Jewelry that can change a life

Hello friends!
 

It's here!!  The women in Uganda have been hard at work hand making beads to then string into beautiful jewelry.  It is beautiful and I personally wear it all the time.  I have just stocked my shop- tiggy & grace - with so many gorgeous pieces.  ALL PROCEEDS will go directly to the women who made the jewelry, so that they can properly feed their children and send them to school.  It is such a small thing, buying a piece of jewelry, but it makes such an impact on the lives of these women and through them, their children.  Imagine if you could change the trajectory of a child's life by simply buying jewelry.  Oh the possibilities!

Thank you friends!

An update on Miracle

Hello friends,

I want to share an update with you that Dr. Isaac sent to me this morning.  When I read the email and saw the photos, I can't begin to put into words how happy I was.  There was little Miracle- a little girl who's life was headed down a really sad path. (see post below)  This was a little girl who we had hoped would be impacted by our work in her community.  However, seeing her in a classroom, just a short time after we met her, was more than I had imagined.   Isaac says the children of the village come around in the morning and take turns pushing her to school.  She goes to school with her new friends and spends the day where a child should.  She is learning to write and read and do math.  And yet, for this little girl, a mere three months ago, this wasn't even something she could imagine.  However, with her "new" wheelchair Miracle is able to do things that every other child can.  I am so very excited to meet this little girl this summer, and so very grateful for our team.  The fact that they not only came upon her in the village we are working with, but that they made the decision to change the trajectory of this child's life forever is something great.  There is so much caring and love in our team and this is but one example of the incredible work they are doing.  I am humbled to be working with such amazing people.

Our miracle in Uganda

A few months ago Dr. Isaac and the volunteers were out visiting homes when they came across a little girl named Miracle.  Miracle is 6 years old and when our team found her she had been kept indoors  for much of her life due to the stigma attached with her being born with disabilities.   Miracle was born with Spina Bifida, which she had had surgery for when she was younger.  She also has hydrocephalus which which is a buildup of fluid inside the skull that leads to brain swelling.  Due to these conditions, Miracle has not been able to go to school, interact with other children or experience any form of a normal childhood.  She doesn’t have the use of her legs, thus is unable to walk or move around much.

Recently Dr. Isaac and Sharon delivered a wheelchair to Miracle.  The team has been working with her to create an environment in her home that enables her to begin to live as a normal 6 year old girl.  They built her a table that supports her so that she can practice writing with a pencil or eat her meals.  They built her a chair to use as a specialized latrine.  And not long ago they delivered a wheelchair- one that they had built to allow Miracle to be moved easily in and out of her home as well as- hopefully, eventually- to school.  The joy- the pure and utter happiness that shines on this little girl’s face in that new chair- it is unmistakable.  The local children surrounded her and were so excited to take turns pushing her around and get to know her.  I can only imagine what this would feel like to a little girl who probably felt very alone for most of her life.  This is a little girl who, were she born here, would be fully integrated into society, and taking part in things that every other child does.  But with stigmas and lack of medical care and therapy, children like Miracle are often kept aside, hidden and forgotten about.  Thankfully our team met her and are now able to completely change the trajectory of her story.  This is what we can do when we work together.  YOU can make a difference and change the life of a child and who knows what amazing things that child may do- because of YOU.

A new year filled with so much hope!

Today I spent quite a bit of time working with my bank getting organized for the next step in this adventure.  This year I hope to raise enough money to complete our pilot project as well as to expand some of our programs to include working with parents at the children's hospital, sending more kids to school and finishing our first (hopefully of many) chicken farms.  I am going to really push for this in the first half of the year so that when I return to Uganda (which I hope to do this summer) there will be so much to capture with my camera to share with all of you!  

My hope is that you will follow along on this life-changing adventure and see that by contributing to it, you will feel that you are a part of something big- something good - changing the life of someone and giving them a chance to not only survive, but thrive.  This year I hope to introduce you to some of the wonderful families that we have been working with.  When you see their beautiful children and realize the potential that each of them have to impact their communities through education, you will understand what drives me to dream big.  And let me tell you- I am dreaming big this year!

So I invite you to join me on this adventure.  I invite you to find your own ways to impact the lives of these families, these children, this community.  I encourage you to dream big, do good.  Wishing you an incredible year my friends, filled with laughter and triumphs and joy.  And big dreams.

x

Working together

I want to share some photos that were sent to me by Dr. Isaac over the past few months.  These photos sustain me until I can visit the project myself and capture these amazing people working to improve their lives.  I find so much joy in seeing them working together and creating a healthier village thanks to our amazing team.  The fact that they are so willing to learn about sanitation and hygiene and then put so much effort forth to implement necessary changes astounds me.  

By making these simple changes in their daily lifestyle, our hope is that we can improve the health and welfare of these families and thus give them an opportunity to not only survive, but to thrive.  

When we see these community members working together, helping each other and teaching others how to improve their living situation it gives us such hope that there is the possibility for a shift in the way these villagers live.

The Grow Hope Foundation and how it came about

Hello friends~

I feel like there is so much catching up to do!  I have so much to tell you and am not sure where to begin...  So much has happened since I was in Uganda in July!  The short version- I took my first (of many I am sure) trips to Uganda, met amazing people, fell in love with children, spent time with a doctor who shares my enthusiasm for problem solving, visited a children's hospital, connected with mamas on a mama-to-mama level, and returned home determined to do something to help them improve their situation.  

So, Dr. Isaac and I shared ideas and got excited and made a plan and even though we didn't have much to work with, we just did it.  50 homes. 50 families.  He got the village elders involved, he found a team of volunteers, and they sat out under the shade of trees with large groups of villagers, talking to them about where they were, and where they could be.  The discussed health and hygiene, latrines and sanitation.  They talked nutrition.  He taught them how disease is spread, and how that can be prevented.  They built tools that allow them to make changes in their homes, to keep things clean, sanitary. They built hand-washing stations.  People got excited.  They worked hard building proper latrines.  Then they helped their neighbors do the same.  They worked together!  And they learned that when they did that, they could do even more than then could alone.  They began sharing ideas, thoughts, concerns.  They were a "village".  And we all know- it takes a village.  

And then Dr. Isaac came across baby Prisca, with her swollen feet and constant tears.  Her mama Jussie couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but Isaac knew.  Prisca was suffering from protein deficiency as she hadn’t had access to it.  At all.  So our team member Sharon bought eggs and milk and instructed Jussie to give each of the kids an egg and some milk each day.  Within a week little Prisca was walking again and the swelling had subsided.  In the meantime, Dr. Isaac visited the children’s hospital- he wanted to see how many cases of the same deficiency were present there.  Sure enough- there were a number of cases at the hospital, which could easily be resolved with access to regular protein.  And so the Chicken Farm project was conceived!

We are currently working to build a chicken farm.  The structure is up thanks to our very generous realtor Ray Gonzalez and the company he works for - Real Living Real Estate in Bothell, WA.  Now we will work to raise funds to purchase the baby chicks, the feed, feeders, vaccines, waterers and fencing to secure the project.  Once that is accomplished we will have a sustainable business in the community that will pay for itself as well as provide employment.  When the hens are laying, it will provide protein for the community through egg sales, and we plan to set up a program whereby eggs are donated to the the mamas at the local children’s hospital.  It will be a win-win for everyone, with the only input from from The Grow Hope Foundation being at the beginning.  After that, with the encouragement and support of SCHEP Uganda, they will be able to run a sustainable program that will benefit their community.  The whole thing brings me such joy- knowing that with just a bit of help, these wonderful capable people will be able to improve their own lives and the lives of their children.  

And, if everything goes according to the numbers and spread sheets that Dr. Isaac has run, little by little the cost of the initial project to get the chicken farm up and running will be repaid into a fund, managed by SCHEP that will be able to then be used to build another chicken farm, in another community.  And hope goes on~