New spring collection in our shop
Well, spring has sprung (we hope!) and we wanted to share some great news with you... We have a wonderful new spring collection of handmade, ethical and eco goodies for you and your home in our shop.
From gorgeous, cuddly pram blankets, super colourful sun tops, dapper gents scarves and bright, eco cushions covers and table runners - each of our products has a story behind it – the story of the wonderful woman who made it and the child whose life has been transformed because you’ve bought it.
As you may remember we use all our profit to children orphaned by HIV in the slums of Kampala. One of the ways we do this is with education grants that help children like Fiona Nakazwe, 10.
Here is a little film we made with Fiona and her adopted grandmother Sarah, so they can tell you for themselves how awamu is changing their lives.
Fiona's mother died some years ago and she was living with her father, tragically he also became very ill and Fiona had to drop out of school to care for him before he passed away last year. Distant relatives then took her to live in a village outside Kampala, leaving her friends and all connections to her parents behind.
Her relatives didn't want to pay for her to go to school and she was being used a domestic servant - digging all day in the fields, looking after other children, cooking, fetching water and only eating if there was some food left over.
Luckily, Sarah Kanyike (widower and guardian of 10 grand children) had been friends with Fiona's parents and when she went to attend the funeral she saw that Fiona looked ill and was very unhappy "I could see these people just wanted to use her for fetching water. I decided to bring her to become one of my family of 10 to make it 11. She calls me grandmother, because the rest of my family also calls me grandma. She was welcomed here by my family - I told them 'she is one of you”.
Your awamu purchase has helped Fiona to enrol in primary school where she is now excelling..
Fiona told me "Ja-ja (grandma) Sarah takes me as her real family, I'm happy because I'm now one of the family. The day I was going to start school I woke up early and started to get dressed - then grandma told me 'what are you doing - it's only 4.30 - school won't open for another 4 hours' but I couldn't go back to sleep I was too excited".
There are now 66 children enrolled in primary school thanks to the education programme we run in partnership with ActionAid Uganda.
On behalf of Fiona, Sarah and all teh children and women we work with in Kampala - Thank you xX
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