Mari Gardner traveled to Mbabane, Swaziland from November 8 to November 22, 2008. During her trip she worked with local orphanages and not-for-profit organizations such as the AIDS Support Center to expose as many different sectors of society to her art as her visit would allow. Her visit particularly benefited the women and children of Mbabane. She held discussions and lectures with the women of various domestic abuse centers, where she was able to not only touch on her artwork, but also to delve deeper into human rights issues and gender-based violence.
The culmination of Gardner's visit was an exhibit created by some of the women with whom she worked. They created self portraits as well as video and audio recordings as a means of self expression. The women very much had control of their own displays and expressed the feelings that the experience helped them to find a certain degree of inner strength following their individual ordeals.