It has been much too long since I last wrote and SO MUCH has happened! The development of Mosaic Designs as a more formal organization has been well under way this summer. In July, I (Faith) headed to Kenya with a team of 15 others to begin training some of the girls in the Shimo and Neema Projects at Transformed International and to get our hands dirty working on the construction of the Neema School (which we assisted in raising funds last year). It was such an exciting time to see the girls using their sewing skills to create some lovely handmade bags. Joyce, their seamstress teacher and my dear friend, has done an incredible job teaching the girls since the onset of the program. She is committed to helping the girls develop their skill and also helps instill in them self-confidence. I love meeting with her and developing new ideas, creating new products and then watching as she makes those things come to life. She is willing to have the girls try anything. We worked with 13 girls while we were in Kenya, and 6 of them focused their entire time on sewing and they sewed and sewed and sewed! I look forward to revealing some of their beautiful work.
The remainder of the girls worked with them team on a variety of types of beading. We worked with seed beads, acai berry seed beads, paper beads, and langrima seeds. We faced some challenges with finishing all the items off because we did not have all the clasps on time to travel with and they were not available in Kitale. The good news, is that it has caused me to learn to ways to design the jewelry so that it will be reproducible from anywhere in the world. :) The girls, mainly from the Shimo Project, made hundreds of necklaces and bracelets to be sold to raise funds to send over to build the home for the Neeema Project.
I can't begin to describe the JOY I experienced watching these girls confidently approach the skills they are learning. They worked hard, they played hard with the team, they filled their stomachs each day on lunch break, and they opened themselves up to the team in a way I have never seen before. I was shocked! Within hours of the girls arrival, I remember walking through the gate, coming back from town with supplies, and all I heard was laughter coming from the TI compound!!!
I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of seeing the lives of the girls in these projects change. I am so incredibly proud of them and can't wait to see where their lives go. I will try to share more of their stories and stories from the trip in coming weeks.
If you want to hear more stories from our 2 weeks in Kenya, go to provinkenya.blogspot.com.
Below are just a few photos from our time together.
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