Where has the time gone?!?

Our second year as an organization finished up in September and we celebrated so many good things.  Our skill sets have expanded.  Some of us have begun successful businesses and others, inspired by those businesses, are planning to begin new ones in year three.

This year included the transition of our founders moving back to the United States.  All production, from material purchasing through to quality control and inventory is fully operated by our team in Zambia.  It has been surprisingly smooth for  us as a business, but all parties involved miss our former lives together in Kagunda.  We are excitedly awaiting a reunion in June of 2018 when the Mosers will return to the village for two weeks.

Not only were we able to provide full scholarship to 30 students in 2017, but our members individually supported an additional 10 children’s school fees outside of the group.  Our mothers were incredibly proud that we were able to send 4 students to boarding school.  They saved and planned for months to afford the boarding fees, uniforms and meal expenses.  And one of our college students completed her teaching degree!  She is the first college graduate in her family and one of the few in her village to achieve such a thing.

Next year we hope to be able to purchase land and build a formal work space with a roof, four walls and shield from the summer rains and August winds.  Our group is excited at the opportunity to have “actual jobs” where we can schedule work hours and allow visitors to see us in action.  Most of all, we are looking forward to ending the constant battle with termites in our current storage room and shuffling around our products when the rains threaten our leaky roof!

In our two years together we have put education for our children and grandchildren as priority.  We have recognized a weakness in our local schools, specifically in literacy and English.  Poor literacy rates prevent students from succeeding in all subjects and need to be addressed specifically in grades one through four.  We have met several times about how to provide our children with better access to education.  In the long term, we would love to provide our students scholarships to better schools in neighboring Chipata as well as daily transport to and from.  For the short term, we would like to hire a tutor to work with each child on literacy for at least two hours per week.

Thanks for your support these past two years.  Your support provides us with the opportunity to empower ourselves and our families!