If you had asked me a month ago what I would be doing when I went to Africa I probably would have given a generic- possibly sarcastic answer... never in a million years would I think that I was going to be excited about urine and beads! I am so stoked on these income generating projects for women. Rebecca and I have been researching and researching and are excited to start! I was researching vertical gardens last year and came across a report that was talking about sack gardens in Kenya and how they have long drought seasons so people have started to use sewage lines to water their gardens. At first a had the same reaction you probably just did...euuughhh nasty... so I read it out loud to everyone immediately of course... but as I kept reading I actually got super interested. Turns out pee is a fantastic fertilizer! It makes the veggies bigger and better, they grow faster, and it is a natural pesticide so more plants survive to be fully grown. It also makes for more seeds, which turn out to be the truly profitable part of farming here. The women will be able to grow veggies to feed their families and they will be bigger so there will be more to go around, they will then turn around and sell the seeds making a profit and starting all over! It is going to be so awesome! We are so stoked about the project and there has been quite a few potty jokes going around our house. (we may or may not have a very good septic system at our house and have a few unusual bathroom rules- including the favorite "if it's yellow let it mellow"). We are now going to put that "mellow" to good use! haha. Rebecca, Sam, and I started our own garden today to give it a try before we go and teach village women how to do it next week. We found ourselves scaling the hill/cliff down to the jungle that is our backyard and collecting buckets of dirt...they were much heavier than anticipated! We also went out and collected rocks from the road where we were almost trampled by a herd of cows. I got SO dirty. We had a ton of fun though. We even got the boys to agree to pee in our old water jugs so that we can try it out. We are going to have a man competition and see who can produce better cabbage :) . I am so excited for this project. I know it is kinda gross... but this is really happening all over the world, and SUCCESSFULLY! Who knew we could change the world with pee....
The other project Rebecca and I are really amped on is a bead project. Last year the Help volunteers taught the women how to make paper beads to sell and create incomes. A few of the women got really good at making them, but there is just no market for it here. We decided that we are going to start a website to launch their products. It is such a great opportunity for these women and we can really make a difference in their lives. Plus the jewelry is going to really awesome and stuff people would want to wear anyways. These women are mostly widows and have no other way to care for their family. They are living in the slum and this project will help them to provide for their families and put their children through school.
The last project we are really excited about is a health clinic in Buyanbuyoka. These people are amazing! They are so ready to put it together and build it in 2 weeks. They have all pulled together and are pooling their resources. This clinic would be such a blessing in this little village! We are so excited to help them and get them the health care they need. When we were at the village on Monday they showed us their "clinic" and it was a teeny room with a cabinet in it with basically nothing inside...a couple cotton balls... but then after they crammed us all in this dark dungeon-like mud hut room- they told us that many women had given birth in there, right on that floor.... now if you know me you know that that creeped me out beyond belief! euugghhh! I immediately wanted out but was trapped! Only to realize there was a dirty razor blade on the floor..haha so you see they really need this clinic! We are going to start fundraising soon and I know some people have been asking me how you can help and this is how! I will let you know the details when I know!
So basically... Africa is awesome. I am living a ridiculous life full of things I never thought I would be interested in...
The other project Rebecca and I are really amped on is a bead project. Last year the Help volunteers taught the women how to make paper beads to sell and create incomes. A few of the women got really good at making them, but there is just no market for it here. We decided that we are going to start a website to launch their products. It is such a great opportunity for these women and we can really make a difference in their lives. Plus the jewelry is going to really awesome and stuff people would want to wear anyways. These women are mostly widows and have no other way to care for their family. They are living in the slum and this project will help them to provide for their families and put their children through school.
The last project we are really excited about is a health clinic in Buyanbuyoka. These people are amazing! They are so ready to put it together and build it in 2 weeks. They have all pulled together and are pooling their resources. This clinic would be such a blessing in this little village! We are so excited to help them and get them the health care they need. When we were at the village on Monday they showed us their "clinic" and it was a teeny room with a cabinet in it with basically nothing inside...a couple cotton balls... but then after they crammed us all in this dark dungeon-like mud hut room- they told us that many women had given birth in there, right on that floor.... now if you know me you know that that creeped me out beyond belief! euugghhh! I immediately wanted out but was trapped! Only to realize there was a dirty razor blade on the floor..haha so you see they really need this clinic! We are going to start fundraising soon and I know some people have been asking me how you can help and this is how! I will let you know the details when I know!
So basically... Africa is awesome. I am living a ridiculous life full of things I never thought I would be interested in...
Sam and Rebecca are so stoked to put the rocks in... that weigh a million pounds...
realizing we need MORE dirt and about to go back down the hill to dig more dirt around the trash piles...
I don't know how I got so muddy... way dirtier than the other two...
Josh's pee can.... before his first contribution...
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