How did GIFTS OF LIFE CHARITIES get started?


January 1, 2009~ It was exactly 1 year ago that our soapstone artisans in Kenya lost everything to the "post election" violence. The civil war sent the peaceful country of Kenya spiraling out of control and hundreds of thousands of people ran for their lives to refugee camps in bordering countries of Tanzania and Uganda. Many innocent people lost their lives, their homes, their livelihoods.

Joseph Obara was the founder of our soapstone group, the Fatrine Self Help group, in Kenya. This was a group formed to help eradicate poverty in their area. This group makes the most beautiful soapstone art! I found them when I was looking for soapstone to import for my Fair Trade shop, Gifts of Life~Gifts that Give Back. We had an ongoing business relationship until the very end of 2007, when Joseph had mentioned in an email that all business had come to a standstill, because of the upcoming election Dec 27, 2007. I didn't think much about it, until around Jan 1 2008, when I started seeing reports on the news of the violence overtaking Kenya, because of the political elections that were said to be "rigged."

It was amazing how fast our relationship changed... I cannot explain how it feels to be close enough to hear families screaming for help (through computer or cell phone)... but are far enough away to feel like there is no way to help.

The race was on... God had put me in heart of this family and group for a reason and this was it. I had never had to do anything like this before... but knew I was their only hope. Joseph contacted me as soon as they safely could from a church "camp", as they could not make it to the refugee camps... it was too dangerous. The humanitarian groups we contacted could not get to them either... so they were on their own, having been burned out of their home... running with just the clothes on their backs.

Joseph emailed me from the church, on another mans laptop computer.. but the man was charging Joseph to use it... so communication was short. Joseph told me how and why this violence started and just what were the best news sources to watch, to follow the violence as it unfolded. I was glued to the computer all day, day after day. You can imagine my devastation when I learned of a church in their area that housed 60 internally displaced people, when "killers" torched it burning all 60 people alive.... and I had know way of knowing if Josephs family was in that specific church. I went through the grief for almost a week before I heard from them again.... finally learning that they were still running, but ALIVE! Gifts of Life Charities

Our Philosophy
This went on for months, and we became family... and I took the mother role and protector from my far corner of the world, so far from them. With all the help and support of local people and tourists passing through my shop we put out the change jar and did raffles, and fundraisers to keep this family with enough food to keep them alive. We had all kinds of wonderful help... somehow God sent all the people we needed to get the mission done.

When this started I didn't know anything about fund raising, raffles, tribal conflicts (I was so naive I thought tribes were a thing of the past). I learned fast! To jump ahead a bit... While this went on and we kept sending money for food, Joseph told me at one point how his family had been sitting for their evening meal, and how his family had been discussing how "I was the angel sent from God, to save them from starvation." The reason for telling you this is because I have to say that God was sending all the perfect angels to me... to help Josephs family in Kenya.

~JOSEPH'S ANGELS~ (WE ALL BECAME HIS ANGELS!) A wonderful woman came into my shop one day... and in talking to her realized she was an angel here to help guide me. She had worked as a humanitarian relief worker all her life I think, and became my right hand woman. She had connections to Amnesty International, Oxfam, Refugees International, and so many more... she worked in refugee camps all around the world. She was a wonderful help... full of knowledge and resources, and she pointed me in all the right directions... until I was so overwhelmed I thought I would explode. She preferred to remain anonymous throughout, but was a "God-send." Another wonderful "angel" friend of mine... Nancy, an artist, donated her beautiful pictures to raffle off. When we decided we needed to ask for help on a wider scale, we got help from The Metropolitan Coffee House and Art Gallery, in North Conway village, who graciously allowed us to do a music benefit .. and my buddy Howard also helped point me in many directions for help and became my guiding light in the storm.

Then came the need for musicians ... and in my thinking.. thought no one would step forward to do this for free for us. The angels came~One day in my shop, I just figured I would ask the guys walking through if they knew anyone who played music and might help us. I was talking to the wonderful "Minstrel Jaybird" from Medieval Manor in Boston... and I didn't know it. Jay Psaros was our headliner and was very excited to travel up from Boston, just to help us out! And it grew from there, local musicians stepped up, and made me realize just how many people really do want to help.

As peace started to return to Kenya, I realized that we couldn't keep begging for help, our economy was so bad.... and we had to find a way to get this family and group of soapstone workers back to work. Again I started emailing anyone I thought might be able to help. When I was about to give up... I contacted my friend Phil at One World Projects... and he just happened to be connected to Aid to Artisans grant committee.... and he pointed me in the right direction... and has been a great support and guiding force since. We secured a grant for Fatrine, and 20 families in Kenya were able to go back to work. Between this grant and a matched donation... they were back in business with a roof over their head again.

In all the running, confusion, and miscommunication, Peris, Joseph's wife had to be hospitalized. I thought I understood that it was stomach or back problems... and then thought it was a possible miscarriage as they ran. Having to learn what is correct in other cultures I was unsure if Joseph just felt he couldn't talk about female problems with the opposite sex. When all was said and done... I received the pictures of the NEW BABY THEY HAD~ JUNE 11, 2008 baby SARAH~KIM WAS BORN AND NAMED FOR ME! Joseph calls me MUM, and his other girls, Faith 11, Tracey 8, and little Nellie 4, call me NYANYA "grandmother." This is my Kenyan family, and we have a bond that will never be broken.



Now, with so many left out details... I want to get to why we are doing what we are doing. I had previously had heart ties to Nepal (still do) and Guatemala... but for some reason God led me to Josephs family in Kenya. All has been well........ the girls, Faith, Tracey and Nellie are back in school... Fatrine is doing ok, with soapstone orders... but could use more! But all in all, doing fine. Until about a month or so ago, when Joseph got malaria. The realization hit me that 20+ families depend on Joseph... most are illiterate, do not use computer, or speak English. Without Joseph, they would be lost. I told Joseph that as soon as he was well... we had to work on getting some of the local women an education, as we know what horrible things await a women with children to feed, with no husband to provide.

When I asked Joseph this question...

WHAT HAPPENS TO WOMEN IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THEIR HUSBANDS JOSEPH? THIS IS THE EXACT EMAIL HE RESPONDED WITH:

THIS MUM IS NOT GOOD TO TELL YOU. BUT LET ME SAY IT OUT.
THEY GET INHERRITED BY OTHER MEN END RESULT BRING UP AIDS. CHILDREN ARE ADDED IN THE FAMILY BRINGING MORE PROBLEMS WITH MULTNUTRATIONS.
SOME WORK GARDENS OF RICH FAMILIES BUT THEY EARN PEANANTS , SOME END UP DIENG DUE TO STRESS.
SOME GO FOR COMERCIAL SEX INCHANGE OF MONEY.
,SOME DIE AND LEAVE CHILDREN AS ORPANS . WE HAVE SO BAD EXAMPLES THAT WILL SCARE YOU MOST AM SPEAKING THIS WITH ALOT EXAMPLES IN OUR AREA WHERE BY WE HAVE MORE THAN 300 ORPHANS IN AVERY SMALL BOSINANGE AREA.
WHEN WE REACH THIS LEVEL OF DISCUSTIION I FEAR MOST THAN ALL IN MY LIFE

So we started getting our eggs in a row to start the Womens Education Sponsorship program. When Joseph presented our ideas to the local women he said they cried .. and told him how much they "want an education, but to please help the 300+ orphans first. The children are our future, please take care and educate them first." So we started rethinking the program.

One night shortly after Joseph had recovered from malaria, he called me in the middle of the night and said "mum, baby Sarah-Kim is crying and crying and coughing!" Not knowing what to say, I asked if they could get her to the hospital? Joseph said "no mum, it is dark, we have to wait til daylight."

As westerners we don't think of what happens in these villages. When our children need medical, we get in a car and go! In these remote villages with no power... it is DARK! They cannot venture out into the blackness to walk two hrs to get medical. Baby Sarah Kim did get medical the following day, she spent a few days in the hospital with a respiratory infection and malaria... While discussing just how we could help the area most... Joseph said "mum, if we had a two room medical dispensary "clinic" that would help most." He said if our people are dieing from malaria and diseases.. the education won't help the dead." Hence we decided to do our best in all desperate areas of need. We had the land donated to put our small clinic on in the village of Bosinange, Kenya. To break ground and put in the foundation will take $500.00 As of Jan 09 we have accomplished that. The next 2000.00 will put up the walls. This clinic will be life changing for this village, and it is said that it will service 40,000 people!

The GIFTS OF LIFE~ CLINIC will be built of local bricks, sand and cement. When the clinic is built, help will be available to bring medical to it.

The GIFTS OF LIFE~WOMEN AND ORPHANS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM will help women and orphans of the village get the education they need to break the poverty cycle.

Since all of this has been underway, baby Sarah Kim got Malaria again for the second time in her young life. This time she spent 7 days in the hospital and we weren't sure she would pull through... which led us to our next mission... GET MALARIA NETS THERE ASAP!