Provide Vocational Training for 10 Ugandan Women

Hello Ribe Friends,

      Another season is upon us. As we move into fall here in the States and summer for our friends in Uganda, we continue to train women in the vocational trades of bead/jewelry making and basket weaving, and then provide fair wage employment for those who complete our program. Our latest news, however, is that we are adding sewing skills to our vocational curriculum (or tailoring as it is titled in Uganda)! We are starting small with cute African animals and hair scrunchies made from traditional Kitenge fabric. We think you will love them! 

      In the last 6 weeks, we have had some unexpected expenses in Uganda. If you are familiar with my personal story of how I became connected to Gulu, you know it goes back to the civil war that devastated the country's northern half for over 20 years. In that war, rebel leader Joseph Kony kidnapped thousands of children to become his soldiers. Since the end of the war, Kony and what is left of his Lord's Resistance Army have continued to terrorize people in the Central African Republic and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Recently, one of Kony's sons (by one of the many women he kidnapped) was able to escape, bringing with him his abused mother and several of his siblings. These refugees have ended up staying in the home of one of our artisans, also a former escapee, who has a family of her own to feed. The Ribe Project has been providing extra funds to help care for these people until they can find ways to support themselves. We would appreciate any support from our friends to help us to ease these traumatized individuals back into the local society.

     Finally, we want to give a huge shoutout to the students at University High School of Indiana who last year, formed a Ribe Project Club. Since then, they have made it their mission to raise money to provide tuition scholarships for the children of our artisans. To date, they have raised over $1,000! Thank you, Ribe Club!!

     As always, we acknowledge that without your support, we could not accomplish our mission.

With love and gratitude,

Brett