues: from making child care and elder care more affordable, to ending family separation and securing voting rights. Your support will ensure that we continue to make progress on those issues while ensuring we take care of the people who care for us.
This year — 2020 — is crucial for us. The stakes could not be higher as we plan to run the largest women of color voter mobilization program in the country, focused in the South and the Southwest, in addition to advocating for key policy changes that will help us make progress on some of the most pressing issues of our time. We believe the civic participation of women — all women — could change the direction of this country, not just this election but for the next several decades.
As someone who has a deep love for Ashtanga yoga, it brings me great joy to know that this community is supporting peace and justice in this way. I do believe this practice cultivates our capacity to be of service in whatever ways feel authentic to us. The fact that this community is also finding ways to support solutions that address the imbalances of power at the root of injustice in our world is truly inspiring.
On behalf of all of us at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, thank you!
With love,
Ai-jen
