This is not a pose for the camera, the kids were bunched up perfectly!
The neighbor children, most of whom are Muslim, continue to come over every day (when I’m home) for Bible stories. Using their very best English, they repeat each phrase after I read them. Sometimes when I stop to explain or ask questions, they repeat my explanations and questions too.
(Later.) Today I came home mid-afternoon...
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Konoweka Girly Dresses
The Konoweka ladies began their sewing practice by making girly dresses. The first batch, although in need of some refinement, was donated to girlies in the Banda slums where our group meets weekly. Don’t the girlies look cute?
...
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Paper Craft Africa
Paper Craft Africa is an organization dedicated to making paper products by hand using natural fibers such as banana leaf, pineapple tops, and elephant grass. Thaddeus was on hand to show me around and to introduce me to the slime that becomes this beautiful product. Harriet is the executive director, a Ugandan putting herself through college because of her work with this organization. While not...
Friday, July 27, 2012
A Dolly for Nina from Reagen
The back alleys of Kabalagala netted a good place to stop for some quick service to the brakes on the boda boda. I admired a nearby Honda, although in very poor condition, and a debate about the quality of the Boxer brand versus the Honda brand of motorcycles ensued. I am firmly on the side of the Honda even given the somewhat ratty appearance of this particular bike, but I let the guys have their...
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A Dolly for Trisha from Nancy
Wiggle, wiggle. In the distance a girl of maybe four years was trying her fancy dance moves on the music. Her body twitched in various directions, never one body part in sync with another. She kept insisting that her father join her, to no avail. Three girls at the nearby table saw my delight and decided to dance for me too. Their moves, though, were a bit less convulsive. Still cute though.
After...
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
New Clothes for Tasha
Saturday is market day in Kawuku and today was no exception. Vendors pack the market space with everything from plastics, to electronics, to airtime, to meat sitting in the sun all day. I’ll rethink my chicken stew idea. Sadly, increasingly fewer shoppers sprinkle the isles…prices rise for no apparent reason and customers can no longer afford the luxury of a basin that isn’t cracked in two places....
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Buy the Change
Buy the Change is an organization whose mission is to change the lives of women and girls in the developing world by inspiring you to change where you shop for gifts and accessories. We’ve recently partnered to bring these beautiful gifts to more people in the U.S. They’ve done a terrific job in capturing the beauty of the products these women make so don’t hold my simple photos against them…but...
Village Hope for Orphans
Mark and Stacy’s hearts beat in time with the heart of God, particularly for orphans. They believe God has a special place in his heart for widows and orphans simply by virtue of how much he speaks of them, how he commands Israel to take care of them, and how we as Christians have been brought in as orphans to his family.
I met the couple through friends of friends and we quickly saw how we could encourage one another in this far-away land. We began working to develop their strategic framework...
Shared Hope for Orphans Grows
We spent the morning with Shared Hope for Orphans teaching about communication skills and persuasive communication. The group has a fantastic business plan and needed to learn how to talk about that plan spontaneously, consistently, and persuasively. Speaking about their project with one voice will add credibility to their request for support. Alex, as usual, was a master translator given his business...
A Dolly for Andrew from Zachary
Andrew opened his mouth wide to scream every time he saw me…even from a distance. Older sisters teased him by bringing him close only to have him turn his head and discover my presence and then bellow out again. Augustine, though, easily picked up the child who was quite content in his arms. Andrew’s maama is a steady church member who recently had a boda boda accident. She showed me the place where...
Kamuli Kids
There’s never a shortage of children in Uganda and Kamuli is no different. They gathered in the doorway of the Calvary Chapel Kamuli church to watch my every move. Eventually we moved to the blue chairs on the veranda where the children patiently allowed me to take their picture. The singing began with blank stares and suggestions that they sing songs they knew were met with silence. For some reason...
Bibles in Kamuli
The sitting room of their house is also the workspace for the tailoring program which is also the sanctuary for the church. The story of the moneychangers crossed my mind as I entered this truly multi-purpose room. Familiar blue chairs stacked in the corner resemble those of almost every other church in the country. What better place to provide a set of Bibles than for those attending church here....
Triplet Clothing in Kamuli
The babies attending the tailoring program at Calvary Chapel Kamuli helped their maamas in a variety of ways, not the least of which included rearranging their work materials on a whim. I began relieving these small ones of their various duties by delivering a few sets of clothing for each to model for the camera. I told the children and their maamas about the maama in America who had three babies...
Kamuli Tailoring Program
What started out as a group of five women quickly grew to a group of twelve once word spread that a free tailoring training program was established in that new little church in Kamuli. The teacher had to put a stop to the size of the group – more people wanted to join – simply for manageability purposes. Yet they are already talking of when the “next” group begins.
Ms. Shelby and the women’s group...
Grace's New Shoes
The phone kept on ringing. As a practice I don’t answer when I don’t recognize the number…if I did, I’d be married a hundred times over…or at least invited to be. This day, though, after a very persistent effort on the part of the caller, I took a chance and picked up the phone. Grace’s sweet voice greeted me (meet Grace) and asked for a bit of help. Grace needed a new pair of shoes and some pocket...
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Chiquilla Makes Our Dresses
The gorgeous purple dress is for Phyllis. Her pretty white
hairs will be adorable with the white flowers in the dress.
The beautiful African-style’ish dress I wore when speaking at church and at school was made by lovely Chaquilla of Zwadde Tailoring. In preparation for my next visit, I hiked up the muddy Kampala street whose name I don’t know to the small avenue across from M-50. That’s my landmark...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Clothing Donations for Boys and Girls
I’ll begin by admitting that I’ve made a bit of a mess of keeping track of who donated which clothing for the children here. Please accept my apologies – Kristin, Liz, Sharon and Danielle, Lauren, and Sue. You are so kind to give what you can to help so I thought you’d like to see a few pictures. I started by separating the clothing into size groupings to see which of the groups I could manage to...
Saturday, July 7, 2012
A Dress for Shelia from Molly
Colors and textures abound in this Gaba Road market. Friday is market day and this is by far the best market for making and selling handcrafts. I had my eye out for a little one who might receive a handcraft from you rather than me from her. Once spotted, I hunkered down and peeked around a corner to see her. Little Sheila was in her own world until the ladies around her drew her attention...
Thursday, July 5, 2012
A Dolly for Margaret from Kelsey
As I waited in the car amidst the slums to the west of Kampala, little Margaret and her bright orange dress caught my eye. Beads woven into her small braids made an intricate design of that hair-cap that was destined only to catch the dust. This little girl, maybe three years old, managed to down an entire glass bottle of Coca-Cola in the short time I watched her from the car. I wonder how many...
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