More About Me
Howdy! I'm RKA. Three and a half years ago, I ditched law school to follow my heartwork as an arts educator with indigenous youth. A proud awesomepreneur, I fund my international social projects with my day job as a freelance writer + web designer. (Next stop: Africa 2013!)
My philosophy: work with heart.
For my web services, visit RKAink.com
For my art + activism, visit RKAinLA.com
Read my 365 Tips For Working With Heart on Awesomepreneurship.com.
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/04/05/buy-ebooks-suck-and-support-awesome-girls-shift-africa-2013/
Buy eBooks Suck! and Support Awesome Girls Shift Africa 2013
I am thrilled to the gills to be one of the 41 amazing contributors to the Amazon bestseller eBooks Suck! (But They Don’t Have To) — the most comprehensive guide to eBook conception, creation, and promotion quite possibly ever. I am especially thrilled because RKA ink is now selling…
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/03/12/countdown-to-awesomepreneur-2-0-we-need-you/
Countdown to Awesomepreneur 2.0: We Need You!
Awesomepreneur is re-launching next month with a fresh new design and a heartier mission: to bring readers daily recipes for mixing more passion and purpose into their work lives with tips, strategies, and stories from heartworking awesomepreneurs around the world. (Sneak a peek at the…
The latest from RKA in LA: http://www.RKAinLA.com/2013/03/esta-que-soy-international-womens-day-2013/
Ésta Que Soy: International Women’s Day 2013
On March 8, 2013, in honor of International Women’s Day, the Centro Hemisférico invited the community of San Cristóbal de las Casas to the steps of la Iglesia de Guadalupe for a poetic urban intervention centered on Chiapanecan poet Mirtha Luz Pérez Robledo’s work Ésta que soy….
I think as far as perception goes, people assume that Asian women are passive and submissive because they are expected to respect their men. Here’s the thing about that respect: Western ideas always look into just that one side, therefore ignoring the fact that the men are expected to respect the women too. It’s a mutual arrangement.
And the thing is, people’s idea that Southeast Asian women as weak is the biggest bullshit ever. Power, in history, was divided between the two groups (trans is another story altogether): financial and politics. We didn’t have suffragette because women’s historical position was always good until Western influences came in. Our fight in feminism has always been about stopping abuse and harassment, and only when the divide-and-rule colonialism came in did this changed our social structure.
Here is something I wrote for a website, but they failed to publish it when it was meant for International Women’s Day, despite my having to work on this for five days, asking various people from various parts of Southeast Asia about what female figure from their country inspire them. Some people have asked, “Where’s the article you made us help you with?” It wasn’t published, guys, so I’m sorry that I can’t spread the coolness of these women on a standard that isn’t localised. Maybe these women don’t deserve the attention they would have garnered, maybe some people still don’t give a shit about Asian women, or maybe, you know, who gives a fuck about what Teah writes. Feminism is supposed to be white women’s game, right? Only they can lead, remember? Am I going to wait for an explanation why it wasn’t published? Nope, not when I feel like i’ve been marginalised since I first joined the publication (a woman of colour from another part of the world, guys, what value do I have?) Also, like, time difference. It’s so wonky and weird and it makes my little female brain scramble.
But here’s the article for you guys who helped me, and thanks for giving me these amazing selections of women.
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Era Al-Sufri, Expeditionist, Brunei
Era Al-Sufri is a petite woman who kicks major ass. Having lived in a tropical country all her life, she was Brunei’s first ever person to reach the South Pole. Have I mentioned that Brunei is a tropical country?! With sand and no winter?! Do you realise how the transition from living your whole life breathing in hot air to skiing in the snow every single day for thirty-eight days can be a feat to your body?! Being a small country, having Era planting a Brunei flag in the Antarctic is almost like sending someone to the moon (until Brunei actually sends someone to the moon) which is why Era has been given the adorable national title of ‘Polar Girl’.
All of these were made possible when she participated in the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition in 2009, where she was later honoured with the Young Woman Achiever in 2010 by AsiaInc Forum and the Excellent Youth Award by the Brunei government. Era is not stopping there and hopes to do more in the future, claiming herself to be an adventurer. Era is currently studying for her Masters Degree at Cornell University under the prestigious Fullbright scholarship.
It all started with the murder of 17 year old Itzel Janet Méndez Pérez last April. Local news ‘memorialized’ Itzel with graphic accounts of her death, ignoring what—and who—she left behind in life while authorities lagged in finding those who took it from her. A coalition of human rights leaders and family members came together to demand justice: “Not one more!”
Ni Una Más kicked off with a citywide art campaign: a hand-drawn portrait of Itzel as its centerpiece. On May 14, 2012, twelve hundred people marched through San Cristóbal, portraits in hand, to assure that Itzel remained visible. In the months to come, portraits graduated to masks, which became three-dimensional silhouettes of women’s faces, expanding Itzel’s visibility to include the dozens of other Chiapanecan women murdered in acts of femicide. Last month, Ni Una Más filled the city with painted lanterns, each bearing the name of a different woman killed since January 2012.
“When a woman is killed—decapitated—she becomes la que encontraron (the woman they found),” explains lead organizer and political performance artist Doris Difarnecio. “She is not only physically headless. She is nameless. We want to make [these womens’] lives visible.”
Read the full article, “Can Art Stop Murder? Ni Una Más in Chiapas, Mexico Is Trying” by Rachael Kay Albers on Bitch Media.
The latest from RKA in LA: http://www.RKAinLA.com/2013/03/can-art-stop-murder-ni-una-mas-in-chiapas-mexico-is-trying/
Can Art Stop Murder? Ni Una Más in Chiapas, Mexico Is Trying
Photo credit: Lydia Reich Read the full article on Bitch Media.
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/03/08/awesomepreneurs-in-africa-why-i-gave-my-gift-to-the-shift/
Awesomepreneurs In Africa: Why I Gave My Gift To The Shift
Editor’s note: Today’s post by awesomepreneur Faith Odhiambo is the first in a four part series on the work of Girls Shift Africa in Mombasa, Kenya. We would like to announce that we have extended our application deadline for this summer’s Awesome Girls Shift Africa 2013…
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/03/08/your-awesome-sauce-ingredients-for-the-month-of-march/
Your Awesome Sauce Ingredients For The Month of March
Today’s Awesome Sauce ingredients are peace and justice flavored in honor of International Women’s Day. Before moving to Mexico, I didn’t fully understand what this day was all about. What I’ve learned after four years of marches, performances, and vigils is that, while…
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/02/20/heartwork-on-fire-awesomeprenur-in-africa-sheila-otienos-story/
Heartwork-on-Fire: Awesomeprenur In Africa Sheila Otieno’s Story
[RKA Note: Today’s guest post comes to us from Sheila Otieno, the heartworking founder of Safe Girls For Change in Kenya—another awesome organization led by women for women in Africa. I am so excited and honored to share Sheila’s story with you today. Please go ahead bookmark the Safe Girls…
The moment I stopped demanding The Answer, life resolved The Question. My (he)artwork had been waiting for me in the mountains of Mexico all along, ready to reveal itself when I was ready to see it. But here’s the catch: I would never have found it had I not learned to embrace my “mistakes” along the way as sign posts, not roadblocks.
And that’s what I want to share with all of you who are striving to be “unlost”: the road you seek may very well be diverged in what, at first glance, looks like a dead end. There will be tears. Cry them. There will be naysayers. Ignore them. And there will be signs. Follow them. All of them. Because somewhere in that terrifying darkness, your (he)artwork is searching for you.
Rachael Kay Albers, “I Ditched Law School To Follow My (He)art,” published on TheUnlost.com
The latest from RKA in LA: http://www.RKAinLA.com/2013/02/ni-una-mas-valentines-day-the-san-cristobal-way/
¡Ni Una Más! Valentine’s Day The San Cristóbal Way
On February 14, 2013, ten months after the murder of Itzel Janet Méndez Pérez, several hundred people gathered in the center of San Cristóbal de las Casas with white lanterns marked with the names of the 91 Chiapanecan victims of feminicide that died between January 2012 and February 2013….
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/02/10/tip-42-give-more-than-you-get/
Tip #42: Give More Than You Get
Our final tip in a glorious week of guest awesomepreneurs comes from Amanda Abella of Grad Meets World. Amanda is a freelance writer and coach for millenials who want to lead kickass lives (yes, please!) and help others do the same (pretty please!). How does she do it? It’s all about the…
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/02/09/tip-41-its-not-all-about-the/
Tip #41: It’s Not All About The $$$
Today’s tip comes from Sarah MacDougall of Gigi & Poocha, a stationery design boutique that is not doing any favors for my wedding fever. (But, seriously, though–have you seen the save the dates on this girl? Someone toss a bouquet my way!) For more on why we’re head over…
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/02/08/whoa-affirmations-and-the-2013-rka-theme-song/
Whoa. Affirmations. (And The 2013 RKA Theme Song!)
So…affirmations. Do they work? I touched on affirmations this summer in my RKA in LA post, My Love/Hate Relationship With Positive Psychology. I wrote: Remember when Rhonda Byrne “discovered” The Secret and everyone and their mom started parroting the insane notion that, with just a…
The latest from Awesomepreneur - Work With Heart: http://www.rkaink.com/2013/02/08/tip-40-dont-let-comparisons-steal-your-joy/
Tip #40: Don’t Let Comparisons Steal Your Joy
Today’s tip comes from (not) just another hardworking chick: Bridget Kuglin of Sweet B Designs. (See her adorable logo to complete the pun.) Sweet B Designs is the perfect example of heartwork-in-action: Bridget blends art + strategy + communication to do what she loves (make mad pretty…
