The Urge to Bow
Today I’m a great Auntie again. My nephew and his wife have a new baby girl. My children have welcomed her into the “born on the 11th” club since both of them were too, though in May and October. They imagine they will share “elevensies” once little Jessie is big enough for tea parties. It’s wonderful to have such happy news especially now when our country is experiencing so much unrest and racial injustice. I worry for us.
I worry for Uganda too. Their elections are on January 14th. There is so much violence in the streets of Kampala and elsewhere in the country as well. I just received this email from a friend in Entebbe in response to the terrible violence in the United States and in anticipation of the elections in Uganda.
How are you? What a shame that someone cannot follow the democratic principles that have held your country so strong over the years. It is NOT good to hear about people refusing to leave office moreover in first world countries. I know there are some people who are happy that he doesn’t leave office BUT it is a shame! As I write this, we are just a day away from elections in my country. This is going to be a very different election and we are very worried about similar things happening in Uganda. There is a lot of military presence everywhere and the campaign time was full of violence caused by security officers. Right now, social media have been switched off! No WhatsApp, FaceBook, Twitter etc. I hope they don’t stop emailing too. Please pray for us.
We have so much work to do here. I pray for the world.
We reached our year end campaign fundraising goal of $20,000 and then surpassed it for a total of $30,000. We are so grateful for the generosity of over 200 donors who are making it possible for us to send funds to all of our sewing cooperatives. In Uganda our tailors are already working to produce and deliver menstrual kits for 1200 schoolgirls in January and February.
Phoebe takes a selfie with one of the students who received a MoonCatcher menstrual kit earlier this month.
Ugandan boys participating in the MoonCatcher curriculum on reproductive health and menstruation.
Recent fundraising also means that we can ship needed supplies - Tyvek and waterproof fabric - to Kenya. Once there, some can be sent over the border to Uganda. While we work hard to source all materials locally so as to support the local economy, these two items are not to be found in Kenya or Uganda. Normally I bring enough for the year when our delegation visits each country. But, of course, nothing right now is normal. It isn’t cheap or easy to ship supplies, but at least we have found ways to do it.
Our “Dining for Dollars”cookie fundraiser was a great success and we recently mailed out checks to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the United Saints Recovery Project in New Orleans. We continue to learn how to connect with each other in new creative ways to do good work. I received lots of feed back about how delicious those cookies were. Another thank you to the bakers, delivery folks and those who donated.
If you had told me a few years ago that we would be doing most of our work on “Zoom,” I would have had no idea what that even meant. Times sure have changed!
I am happy to report that schools and organizations have been requesting presentations (via Zoom) and asking for ways that they can help further the work of The MoonCatcher Project. We continue to brainstorm ideas with everyone interested to expand our capabilities, learn from each other and continue to make progress. Please email me if you have ideas!
I’m wishing for a New Year moving towards peace, health and joy. I am thankful to all of you for your help and encouragement. I just read a poem that ended with the line, “… follow the urge to say thank you, follow the urge to bow.” I like that.
I bow to each of you.