This is the time of year to think about resolutions, right? I’ve been thinking about what the MoonCatcher Project has been doing and what we hope to accomplish. There’s always a long list of hopes and dreams.

Haiti: We are planning to launch a new sewing cooperative in Haiti this year.  Sadly, we had to put our trip to Haiti (planned for January) on hold because of the unrest in that beautiful country. We will still make it there but it’s unclear exactly when. Until that time all the funds we have raised for this project will sit in our account earmarked for Haiti and will be ready to use when we can make the trip. Here is a bit of information we received from the Haiti Mission School Newsletter:

“As of early January, things have not changed in Haiti. President Moise remains in office, and the people have returned to the streets to demand his departure. There appears to be no end in sight. Unfortunately, this means that many businesses and schools remain closed, hospitals are short of blood and medicines, government salaries are not being paid and in general, things are awful.”

Uganda and Kenya: In March we’ll travel to Uganda and Kenya to visit our tailors and other friends in each of these countries. We are helping to build a new facility in Wakiso, Uganda to give our tailors more room and provide more space for supplies. The old space is a metal storage container like the kind used on the back of a semi truck. It’s hot when the temperature is high and cold when the opposite is happening. There is not enough room for everyone, so the women often take their machines outside or into the garage next door. A new space will make everything so much more efficient and easier.

Phoebe, our Ugandan partner, will use the space in other ways too. The women will learn soap making, crocheting and other skills. My good friend Maureen will travel with me to Uganda and we both hope to be able to help a little with the construction. Phoebe promises to send pictures of the groundbreaking which will be soon. We’ll post them on FaceBook and include them in our emails to you.

We are increasing our production dramatically in Uganda and sending more teachers into schools to distribute kits and teach students. We are hoping to reach a lot more boys this year too.

Since the end of 2018, our Kenyan partner, Jacky, has more than doubled the number of kits produced.  Our plan is to bring our boys curriculum to Kenya this year and we hope to find others to help Jacky with the school visits.

Jacky recently had a beautiful, healthy baby girl. I am honored and humbled that she was named after me. We will meet this little one during our trip.

Malawi: In April I’ll go to Malawi with my friend Charlotte who traveled there with me last year. We now have 3 sewing guilds in Malawi and we’ll visit each one. The guild in Mthunthama now has electricity so production has increased and the sewing machines that we have been carrying to Malawi each year are finally in use. We are sad to have lost one of our seamstresses (Sophie Chanache) to cancer this year. It will be difficult to enter the MoonCatcher space without her there.

In Chituka our tailors are trying to build a space for themselves. The building they are currently in is used as a library, meeting room and girls dormitory and not always available for sewing. It’s time for them to have their own home. My hope is that we can help fund this. They need $4,000 for the materials to build the structure and people in the village will donate much of the labor. I hope Charlotte and I can help. We loved laying brick for a girls bathroom in Malawi last year and look forward to trying these skills again.

U.S.: We are rapidly increasing the number of MoonBees we hold. Remember when it used to be one each month? We have ten MoonBees scheduled in February and March (check the calendar) . Our hope is to continue to increase our US events by adding volunteers who can facilitate or help out in other ways at MoonBees. .We also continue to develop more and more partnerships with other non-profits and faith groups. We have added fundraising as one of our most important goals in our current strategic plan. We are optimistic about being able to raise enough money to cover the growth that we are dreaming of and working hard to accomplish throughout the world.

That’s all for now. I hope to update you soon on our work in India. Our partner from the Shahi Kiran Charitable Trust, Ruchika, is there now - and she is also working to establish partnerships in Nepal. When she comes back, I’ll be sure to let you know about all of her efforts.

I’ll write each day from Africa and send photos too.