Giveaway - Win a Scarf!

Some of you may recall that a while back I did my first-ever blog giveaway. And it was a super cool giveaway, in my humble opinion, because the winner was able to choose a beautiful hand-woven scarf straight from Ethiopia.

Who doesn't love scarves? I own a couple from this wonderful organization, Connected in Hope. Here's one of them, modeled by the lovely Clara...

You should have seen this photo-shoot. Still SHOCKED I got a smile.

Not only are they great scarves, but it's also really neat because each of the scarves come with information about the woman who made it. You can even send her a message to thank her for her work. 

Well, there's a lot more to say about the absolutely inspirational work that Connected in Hope has been doing since my last giveaway back in 2011, so I'm going to turn things over to my good friend Ryane (can I mention I feel cool to have a friend that started this amazing organization??) to tell you all about it......

*************

Thanks for allowing me to pop in over here to update everyone on all of the incredible things happening in Ethiopia. Many of you have purchased scarves, made donations and helped us share the story and we are so grateful. So much has happened in the past year that it is hard to know where to begin!

Let me start with these ladies. Seriously amazing, I tell you.   

  

Our weavers continue to impress us every day with their strength, determination and talent.  They are so excited by the predictable, sustainable income they are earning from the sale of their scarves.  They are able to feed their families, pay school fees for their children and even in some cases begin to save.  Even more than the increased income, they are thrilled to know that people throughout the world are wearing and loving their scarves.  This gives them the dignity and validation that they so deserve.   Their faces lit up when we recently delivered the hundreds of hand written thank you notes we’ve received from buyers across the United States.

We have added 6 new weavers just in the past few months and every purchase brings us closer and closer to our goal of being able to offer sustainable income alternatives to the hundreds of women still carrying fuel wood on Mt. Entoto. 

 

Next up…  these adorable sweeties.  

For many years the women have operated a preschool within the walls of the weaving compound.  Conditions are cramped and as a result 40 children ages 2-6 are all lumped into one classroom.  There is no running water so the children must use a pit latrine which sits on a hill above the playground.   There are very few books, puzzles or other learning materials and the teachers are very kind but have little training.  Definitely far from ideal! And sadly, this is the ONLY daycare/preschool in Shiro Meda/Mt.Entoto, one of the most densely populated and poorest areas of Addis Ababa. 

We are so excited to announce that we have rented a beautiful, large compound within walking distance of the current compound and will be moving the children this summer.  There are multiple classrooms which will help us better divide the children by age and will allow us to enroll more children.  We are outfitting the rooms with books, blocks, puzzles and wonderful learning materials. The full kitchen will provide 2 hot meals and a snack each day to these precious kids.  There is even room for a children’s library which will serve the whole community. This is HUGE since many of these children don’t actually own a single book.  We are securing grants which will allow us to hire several more trained teachers, a project manager who will oversee the preschool, a full time social worker, a full time nurse.  The grant will also allow us to provide holistic services for the childrens’ families including adult education (literacy), income development programs and support groups.  Did I mention how excited we are?!
 

We really do believe that good development comes from empowerment rather than charity and that the best way to achieve sustainable change is by educating kids and empowering their mamas.  

Thanks for being a part of the incredible story unfolding in Mt. Entoto, Ethiopia!  

*************

Amazing, right? 

Well, if you were sad you didn't win a scarf last time (or hadn't yet stumbled upon this blog way back then) then you are in luck. It's only taken a year-and-a-half, but it's time for my second blog giveaway!

All you have to do is "like" and/or "share" the Connected in Hope Facebook page and then come back on over here and leave a comment on this post saying you did. Please leave separate comments saying that you liked and that you shared the facebook page.

(Just to be clear, here's the facebook page you need to like and/or share: Connected in Hope Facebook page)

A winner will by chosen at random next Wednesday. So check back!

And while you're at it, check out their website. These scarves make great Mother's Day presents. And there's even a free-shipping offer going on right now through next Tuesday. Just enter the coupon code MOTHERTOMOTHER. 

So get liking and sharing! And good luck!