As many of you already know, I am safe and sound in Tanzania. I flew into Kigali, Rwanda last Friday at 9:30am....so I have been here for 6 days so far. It is beautiful here. The view from my veranda looks out on the hillside and rivers in Rwanda and Burundi, and on a clear day you can actually see the volcanoes in the Congo and Uganda. It's breathtaking. There are birds and lizards everywhere. Yes mosquitoes too, but they're not as bad as I had imagined. Our yard yields bananas, pineapple, mangoes, pomegranate, avocados...and really can grow anything else you might need (we are starting to work on a garden project to make WomenCraft more self sufficient food-wise...I'll keep you posted). In these remote, quiet hills of Tanzania, it seems impossible that horrific violence shook this area less than 20 years ago. The house I live in was built and lived in by the United Nations during the genocide and the open-air farmers market in the center of town in Ngara is sheltered by UN Rwandan refugee tents. You can feel the history here.
One thing I need everyone to do is to take a deep breath, and calm down. People hear the word "Africa", and so many images from movies, photos and the news flood into their imaginations. Africa (so far from my experience) is absolutely as beautiful as you have imagined it, and nowhere near as scary. In Ngara, women are not wandering around topless and hordes of men are not rolling through town in tanks with guns. People are just living-in a very different way than we do in the states, but still...they're just living day to day. If the internet is ever fast enough, I'll try to upload some more photos.
My first impressions of Kigali, Rwanda was that it was very,very clean (much cleaner than almost anywhere I went to in India), and very business oriented. People were busy working and contributing to their city, and Rwanda is doing all it can to encourage tourism and growth after the genocide. In fact, my plane from Nairobi to Kigali was almost entirely filled with white folk. Apparently, Kigali is a big draw for Westerners.
I have so so so much I want to share, and I will. I still have stories from India I am intending on writing. But first off, I need to focus on the reason I'm here: WomenCraft. And I need your help. These women need your help. The poverty here is astonishing and the problems and obstacles overwhelming, but Shannon (my co-worker) and I are determined to make an impact over the next year and move things forward. We can't do it alone.
I could write out everything you need to know about WomenCraft here, but that would be silly. We have resources! Here is our website and brand new Facebook page we created yesterday. Please "like" us, and help spread the word:
www.womencraft.org
www.facebook.com/womencraft.org
My first request: Host a WomenCraft product party! When I arrived in Kigali, they were shipping our products (handwoven baskets, etc. so far...I go out into the field today for the first time to try to get some soap makers to sign a contract with us. Wish me luck!) to Chicago so that they could be distributed for product parties around the United States. We learned this morning that our product has arrived in Brussels, and should be in Chicago Friday.
Here's where you come in...
The holidays are slowly (or rapidly!) creeping upon us, and every one's going to be buying crap. Loads and load of stuff that they don't need, just because they feel obligated to buy something for cousin Jenny or grandpa Ernest. I know because I've had to do it in the past. But....there is another option. Help people. Buy things with purpose that will REALLY make a difference. I am here on the ground, in Ngara, Tanzania, and I can tell you what a difference these sales make. Just one example: There are women here who are so malnourished, they cannot provide enough breast milk to feed their babies, and their babies die. With money WomenCraft gathers, they buy milking goats and give them to these families. This non-profit is LITERALLY saving lives. And you can be a part of that.
Hosting a product party is NO cost to you. You just have to facilitate the event - have a space (maybe your home? church? school?), invite people, and sell products. Products will be shipped to and from you free of charge.
If you feel you can help, please let us know. My work email address is not yet activated, so please either write my personal email address or email my rockin' co-worker, the Sales & Marketing Manager here at WomenCraft - Shannon Sibayan - at sales@womencraft.org. Just mention your connection to me through the email and I will help facilitate the project.
Thank you SO much in advance for your help. Asante sana from the bottom of my heart. I have no shame in asking for your help and applying the pressure because I know what good a small bit of effort from you can do here. A little goes A LONG way.
The internet is rocky here, but I will try to write more very, very soon.
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