August 28th, 2017
Dear Amazing Sewers,
Two thousand kits distributed in Uganda in July 2017. WOOHOO! What an amazing accomplishment that would not have been possible without all your hard work over the past 2 years. Thank you SOOOO much. As the Ugandans say, “webale nnyo nnyo nnyo!”
There were 9 of us from Kelowna and 1 from Uganda who educated the girls and distributed the kits in the slums of Kampala, in the outskirts of Jinja, in the surrounding villages, and in the far North of Lamwo district. We also had Andrew who educated the boys while we spoke with the girls and a number of amazing translators who helped us get our message across: Abstain – Stay in School – Be Strong.
So far, ISEE Solutions has distributed over 4250 kits in the 4 years it has been a registered charity. Schools are starting to invite us back and other schools are hearing about our work and contacting Andrew to have us come and present. In future, we will focus more on the girls in the villages around Kampala and beyond but we will also make ourselves available to the vulnerable population within the city limits.
Next year, I hope to travel with another team of volunteers and to distribute 1000 kits. We somehow managed to carry 472 shields too many so we only need just over 1500 shields and 4000 liners to be made in the next 11 months. That sounds quite daunting but I know we can do it! Betty and her sewing team are ready to sew 4000 liners and 1000 bags so we are all set.
We always need donations of fabric, both cotton and flannel, of large freezer Ziploc bags, and of time. If you can trace, cut, serge or sew, please attend one (or more!) of the sewing bees to help us reach our goal of 1000 kits. If you can’t attend a bee but would like to be involved, please let Mum (Judith) or me know and we will set you up with a job that you can do at home.
Again, thank you for everything you have done in the past two years and for your commitment to keeping these girls in school. They are so excited to get their kits. One matron from Kiti village called Andrew just after I had left to let him know that a student had come to see her to tell her that the kit was very good and had allowed her to come to school during her period. Wow.
That is exactly why we do what we do.
In friendship,
Erika
