January 2009

The women began to gather into the round hut we had cleared as the training space – many of them were late; apologetic, they explained that a girl had been raped and killed in Kasana last night and they had been in town trying to find out what had happened.

They brought with them an excitement guarded with a bit of apprehension – I don’t blame them. As is so often the case, many of them had been promised exiting new initiatives in the past and were hesitant to trust this wasn’t one of those ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ projects. Julius introduced Topista, our trainer and she suggested we begin our training with a prayer. Ivon, the woman who had been elected as the group leader offered thanks and asked that the women be blessed – It was a beautiful way to start the week.

Quite soon into the training it began very clear that with a group of 30 women, the entire step of drawing the lines on the paper and cutting each strip of jewellery was one that could be eliminated. Many ‘beading women’ take their paper to a paper cutter in kampala after purchasing their paper. You either do this, or cut it yourself. Julius and I realized how much easier it would be for the women if they had a paper cutter and were able to cut their paper as a group whenever they needed to. We decided that some of the grant money should go towards this so that the women have their own machine.

So off we went! Once the women were well into their first training day, Julius and I took off for Kampala in search of one LARGE paper-cutting machine! It had been raining that day, so by the time we were finally able to catch a matatu and make the journey to Kampala, the roads in Kampala were a muddy mess. My flip flops splashed mud up the back of my legs – I was trying to walk as careful as one can in these conditions, because mud in Uganda has been known to steal flip flops and suck them apart. We finally found the street where all of the stationary stores are and Julius went in to see what he could find. I stayed outside so that he could negotiate a Ugandan price that didn’t double when they saw me. I was happy when I finally saw Julius coming towards me carrying a huge box – not only because I knew the women would be so happy to have a break from using scissors, but also because I was able to escape the conversation that was ensuing with a security guard who was trying to convince me to sit on a chair with his friend.

Because of the rain, this all took far longer than it usually would have. By the time we got back, the women were nearing the end of their first training day.

January 2009

Our thoughts were to leave our initial meeting and then later learn the secrets of purchasing supplies, the best place to buy them and purchase enough to bring back for the women towards their initial start up supply. Well, our meeting turned into a full day experience because she wanted to go straight from there to purchase the supplies. There are so many things to think about when making the jewellery – scissors, pencils, rulers, glue, varnish, a pin (to roll the paper over), strings to hang the beads while drying, strings to make the jewellery, clasps for the necklaces and most importantly PAPER to make the beads.

We were introduced to what seemed like every possible corner and market in Kampala, back and forth ALL over – I kept asking Julius if he needed to write down the places we were visiting, but I suppose after a lifetime of living here, what seemed like the world’s largest maze to me was his backyard. Each supply was found in a different place – by the time we got to our paper search, we were so loaded down with bags of varnish, pins etc. and were drenched in sweat. She guided us through a well known market in Kampala, past the squabbling chickens, over bags of beans, through a maze of spices, dodging the men carrying heavy bags of beans on their shoulders and finally to the paper market.

I have never seen anything like this in my life. It was the largest barn imaginable with stacks taller than us of paper – books, magazines, old scraps, old calendars. Perched on top of each stack was the woman selling that particular stack. Our trainer moved through the stacks with a wisdom that can only come from years of jewellery making, sorting through colours, showing us what to look for, what to stay away from and what colours to look for on the papers to determine the colour of the necklaces.

The process was far more difficult than I ever imagined. The women thought my presence there was quite funny and would continually grab handfuls of their supply to offer me. Paper is purchased per kg – there were scales hanging from the beams.

One of the difficulties of keeping our spending on track is that the concept of a receipt is obviously nowhere in the picture here. However, it is required in order for us to maintain our finances. I have come up with our own version for these situations and pulled it out for the woman to sign. This caused quite the commotion because all of the women wanted to sign something and were quite upset that we had bought paper from just one woman. Laughter filled the barn at this very ridiculous requirement! After spending an eternity there and ‘purchasing’ the paper that would soon be used by the women in our group, we left with both paper AND receipt in hand. I’m not certain how we managed to carry all of those supplies back to Julius’ house, but I can say that I had no difficulty falling asleep that night!

January 2009

After the meeting on Monday, Julius and I left for Kampala on Tuesday expecting to spend the better part of the week finalizing the training program and purchasing supplies. We lucked out and found an amazing woman who is not only incredibly talented, but has experience teaching groups of women around Uganda. We set a meeting time to discuss the training program, what it would entail and what her needs would be to lead the training. Part of the idea behind the training program is to ensure that the women receive a high level of training, not only in the actual making of the beads and jewellery, but also in the knowledge needed to plan, organize and save – the business skills of budgeting for supplies and reaching their own financial goals which were discussed at our initial meeting.

Not only does the training support the women in the income-generating group, but it will also provide a considerable amount of income for the woman who is doing the training. The total amount we are giving her is well above local wages, includes all of her travel costs and lunch during the days she is here – she is an amazing woman and feels as though this is a way for her to pass along the craft that at one point also saved her!

The training program will consist of 5 whole days over a series of two weeks. Many of the women are traveling quite far each day to participate, so each woman will receive lunch as well. They will be broken up into groups, which will form a support network over the next weeks once the training has ended. These support networks will initially meet to support one another in the skills they have learned. Both Julius and I will also be present during the training and over the next month to monitor any challenges that come up. Once they are established, Julius will be meeting with the women regularly. Each time we purchase from the group, each woman will contribute a portion of her income to the leader of her group who will make her way to the city with another member to meet with Julius and purchase supplies. Buying in bulk with allow the women to reduce the travel costs of all going into Kampala, as well as offer a discount on the supplies when purchased in a large quantity.

January 2009

Another world is possible – on a quiet day I can hear her calling…

Julius and I keep saying if we accomplish one thing during the day, we’re happy! The most exciting thing so far was our meeting with the women to discuss the income-generating group. Sister Ernestine has been working to gather together 30 HIV positive women who are currently supported by the clinic. All of the women are in the HIV support program at Bishop Asili and receive treatment. Most of these women have at some point become very ill, lost their jobs and are in desperate need of renewal – both to financially support their families, but also to feel capable now that they are on treatment, feeling better and wanting to move forward with their lives again. It is about empowerment as much as it is about financial sustainability. These women inspire me. It was all I could do to hold back my tears – officially registering them in the group has been a long, beautiful journey.

These 30 women are the first to register in our official program. Although we have been supporting another group in Kampala, this new group is our first attempt to create a set program developed by the women themselves with a set process to monitor success. The women clapped, spoke up, took turns sharing their stories, expressed their happiness over the opportunity to join this group and their frustration towards the lack of support beyond Kampala for HIV positive women. After much consideration and advising with existing organizations and well-respected researchers in the field, the program was designed to give grants in the form of business and skills training, supplies and the first order of jewellery. Much of the existing development practice of giving loans, which require payback, has long been connected with the same economic model that has guided mainstream development practices limited by the focus on economic progress. In consideration of these limitations, we have chosen a model that does not loan money, but provides skills, education and materials which foster sustainable social development – we are not asking that this money be paid back, but rather that these grants provide the skills, training and materials needed for the women to support themselves in a way that reinforces their ability to contribute to their families and communities. Not only will this improve their lives, but it will also address the stigma they face as HIV positive women who are rarely given the chance to show what they are capable of.

The women were all present as was Sr. Ernestine – Julius led the meeting. We assessed their needs, expectations, set guidelines and elected leaders. We went into the meeting expecting to face certain challenges accomplishing all of our goals and instead everything fell into place exactly as it should. Collectively, we established criteria – each woman must be from the existing support program at Bishop Asili, be HIV positive and have a corresponding number representing her health history at the clinic. We set membership guidelines with regards to support from other organizations and decided that all purchases will first go through Shanti Uganda so that we can properly monitor the success of the program to determine the possibility for growth– other organizations wanting to support the women will purchase the jewellery through Shanti Uganda at our wholesale cost. This was done because there are so many women who want to take part, that it will be difficult for us to establish the program and monitor success unless there are set guidelines. We established the guidelines for growth and addressed questions and concerns. Before Julius needed to answer questions (the whole meeting was in Luganda), the women themselves spoke up to provide what they thought were the best operating practices for THEIR group – he made sure to guide the meeting while at the same time provided opportunities for the women to make it their own. Part of the program at Bishop Asili has been to train many of these women as leaders in the community, so they are used to working together as a group and supporting one another. Electing a leader was unanimous and took less than a minute – The woman who was chosen is also an HIV counselor in the program and will represent this group of women and our income-generating project on our Ugandan advisory board.

Two new beautiful, calm eyes appeared from under the blanket in the nursing ward. Mama held her first born baby boy tight to her chest, glowing with love and a sense of triumph! He was born the night before after hours of walking, drinking, physical support and most of all strength! What made this birth special was that this one baby made his way into the world just as he was meant to. There was no cesarean section, he wasn’t taken out with metal forceps, the mother didn’t wear a sense of defeat after being told that her body was not capable of birthing her own child. Although just one birth, experiences like these confirm how important our work is and how many women and children can benefit from a renewed sense of power.

After hearing the long list of reasons to justify a cesarean birth the day before, I realised that it wouldn’t take much for this birth to be taken from its natural course. There were multiple women in active labour who took turns climbing onto the labour table (complete with garbage bag cover), a line out the door of pregnant women waiting for a check up and one very dedicated head-midwife who was holding the entire process together. At the other end of the courtyard, there were tears, moans and a family in mourning over the loss of their mother – her body was wheeled out on a metal cart. Most of the women in the birth ward held anything they were experiencing so far within that it was often difficult to tell from just walking by who was actually in labour or not! We were able to bring this one woman outside to help her face some of what she was experiencing! We pressed on her hips, got her on her hands and knees, danced at the wall, and spent as much time outside as possible. The midwives even got involved and soon began to use some of the simple suggestions we offered to support the birth process. She birthed her baby boy at 9pm with a deep sense of accomplishment and pride!

The maternal mortality rate in Uganda is horrific. Each year more than half a million women around the world die during pregnancy and birth and reducing child and maternal mortality are now two of the official Millennium Development Goals. This time around we were able to talk to midwives who told us stories of women with complications being transferred from their small community birth centres to the local hospital on a 45min bumpy scooter ride, we learned about traditional herbs and ceremonies performed at a birth such as ‘Etwatwa’ where the baby is bathed in the tea leaves from a beautiful purple flower for wisdom and good luck and we were introduced to harmful misconceptions involving using cow dung on new babies to avoid HIV.

We are honoured to work with the midwives in Luweero! Sister Ernestine runs a very special clinic and has spent her life dedicated to her community and place of service. The head midwife Sister Teddy, is looking forward to our return and was so appreciative to receive the textbooks, pamphlets, baby products and birth education supplies we brought to the clinic this year.

In addition to our existing work with birthing women, midwives and traditional birth attendants in Uganda, we have recently started a new project to bring birth kits to the women birthing in Luweero. The kits cost $15 Canadian and include everything a woman needs for birth including a reusable pad and liner for after she has given birth. They are available for purchase on our website.

Before leaving for Uganda this summer, I sent an email out to Lunapads and Goods 4 Girls asking for their support in donating a few pads for the girls we work with in Uganda. My request for a few pads was more than responded to as both Lunapads AND Goods 4 Girls sent us over with hundreds of pads for the girls we support! We were thrilled to be able to bring such a large supply to Uganda!

So many girls in Uganda face challenges every month due to a lack of supplies, sanitation facilities and money. All of the girls we support are orphans and have experienced such a great deal of poverty and loss already in life. Many of them miss classes and end up feeling disconnected from their bodies. The girls use old rags which can not be attached properly – this means that they avoid any movement which might cause the rag to fall out of their skirts. They can not be washed properly and easily soak through into the clothing they are wearing. These pads were life changing for them! There were tears, questions, clapping, singing and dancing – but most of all, the girls were happy to have a ‘girls only’ meeting. For the first time ever, the younger girls actually wanted their period to come so that they could receive a kit as well. We made sure to give the matrons (the women who take on the role of mother for all of the girls and sleep with them at night) at both schools a kit as well – they were also in tears after experiencing a lifetime of difficulty surrounding their period!

The kits were taken to two very different schools. It was beautiful to watch the various responses the girls had to the pads. We took the pads from Lunapads to the girls at one of the local highschools in Luweero. It is a catholic school and we came during a rain storm. We gathered all of the girls we could find (most of them leave with the rain) and brought them into a dry room. They were shy and reserved while talking about the pads (something that is not often discussed at their school), but their eyes began to twinkle when they came to understand that they could keep these pads forever! They voted one girl to take the extra pads for the girls who were not present that day and show them what they had learned about washing and drying them. It was such a wonderful experience to watch these girls slowly unfold, become comfortable talking about their own bodies and finally hold a gift in their hands that was brand new and their own .

We brought over 50 kits (with 5 pads in each kit) to the primary school we support in Entebbe. It took a while to gather all of the girls and the matron into one room -the boys tried to get in, but the girls let them know that it was ‘girls only’. They were quick to offer up the multiple reasons why they ‘didn’t like having their period’. So different from the first school, there was a short silence as the girls tried to process exactly what ‘reusable’ meant, but as soon as it was understood, they were yelling and singing and clapping. The matron began a speech, but ended up in tears as she tried to explain what a difference these pads would make. Later, I stumbled into the girls room to find them practising attaching the pads to their underwear and coming up with a washing and drying plan that wouldn’t let the boys run off with their new gifts!