VIV Says: Blog

OmniPeace's Congo line features a collage of artwork created by child survivors of violence.

When we first spied Mary Fanaro’s OmniPeace T-shirts last year, we immediately snapped one up in support of her organization’s efforts to eliminate poverty by 2025 and promote peace, education and human rights. Now OmniPeace has a new line of tees devoted to raising awareness of violence against women and girls in the Congo. Having befriended survivors of the Sudanese genocide in our hometown, we are motivated to do whatever we can do to help out — including donning one of these tees.

A hit with celebs such as Jennifer Aniston, Sheryl Crow and Courteney Cox Arquette, the new Congo tees feature a collage of artwork by child victims of violence, who, through OmniPeace partner Art of Humanity, use art to express what they’ve gone through and what they hope for. Twenty-five percent of the cost of the shirts, which range in price from $78–$79, is donated to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Eve Ensler’s V-Day foundation to build the City of Joy, a healing center in the Congo for survivors of violence. The hangtags double as call-to-action postcards to the president, urging him to stop the illegal trade in minerals sold by violent groups, in support of the V-Day/UNICEF “Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource” campaign.

“I couldn’t believe when I heard the stories of such unfathomable violence against women and children as young as 3 years old,” Fanaro told us. “And then when I heard that there was actually something we could do about it and that technology companies were participating in the violence by purchasing minerals from the Congo, then I knew I had to do something through OmniPeace that brought attention to these matters.”

Women like Fanaro inspire us to get involved with causes, whether it’s donating time, money or both. What’s your favorite way to give back?