Monday, May 21, 2007
Bakery Update
Every week when the Garasie Women meet, I sit under our usual neem tree waiting for the members to arrive. Now that it's May and the rain has begun its slow but joyous return to the Upper West Region, Ester, the treasurer and usually first to arrive, and I search the sky hopefully for any sign of rain. We debate for a moment on the potential of a lone, inconspicuous, off-white cloud on the horizon, then laugh and agree, "biou" (tomorrow)… surely it will rain tomorrow. I'm like an impatient (American) child on Christmas Eve who fears that tomorrow may never come. My impatience for rain is fueled by selfish desires to escape the routine of hot, sweaty, and restless nights, the fun of playing with neighborhood kids in the rain, and the beautiful transition of dry, dusty and burnt to lush green landscape. Not to mention, the added bonus of farming season, meaning the young men will all be hard at work in the fields instead of looking for trouble around town. For the women of the Garasie group, however, the rain translates into the majority of their livelihood; without enough rain their yields of yam, corn, millet, peanuts, rice, or beans won't last their household through the year.
Many say we are fortunate to live in a town and not a village because there are opportunities to do more than just subsistence farming. Opportunities, however, are very limited and out of reach for most women of the Garasie Bakery Cooperative. That is why they came together and sought out help. They want to create opportunity for themselves. The funds raised for Garasie Women's Bakery will be used to build a bakery and buy equipment, but more importantly it will create employment for these women.
As I said earlier, a major reason I feel so strongly about raising funds for this project is because I personally know and believe these women deserve this. I wish there was a way for me to invoke those connections in all of you… so that every time you think of the "Garasie Women" you think of Elizabeth's hug, Ester's laugh, Rebecca's ability to grow 2 feet when speaking passionately about something, Winifred's extremely loud clap…. So here is my attempt to give you a glimpse at three of these women I have come to know so well.
Elizabeth has a huge smile and hug and is one of my best friends in Jirapa. She is the leader of the group and constantly uses her natural leadership as a Pentecostal pastor's wife to mentor disadvantaged women and girls. Elizabeth feels very passionately about empowering women and is constantly organizing events, such as skills workshops to give women the opportunity to be a part of the family income generation. It was at one of Elizabeth's skill workshops that the Garasie group met and the idea for a bakery originated.
Winifred, a tall, strong woman with a look about her that conjures up words like pioneer, is the president of the Garasie group. She is extremely hard working and often comes straight to meetings from farm work, as apparent by the rice hulls on her head scarf or soil on her thick callused hands. I believe it was because of her work ethic that Winifred was elected president. Winifred only completed elementary school and struggles with reading and writing, leaving her with very few employment opportunities as the sole provider for her 4 children since her husband's death several years ago.
Rebecca, a petite, eager women with an elfish grin, paler, freckled skin and hair tinted a slight orange (a common effect of vitamin deficiency), is the most organized and literate in the group and was therefore elected secretary. The only work she could find was as an elementary teacher in a small village school a 5 mile bike ride from her house. This is the only way she has been able to help her husband, Luke, the contractor who has volunteered to build our bakery, support their 4 children and her sister, who is mentally disabled, and her sister's 2 children who live in their 2 bedroom house.
Note: Jenell’s email ended here- though I don’t think her entry was entirely complete. I am sure she would have encouraged you to keep the bakery group in your thoughts and continue to think of ways to raise the money needed to make this bakery a reality. It is important the bakery money is raised and construction can begin while Jenell is still a Peace Corps volunteer in Jirapa (she is done in the end of Nov which means they need to start construction soon!) because she has the connections and history with these women that will make the next step of the project go smoothly. Thank you to those who have donated, and please think of what we all can do to help raise the remaining $6,000.00 quickly.
p.s. To contribute go to peacecorps.gov or here is a direct link to the webpage describing the project and links to donate
https://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/donors/contribute/projdetail.cfm?projdesc=641-225& (click on "contribute to this project, and follow directions to Enter the amount, Go to the bottom of the page, click continue and enter your credit card info)
Many say we are fortunate to live in a town and not a village because there are opportunities to do more than just subsistence farming. Opportunities, however, are very limited and out of reach for most women of the Garasie Bakery Cooperative. That is why they came together and sought out help. They want to create opportunity for themselves. The funds raised for Garasie Women's Bakery will be used to build a bakery and buy equipment, but more importantly it will create employment for these women.
As I said earlier, a major reason I feel so strongly about raising funds for this project is because I personally know and believe these women deserve this. I wish there was a way for me to invoke those connections in all of you… so that every time you think of the "Garasie Women" you think of Elizabeth's hug, Ester's laugh, Rebecca's ability to grow 2 feet when speaking passionately about something, Winifred's extremely loud clap…. So here is my attempt to give you a glimpse at three of these women I have come to know so well.
Elizabeth has a huge smile and hug and is one of my best friends in Jirapa. She is the leader of the group and constantly uses her natural leadership as a Pentecostal pastor's wife to mentor disadvantaged women and girls. Elizabeth feels very passionately about empowering women and is constantly organizing events, such as skills workshops to give women the opportunity to be a part of the family income generation. It was at one of Elizabeth's skill workshops that the Garasie group met and the idea for a bakery originated.
Winifred, a tall, strong woman with a look about her that conjures up words like pioneer, is the president of the Garasie group. She is extremely hard working and often comes straight to meetings from farm work, as apparent by the rice hulls on her head scarf or soil on her thick callused hands. I believe it was because of her work ethic that Winifred was elected president. Winifred only completed elementary school and struggles with reading and writing, leaving her with very few employment opportunities as the sole provider for her 4 children since her husband's death several years ago.
Rebecca, a petite, eager women with an elfish grin, paler, freckled skin and hair tinted a slight orange (a common effect of vitamin deficiency), is the most organized and literate in the group and was therefore elected secretary. The only work she could find was as an elementary teacher in a small village school a 5 mile bike ride from her house. This is the only way she has been able to help her husband, Luke, the contractor who has volunteered to build our bakery, support their 4 children and her sister, who is mentally disabled, and her sister's 2 children who live in their 2 bedroom house.
Note: Jenell’s email ended here- though I don’t think her entry was entirely complete. I am sure she would have encouraged you to keep the bakery group in your thoughts and continue to think of ways to raise the money needed to make this bakery a reality. It is important the bakery money is raised and construction can begin while Jenell is still a Peace Corps volunteer in Jirapa (she is done in the end of Nov which means they need to start construction soon!) because she has the connections and history with these women that will make the next step of the project go smoothly. Thank you to those who have donated, and please think of what we all can do to help raise the remaining $6,000.00 quickly.
p.s. To contribute go to peacecorps.gov or here is a direct link to the webpage describing the project and links to donate
https://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/donors/contribute/projdetail.cfm?projdesc=641-225& (click on "contribute to this project, and follow directions to Enter the amount, Go to the bottom of the page, click continue and enter your credit card info)
