Black History Month and African Clothes

"Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others."
Rosa Parks



What do black history month and the SHONA women have in common?

Quite a lot actually.

While living in Congo, and working with the SHONA women I taught them about Harriet Jacobs. We talked about this courageous young slave woman, who ran away from her "master" and hid in a crawl space above a house for 7 years. She hid in a space where she could not stand upright, literally depriving herself of the ability to stand or walk.

The SHONA women too have been deprived of the ability to stand and walk. For Argentine, Riziki, and Solange growing up with polio meant that they could only crawl. Today, finally, with the help of the handicapped center in Goma, they can stand with metal braces and crutches. But for a long time that was impossible.

They have also all had the experience of hiding. Growing up in the midst of war zones, and even today when they return to visit their families in rural areas, they are only too accustomed to the sound of gun-shots, the bolting of doors, and the hunkering down.

Harriet Jacobs' story resonated with the SHONA women.

But perhaps what struck the SHONA women most was the book itself. I showed them Harriet Jacobs' book, with her own words inside. Harriet Jacobs came out of slavery to write her own story. You could see the glimmer in the ladies eyes as they passed their hands over the cover.

Sometimes, as an American living abroad I have deeply regretted so much of the American "example" to the world...the war in Iraq, the corporate greed, the growing gap between rich and poor...

And surely slavery is one of those terrible examples. But I am thankful for the countless African-American lives who have reclaimed that story, and turned it into one of struggle and triumph. Surely those many African American voices are some of America's greatest strengths.

I am thankful for black history month. For the opportunity it gives to reflect on the struggles that have been fought over generations, and the powerful voices that have been forged in the midst of those struggles.

If you wear African clothing as part of your celebrations, or simply as part of your life, would you consider wearing clothing sewn by the SHONA women, women who are still struggling to find a way to make their voices heard, but who definitely have a story to tell. Your purchases make a huge difference to them.

Visitors from Congo

This week we had a friend from Congo visit us here in New York. It is funny when two worlds collide. When people from one part of your life, suddenly appear in another context...when a guy you have only seen in Goma, in short sleeves, appears in NY in the middle of winter, bundled in a winter jacket and hat.

Alain is a young Congolese man. He was student of mine at one of the universities in Goma. But he also became a friend, who continued visiting the SHONA women, long after I left, and in fact helped take pictures for SHONA, and translated for our visitors on occasion. In August, he came to the United States to study and this was his his first visit to NY.

While he was here, we called the SHONA ladies, who were clearly overjoyed to hear his voice, and fascinated by the fact that Alain and I were together, half-way across the world, speaking Swahili, and thinking of Congo. All of us, throughout our lives, carry those we love with us. We all have "homes" that sometimes seem very far away. But we also have the joy, on occasion, of seeing our lives come together in surprising ways. Of building bridges between people that we love, and occasionally glimpsing a world where we are all together. It's great to have visitors from other parts of our lives, and it is great to see the ways that our lives still come together in the midst of it all.

Here is a blog entry that he wrote about his visit...

I am in New York since last night. I am staying in the Shona Congo, New York base for a few days. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to experience Shona from the United States after living it in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In fact, I know Shona since very long, since I was in the Congo. Mapendo, Roy, Riziki, Argentine and the rest of the team are like my brother and sisters. They are wonderful people with so much courage and strength notwithstanding adversities. I have worked with them as translator, photographer and have had some fun time with them.

I am so happy for the impact Shona has had in the lives of these brothers and sisters of mine. They are really blessed to have learned craftswork for their lives would have been so different otherwise. In my country, handicapped people are usually neglected by society and even by their own family. They do not have access to education and therefore not to employment. The result is that handicapped people end up begging in the streets.

All my passion about collaborating with Shona is from my joy to see how these people have had a chance to live better, to help their families, to have access to basic education and to pay for school for their relatives. I have been telling people in Congo about Shona and how they can help it grow and in that way help the Shona team in their effort to live from the work of their hands.

I came to the United States five months ago for College. I have been meeting people who are interested in my country and in Africa. They want to know how life looks like, what is going on out there these days and so on. To those who have asked me if there was a way to help with little means, among the so many possibilities I know of, Shona Congo is where I direct most of them because I have been on the Congo side of the fence and I can testify of the impact of any purchase anyone does on Shona's online store or any donation they do.

Have you ever made any impact in some one's life?

Huge New Year Sale

For 2 days only (until New Year's Day), get a WILD 40% off everything in our store.
Just enter new year sale into the discount code box at check out and you will receive 40% off your whole order!

How about stocking up for all those little occasions that come up throughout the year? SHONA makes a great, meaningful gift to have on hand. Or what about a African pillow or table runner to bring a fresh new look to your home in this new year.

In the end, nothing beats starting the new year by helping another person. Your purchases at this time of the year, make a huge difference to these amazing women. Your purchases make it possible for them to continue to work, support their families, and change their worlds. How about starting the new year with that?

"Married to Amazement"

I found this poem on Everyday Epiphanies
and am taking the liberty of stealing it in honor of the new year.

Who doesn't want to start the new year by stealing something good?

In the past year, I have settled my feet on the ground in NY, after 3 years in Congo. For my husband and I, coming back to this country, in the midst of an "economic downturn" with no money under our belts and no jobs lined up, was not exactly a prudent move. Let's just say the health insurance debates, and unemployment statistics, were very real to us.

But this year I have been amazed.

Somehow, in the midst of it all, I have been able to continue working with the SHONA women. And they have astounded me with their strength and commitment. For over a year, they have plugged away, month after month, making good decisions when bad ones would have been so much easier. Being reliable, despite the fact that nothing in Congo is reliable.

I have been amazed at my students and friends here in the US, adults who dearly want to learn English, and who daily count this country as a blessing. Too many of them celebrate Christmas far from their own families, and unable to visit. They work in the back of restaurants on Christmas Eve and ride bicycles in the midst of a blizzard to deliver food. They are an honor to teach and to live beside.

And I shake my head.
At the inexplicable blessings on my own table.
And how quickly I grow accustomed to them.

As this poem says,
I want to live my life "married to amazement",
because truly this life calls for it.


When Death Comes
by Mary Oliver

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;

when death comes
like the measles-pox;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,

and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth
tending as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

What are you giving this holidays season?

How about the gift of cloth?

Holiday Specials!

SHONA is a great gift to give this holiday season. Our fabrics are brilliantly colored. Our designs are handcrafted with care. And the women behind this work are unforgettable.

Not sure what to give?

How about a gift of hope?

Now you can make a special donation to the SHONA women in the name of a friend.

We'll put their names on our "Wall of Thankfulness" and you'll receive a special SHONA notecard to put under the tree. Or if you prefer, you can download an electronic version of our notecard, and print it out right away.

100% of your donation will be used to buy cloth for the SHONA women to sew in this new year. There is no greater gift you can give these talented and determined women than to put cloth in their hands. That cloth triples in value as they sew it into beautiful crafts. It puts food on the table of families which are desperately poor. It builds houses for refugees. It sends children to school.

But most of all, it turns the table. It puts the power to create this change into the hands of these talented young women living in the midst of incredible obstacles. It celebrates their dignity and hope.

With your cloth they can sew a better future, for themselves, for their families and for their community. This holiday season consider giving this gift of hope.

How about a gift of hope?

Now you can make a special donation to the SHONA women in the name of a friend.

We'll put their names on our "Wall of Thankfulness" and you'll receive a special SHONA notecard to put under the tree. Or if you prefer, you can download an electronic version of our notecard, and print it out right away.

100% of your donation will be used to buy cloth for the SHONA women to sew in this new year. There is no greater gift you can give these talented and determined women than to put cloth in their hands. That cloth triples in value as they sew it into beautiful crafts. It puts food on the table of families which are desperately poor. It builds houses for refugees. It sends children to school.

But most of all, it turns the table. It puts the power to create this change into the hands of these talented young women living in the midst of incredible obstacles. It celebrates their dignity and hope.

With your cloth they can sew a better future, for themselves, for their families and for their community. This holiday season consider giving this gift of hope.

How about a gift of hope?

Now you can make a special donation to the SHONA women in the name of a friend.

We'll put their names on our "Wall of Thankfulness" and you'll receive a special SHONA notecard to put under the tree. Or if you prefer, you can download an electronic version of our notecard, and print it out right away.

100% of your donation will be used to buy cloth for the SHONA women to sew in this new year. There is no greater gift you can give these talented and determined women than to put cloth in their hands. That cloth triples in value as they sew it into beautiful crafts. It puts food on the table of families which are desperately poor. It builds houses for refugees. It sends children to school.

But most of all, it turns the table. It puts the power to create this change into the hands of these talented young women living in the midst of incredible obstacles. It celebrates their dignity and hope.

The needs we can't meet

The art of living.

Mapendo has faced a ridiculous amount of pressures lately. Barely into her 20s she has become the primary breadwinner for a struggling family. Her brother-in-law died recently, leaving her sister nearly homeless with ten children, and her mother is getting kicked off the land she built her house upon. It has been a particularly rough couple of months for Mapendo.

Mapendo playing handicapped sports.

But then again this is life in Eastern Congo.

What amazes me is the juggling of it all. Right now, through her sewing, Mapendo has more resources than anyone else in her family. But those resources are still very limited and the needs seem limitless. So how do you divide up the money you earn, for a family whose needs stretch far and wide? How do you give today, knowing that more needs will arise tomorrow?

In the non-profit world, they talk about "donor fatigue". It is hard to continue giving over and over again when problems seem never ending. We all like to give, when problems seem finite and manageable, when it seems that our one gift will make a world of difference, and there won't even be a need again next year.

But I've never heard a Congolese person talk about donor fatigue. And if anyone deserves to, it is probably them. Every Congolese person who takes one step out of poverty, is probably paying school fees for countless family members, buying medicine for at least a few people who are sick and being asked for no shortage of "loans". They know someone will come knocking on the door each night.

So what strikes me, is the way they open the door, time and time again, whether there is anything to give or not. How quickly I get fatigued and frustrated when the needs are too great or I have too little to give. To be honest in Congo I stopped answering the door sometimes, and here in the US, I switch off the news. And indeed, we can't meet all the problems of this world, nor fill every hand that is outstretched. But neither can they. The challenge is the living in the midst of that knowledge, without shutting down or shutting it out. And that is what I admire about so many people in Congo.

Mapendo has chosen to buy land for her mother to live on. A small piece of permanence for this family which has too long been refugees. It's a tiny piece of land on the outskirts of town but it's a beautiful act, and an incredible accomplishment. It deserves celebration. But Mapendo's sister and 10 children are still close to homeless and there are still so many more needs. And that is where life is, in the midst of that tension.