Clutches of Hope

From the refugee town, Masese in Uganda beautiful paper beads are crafted into clutches. Women work daily to design and weave the beads into multi-colored bags that are fashionable purses for daytime or evening wear. These bags are not the Red Carpet clutches that you see, but they are the livelihood of the Mothers of Masese who craft beaded jewelry and bags for a global outreach program, H.E.L.P. International. These bags are clutches of hope in a town that has seen much disease, illiteracy, and poverty over the years.

H.E.L.P. International.  was founded to bring hope, education, and sustainable living to mothers and children in Masese, Uganda. Through the selling of beautifully crafted jewelry and bags, a school for 550 children was built and continues to thrive as a center for literacy in the refugee town. The young learners receive education from their Ugandan teachers and headmaster, two meals daily, and fresh water while in school. Professional development for the Ugandan educators is provided several times a year by the founders of the organization who travel to Masese several times a year.

You can read more about the fundraiser efforts that I am involved in through a series of blog posts, the most recent one being Giving Tuesday Offers Hope to Others. 100% of the proceeds from the various fundraisers on Long Island go to the sustainable living and education programs in Masese.

Today is a double offering post. 

#1. 
I am participating in Heidi Mordhorst's March...Forward Poetry Challenge. Today's word is clutch. The poem created talks of the difference in the types of clutches there are in the fashion industry. 
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
For fashionistas, a clutch
is a must that cannot hold much.
It is dainty and sweet,
compact and petite-
a place for lipstick 
and mirrors to meet.

Glamorous stars clutch 
their Red Carpet clutch
that doesn't hold much.
They stop and they pose
but it is not their clothes
that tiny cameras seek.
What is wanted is a peek
inside the Clutch Cam
that cradles the clutch
where fans look, not touch.

Advice for the stars
on Red Carpet Day
when in a clutch
get a soft mani touch
so your lovely hands
can showcase the clutch.

Advice for everyday shoppers:
Look for the Mothers of Masese clutch
fashionably crafted by women's touch.
Carol Varsalona (c) 2015. All Rights Reserved
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Thank you for allowing me to inform you of a service learning project that reaches into the heart of Africa to bring education to Ugandan children and a sustainable living cottage industry to the mothers of Masese. Creating Hope from Paper was my original post written about this outreach program. 

#2
Not, it is time to turn your attention to Day 23 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge at Two Writing Teachers to read slices from many different writers.  

Slice of Life: Giving Tuesday Offers Hope to Others

I was planning on slicing today about learning but an email came across AOL and it touched my heart. It spoke about the stories we create and reminded me of the topic of NCTE 14. Just two weeks ago I was at the convention with educators from the Two Writing Teachers, Poetry Friday, Nerdy Book Club, and other groups. We shared stories of our learning, of students grappling with their learning, and ones of connected communities. We laughed, ate and learned together, and also perused and purchased books. Our stacks became larger each day. As we left the convention center, we took back priceless gifts: friendship, literacy learning, and our treasured friends-books.

This is not the way it is all around the world. There is a refugee village in Uganda by the Nile River that is populated by the Masese mothers and children who are struggling for food, education, and learning. It is through the gracious gift of time, support, and learning that the village has celebrated their good fortune of meeting the helping hands of H.E.L.P. Uganda. 

I have blogged about this organization and the gift of giving before (here and here). A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working at a fundraiser for this group at our church. There were so many wonderful parishioners who listened intently to the story of creating hope from paper and wished to support the cause. 

On that day, children and adults listened to the story of the Masese mothers and children and supported the hope of sharing joy with others who are struggling. All twenty paper bricks on display were sold in the hopes of raising funds to construct three new classrooms. Beautifully handcrafted bags and jewelry were displayed, exhibiting the art of rolling paper into designed creations. A story unfolded about the generosity of St. Agnes Cathedral parishioners who crowded around the tables to share a gift of giving at the holiday. 

In the passage below you will read a joyful story of a Ugandan child reading aloud. It is a story to be told again and again. It touched my heart as an educator and it will touch yours because this is the gift of reading and learning that we bring to life each day in the classroom. 

Today is Giving Tuesday, 
the single most charitable day of the year. 

On this day, we ask that you help us continue to create more stories. Every time we have a team go to Uganda, we return with stories. Stories of lives that have been changed. Stories of success. Sometimes it's a story about a mother who carried her unconscious child from her home to our school, just in time for him to be rushed to the hospital, moments before he would have likely died. Sometimes it's not a story of an exact life changing moment, but a more gradual one, one that might be easy to go unnoticed. These are the ones that show the change that is happening in our village, the long term change, the change that gives us the encouragement to keep doing what we're doing. 

In October, at the end of a visit from a medical team, the children at HELP School put on a program for their visitors. At the end of this program a young girl, around 13 years old, stood up to read from a book. Before she read, she told her story about how before our school, she had never attended school, she just ran around the streets all day. And there she stood, reading perfectly.

What we are building there is more than just a classroom building or a fence. We are building a community up, and building a future full of promise.  When you purchase a brick to help build a new classroom at our HELP School in Masese, Uganda - you also get a Brick Gift Card to give to someone special in honor of them!

H.E.L.P. Uganda

Click here to learn more about the H.E.L.P. School in Masese.

Now stroll over to Slice of Life where you can write a slice of life story, read slices from other writers in the community, and provide comments to at least 3 of the SOL 14 bloggers.