Who is a Woman who Inspires You?

 Who is a woman who inspires you?

This week Amisadai is involved in activities surrounding International Women's Day at their school and she has set the challenge for fellow students to think about this question. Here is a short video she made to pose the question ...

And now we also wanted to invite you into the challenge! This week is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate a woman who has inspired you! Tell us about someone who has inspired you, maybe a quote or a story too, I think it will be inspiring for many more of us, so please share! It can be anonymous too if that is more appropriate. 

There is so much we can learn from the life and experiences of others! And it is good to honour, encourage and thank others ... women don't have to be famous or "saints" to be inspirational, but let us appreciate the ordinary people in our lives who inspire and encourage us in everyday life! 

Please share in the comments here! Or head over to the Hive Facebook Page and share there! Or maybe write a private note to someone you know to thank them for the inspiration they have been to you. 

We know so many wonderful women we would love to celebrate here, but we have just selected a few of the women we know who are inspirationally using the gifts they have to serve and give hope... and then a few other women from history who we have been inspired by! The girls will be posting some of their inspirational women on social media and we will share here on the blog over the next few weeks and keep the hashtag #HelpTheHive circulating! 

Today, as you have heard in the video, we want to celebrate Aikande, our dear friend who is doing so much to lead and encourage the Upendo wa Mama women at The Hive in Tanzania. I don't think she realised just how much she was signing up for when she arrived! She has devoted herself to serving the women, learning so many new things and putting it all into practice! And I know that the Mwanza community she serves with the mamas through The Hive Shop (coordinating deliveries of fresh organic vegetables from Mavuno Family Children's home and orders of coffee and fresh meats...) they love and appreciate her too! And we are trusting that at the end of this fundraising month, we will be able to ensure her role at The Hive will continue!

Thank you so very much to those who have given to Help the Hive already! Thank you for your shares and likes and comments! You can find the Virgin Money Giving Page here! And our Canadian friends who would like to donate can now go directly to this EIC Giving Page! 

Thank you so very much, it all makes a difference!

Soap and Candles. Balms from a land flowing with Milk and Honey

I am lagging behind on the blogging again! But there is plenty cookin' here in Tanzania! I will save for next time all the stories on fuel-efficient stoves firing, beekeeper group meetings, and alas, a hive tragedy, all of which have been going on this week with Andrew visiting from Iringa.

Today, given that it is International Women's Day, here is a little bit on these wonderful women in Tanzania who deserve recognition for their achievement in the face of adversity! Women who are playing their part working towards peace and security and human rights, in particular, on behalf of those with albinism.

These women are working together towards getting their own workshop where they can learn and develop new skills and crafts and a shop where they can sell their products. These women have little to support their children with but with a Savings and Loans scheme and their own bank account they are managing to save money that they can draw from. Medicine can be bought, school fees can be paid. It all makes a difference!

This week together we were busy working on 100% pure beeswax candles in chopped up PVC pipe moulds as well as lip balms, body creams and greeting cards. It isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination! Just getting us all there, as well as all the materials (balancing all while treading carefully on rocks through the floods to get in the gate), is a feat in itself. We then rather struggled with the candles and need to do some fine-tuning. There are too many air pockets and they were almost impossible to get out of the moulds. We will try more soap or oil in the mould next time and work on getting the right pouring temperature and pouring speed! But in it all, we are learning and making progress and hope we will soon be selling beautiful, quality candles amongst other things!

Our first attempts

 

Mama Faith melts the beeswax



Jane works on embroidering a card while the balms are setting



Mama Wilson with her poor eyesight cannot sew, but she can glue the cards together!

Creative working, talking, praying for one another and
reading that Word as sweet as honey!

Natural Milk and Honey Soap
... from a Pringle Pot mould!

Lush!

If you (and your friends!) have a minute to spare, we would love it if you could help the women's groups with your opinions on various beeswax and honey products. Please fill out (and share) our short survey here below on the blog. We really value your advice and support! Thank you!
 

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