The Lost Children Charity Anthologies: a little about... Sif Dal

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

a little about... Sif Dal

Sif Anna Dal contributed her story "Pretty Little Girl" to the challenge:

What inspired your story?

My story was inspired by the many children I see at our local shopping centre with their parents. The parents are often young, and lead tough lives, and their children are the baggage they must carry along with them.
For these children this is the only life they know and they find joys and comforts in their life, seemingly unaware of the pitying glances of bypasses.

What Makes this cause important to you?

I have long been an advocate of children. I have studied child development and helped to run parenting forums and groups based on attachment theory. I see that there is a dualism in how children are perceived throughout
much of society; as both precious and to be protected, but also less sentient because of their inability to communicate their complex needs and emotions. I am keen for the voices of children to be heard.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I am a mother of four boys and a compulsive writer. I have degrees in Communications, Education and Creative Writing and am currently preparing to undertake a Doctorate (doing research in the field of folklore). I post several times a week on my blog "At the Bottom of the Garden" (http://www.wherethefairieslive.com) about life as a writer and mother of four who also lives with low vision and ADHD - my blog is rather eclectic
but I post bits of writing most weeks.

1 comment:

Fiona JohnsonOctober 26, 2011 at 2:33 PM
My goodness Sif, you are a busy lady! Great to find out more about you and thanks once more for your support and contribution
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What's the story behind the project?

Protectors:
The Lost Children Charity Anthology was such a success, that Thomas Pluck decided to collect stories from a variety of authors to benefit PROTECT, a lobby whose victories against child abuse include the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, the Hero to Hero program, and Alicia's Law. He collected 41 stories from all new authors. Thanks to the inspiration of goodhearted people like Fiona Johnson, and the people of PROTECT who fight the abuse and exploitation of our children every day, the book is a reality, and 100% of proceeds benefit PROTECT.

For the first anthology:
The challenge began on Flash Fiction Friday, when author Fiona Johnson was guest writer for the fiction prompt, and asked us to write about the lost children. She asked photographer Danielle Tunstall for permission to use the arresting photo shown in the right sidebar, and said:

Some children are lost before they have even started living. Some children are a throw-away commodity like a burger box that’s left to blow down the street in the wind and rain.

I offered to donate $5 for each story submitted to PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children, and Fiona would donate $5 to Children 1st, a children's charity in Scotland. Together we raised $300 for each of the charities thanks to the generous and creative writing communities of Flash Fiction Friday, Fictionaut, and the crime fiction community on Twitter.

It was such a success that we thought we could go further. Ron Earl Phillips, Fiona and I chose 30 of the best stories to put in a charity anthology, all proceeds of which will go to PROTECT and Children 1st.

100% of royalties donated to two causes:

OUR DONATION RECORD

PROTECT and The National Association to Protect Children (USA)

The National Association to Protect Children is a national, pro-child, anti-crime membership association founded on the belief that our first and most sacred obligation as parents, citizens, and members of the human species is the protection of children from harm.

PROTECT is a bipartisan pro-child, anti-crime lobby whose sole focus is making the protection of children a top political and policy priority at the national, state and local level.

You can read about PROTECT's Victories here.

100% of the proceeds of Protectors, and 50% of the proceeds of Lost Children: A Charity Anthology, are donated to PROTECT.

This is an independently organized event, not officially sponsored by [NAPC/PROTECT]

Children 1st (UK)

Children 1st has 125 years experience of working with children and families, previously as the Royal Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSSPCC). Today, they support families under stress, protect children from harm and neglect, help them to recover from abuse and promote children's rights and interests. You can read more about their work with children here.

50% of proceeds of the Lost Children Charity Anthology go to Children 1st.

This is an independently organized event, not officially sponsored by Children 1st.