Kijani diapers - we're in business!

         I'm excited that my small cloth diaper initiative is continuing to take shape - I now have a website www.kijanionline.com  and a facebook page www.facebook.com/kijanidiapers - and am starting to do more active promotion of the diapers. When I started getting orders a few months ago, I didn't have any inventory and had to scramble to train tailors, find materials, and get the orders filled. I've been able to spend several months building up a good inventory before actively promoting the diapers. 

        This past Saturday, I went to my first sale to promote the diapers - a local country club has a sale once a month where you can rent a table.  All kinds of vendors come to the sale - local businesses as well as individuals and families selling their things.  We were able to sell a lot of diapers (thankfully, Muigai was with me - he is a much better salesperson than I am! And we had Nathan, our "live model" to show the diapers in action) and we also got a lot of interest - we talked to several people who had never seen diapers like these as there are few modern cloth diapers available in the local market. 

Natalie helping me sell diapers at the sale

       Please join me in prayer for the following items as we move forward with this:

The top layer of the soaker is made with recycled t shirts

 - The biggest challenge I have is finding a way to get the materials to Uganda.  Unfortunately, most of the materials I need to make high quality diapers are not available in Uganda.  For now, I brought a lot of materials with me when we returned from vacation and have had a few other people bring materials for me when they come to Uganda.  Shipping costs as well as customs taxes are very high, and I am trying to find the best way to minimize these costs so I can make a diaper that is affordable for the local market.  I am also trying to be creative in thinking what materials are essential to be imported and what local materials I can use.  Part of my soakers are currently made using secondhand t shirts, which are available in abundance here in Kampala.

 - I am currently working with two very skilled tailors, and one of them worked for an NGO for several years as a tailoring teacher.  I would love to begin identifying young women who are in need of a job/skills and train them in tailoring, then be able to give them some work making diapers.  Please pray that I would be connected to the right people and be able to begin training at least one new person. 

Grieving with Kenya

As I was thinking about what to write on this blog today, everything seemed insignificant is comparison to what has been unfolding in Kenya since Saturday afternoon.

As I’m sure most of you have heard, terrorists from Al-Shabab stormed into Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi and began throwing grenades and firing automatic weapons indiscriminately.  Many people were killed, hundreds injured, and hundreds more deeply traumatized, including so many children who were in the mall with their parents.  The ordeal continued for more than 60 hours as the Kenyan special forces gradually took control of the mall, freeing people still trapped inside and cornering the terrorists.  As of this morning, the official news was that the ordeal was over, but there are still police and special forces combing through the mall, searching for more terrorists and survivors who may be hiding in shops.

We are grateful that none of our family, friends, or MCC colleagues were at Westgate during this attack, but this tragedy has still hit so close to home for us.

I have no words of wisdom or thought provoking reflections to share, just heartfelt sympathy and grief for all the families affected, those who have lost loved ones, those who have been injured, and those who have been left traumatized.

And in the midst of the terror, there are stories of hope that rise as well – of Kenyans pulling together as one people to offer love and support to the victims. 

One story in particular has touched me – at one point, the terrorists were asking people to recite the Shahada (the Muslim confession of faith).  If a person didn’t know it, they were killed.  A Muslim man helped a Christian man learn and memorize that Shahada, which ultimately saved the life of the Christian man.

My prayer is that when faced with evil in this world, we, like the Muslim man, can learn how to respond with love and compassion for all.  And that we can respond in faith and not fear, confident in the eternal hope and security that we have through Jesus Christ. 

Three "firsts" for us and for MCC Uganda

As I mentioned in my last post, life has been too busy since we returned from our vacation.  I am so thankful that things have finally returned to a normal pace (didn't I write a post last year about a slower pace of life here in Uganda???)  Thankfully, that still holds true most of the time.  Here are three highlights of three "firsts" for us and for MCC Uganda that have happened in the past several weeks:

First Ik female ever headed to University!

I've written several posts about the Ik education program we have in Northern Uganda for this marginalized group.  This year, for the first time ever, Priscillah, one of our Ik sponsored students, did well enough on her high school exams to be given a district scholarship to study Public Administration at Kampala International University.  We are all so excited for her, and her community even declared a public holiday in her honor.  Priscillah is the first Ik female ever to attend higher education!

Priscillah in the KIU library

Priscillah on campus at KIU

 Unfortunately, this scholarship has come with its share of challenges.  First, there was a lot of logistics and bureaucracy that we had to go through to secure the scholarship.  The biggest challenge, however, is that the scholarship only covers tuition fees, and there is no funding for books, accommodation, food, transportation, etc.  We are working on putting together a proposal to see if MCC Uganda can help cover these costs starting next year (our Ik sponsorship currently only goes through high school), but for now Priscillah has been staying in our house and we've been helping her with transportation money.  If anyone is interested in helping out with her expenses, please send me an email (mccrep@uganda.mcc.org) and I can give you more information.  Despite the challenges, Priscillah was finally able to begin classes a few weeks ago and she is enjoying school so far.

First YAMEN volunteers welcomed to Uganda

Mennonite Central Committee has three exchange programs for young adults:  SALT, where North American volunteers are sent to countries around the world to volunteer for a year, IVEP, where volunteers from countries around the world are sent to North America to volunteer for a year, and YAMEN, where volunteers from countries around the world are sent to other countries outside of North America.  MCC Uganda has always had an active SALT and IVEP program, but this year for the first time we received YAMEN volunteers in Uganda.

In mid August, we welcomed three new volunteers who will be living with local Ugandan families and volunteering in the communities for one year.  We welcomed Steven, from Colombia, Thany, from Cambodia, and Bethany, from Canada.   Steven will be assisting with the Living With Shalom training, as well as assisting with other youth programs through the Anglican Diocese of Hoima.  Thany, who has a background in counseling victims of sex trafficking in Cambodia, will be working as a guidance counselor at Stella Matutina, a school where many of the students have been traumatized by the 20 years of war in the North.  Bethany will be working at a mixed secondary school in Masaka teaching English and Computers to the students.

Our current MCC Uganda team at our latest team meeting

We really enjoyed getting to know each of these volunteers during their orientation week in Kampala, and we are looking forward to working with them over the next year.

We hosted our first Learning Tour as MCC reps

Several learning tour participants talk with students at St Luwum

Learning Tours are groups of people who visit countries where MCC is active in order to learn more about MCC programs and partners in that country.  While MCC Uganda has hosted learning tours in the past, this was our first learning tour as the Reps.  The group consisted of eleven senior staff and board member from MCC Canada, and one member from MCC USA.  They spent six days with MCC Ethiopia, and then spent 6 days with us in Uganda.  In those 6 days, we managed to visit 8 different MCC partners, some in Kampala and some in Northern Uganda.  The group also was able to meet and hear testimonies from several beneficiaries who have been impacted by the work MCC has been doing in the country.  We are grateful that all the logistics ran smoothly, and we really enjoyed the interactions with the group members.  Here is their blog from their time in Uganda:

 http://mcceastafrica.wordpress.com/

Now that life is back to a normal pace, I hope to update my blog on a regular basis, hopefully on Tuesdays and Fridays.

We are back in Uganda! Highlights from the US...

   We have been back in Uganda for three weeks now, and it's been a crazy three weeks!  We ended up having 5 "bonus days" in the US because our travel agent mixed up our tickets and had Muigai and Natalie traveling on a different day than Nathan and I, and the only tickets available were on the later date.  Then, when we were at the airport at 1030pm waiting to board our flight, they announced that the plane had been hit by lightning on the way to DC and they had to run some extra tests, so the flight was cancelled!  The 5 bonus days were a lot of fun and quite relaxing, but it did make the return to Uganda a lot more stressful since Muigai had to travel to Kenya for work the morning after we got back and I had to deal with two jet lagged children all by myself, plus try to catch up from being out of the office for a month!

   In the last three weeks since we got back, we've also welcomed and oriented three new volunteers, tried to sort out numerous issues with a district scholarship that was given to one of our Ik sponsored students to study at University, and prepared for a team of 11 MCC senior staff and board members who arrive this afternoon for a week long learning tour of MCC's work in Uganda.  But more about all those things in future posts....

   For this post I want to write about some highlights from our vacation in the US:

"Don't forget to bring me to the US!"

With my mom at her surprise party

My mom's 60th birthday celebrations - technically, my mom is still 59, and she doesn't turn 60 until the end of this month.  However, since Kelly and I will be on different continents, we thought it would be fun to celebrate over the summer when we were all home.  My sisters and I planned a surprise party for my mom with both local and out of town friends, and we actually managed to keep it a secret - it's not a small feat to keep a secret like that from our mom!  Because the party was two months earlier than her birthday, she was genuinely surprised.  As a gift, we got her a complete family photo shoot in Harpers Ferry.  The children were all surprisinly cooperative and it was great to get some nice shots of all of us.  My mother is such a generous and giving person, she is always doing things for other people, so it was really great to have an opportunity to plan something meaningful for her.

All of us from our photo shoot in Harpers Ferry

My Dad's retirement luncheon - at the end of March, my dad retired from Exxon Mobil after working for the company for over 37 years, although he is not completely retired from working and already has a job with a consulting firm.  It was very touching to hear my dad's colleagues talk not just about his expertise and commitment to the job that he did, but also his integrity, his willingness to help his colleagues, and his reputation for always keeping his word.  On the day he retired, I wrote him a letter thanking him for his 37 years of hard work and explaining what his job meant to me - the stability it provided, the income that allowed my mom to stay at home for several years, and the example he gave us of hard work, responsibility, and humility.  Most importantly, even though he was very committed to his work, he always made his family a priority and that is definitely a value I hold dearly now that I have a family of my own.  Even though I'm 32, my parents are still my heroes in so many ways.

At my Dad's retirement luncheon

Virginia Beach -  My parents took all of us (three daughters, two son in laws, and five grandchildren) to a few days at Virginia Beach, which was so much fun.  Natalie and Nathan LOVED playing in the sand and the ocean and we had a great time riding along the boardwalk in a four person bicycle.

Spending time with friends and family - this was definitely the biggest highlight of the trip - Natalie and Nathan had a great time playing with their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friends, and it was great for Muigai and I to have a chance to visit with and catch up with many people.  Although there were several people we were not able to see that we would have loved to - three weeks is too short! 

 So many other things.....my neice Briana's baptism (Muigai was the proud Godfather), a trip to Six Flags with my mom, sisters, and our kids, visiting our home church (Church of the Incarnation), mint chocolate chip ice cream (I think I had this almost every day...yum!), Chipotle, Bowl of Good, grapefruits, summer berries, riding bikes and scooters, swimming, relaxing, good conversations, and many other things!!!  

Heading to church for Briana's baptism

Sidewalks are great!  Wish we had some of those in our neighborhood in Uganda

Playing on the slip n slide at Nana's house

Natalie playing "church" with good friends Amina and Ivana - we had a great time staying with this family for several days - big thanks to Chris and Biliana for hosting us!

At Six Flags - even Nathan was able to go on some rides