Updates

Long time, no type, eh? Sorry for the long delay. Internet has been a real problem here over the last few weeks. We've also been really busy.

Here are some of the highlights: 
We handed out all the clothing in two different ways. The first was over 3 days. We gave out tickets and people came to choose for their families. They came per assigned section of the community. Each ticket was valued at one piece of clothing and we gave out about 1000. When all was done, we had enough to go again--which was a great provision of abundance!

Round two consisted of a first come-first serve plan. We separated the clothing for the women and the men. Women were on a Saturday, men were on a Sunday. People could also bring a child not attending the local school and pick up something for them. For each person who came through the door, they took two pieces of clothing. I'm sure we served at least 300-400 people between the two days.

We also gave a gift to each of the approximately 300 children at the Give Hope Community school. Children got a bag of two pieces of clothing and chose either a teddy bear or stickers.

It has been really great to see people around the village wearing the stuff. I feel encouraged when I drive by a little kid and recognize a jersey or outfit that came from the container. I think most people have kept what they were given and have not tried to sell anything at the market--that was my biggest prayer.

We have also started the Bike-to-School program. We gave bikes to four kids to reduce their travel time to school (from hours to minutes). Sometimes I see them on the road when I'm going to and from the village. They are so thankful. They come by and visit and you can just see the joy on their faces. It's wonderful! We also meet with them bi-monthly to help them find ways to earn money (legally!) for their bike maintenance and cope with any peer pressure. (Legally you say??--Yes, apparently being a loan shark is a common way to make a few bucks here. Lend it out with interest...we are helping them find other ways lol)

Now that the bulk of the clothes are distributed and our room is a little more empty, we've been able to start focusing on knitting and sewing programs. We sorted all the materials and tools last night and the knitting crew went home with their first projects. Sewing is a little slower to start because we are waiting for our teacher to be available.

Well, putting it all into one posting sure makes me feel like I've been busy :) How encouraging! Sorry I can't put pictures up at this time...internet is tooooo slow. Will try to do something soon, I promise.

If you would like to support these projects, please consider a donation. We will need some tables for the sewing program and also still have some needs as listed on the Donate Tab at the top of the page.

Thanks!
Natasha