The Buzz for International Women's Day

It is International Women's Day on Monday, March 8th. And in brief, here is what's cookin'!

#HelpTheHive

Throughout March, we really want to help and support The Hive, Mwanza, the project empowering women with albinism and supporting rural beekeepers in Tanzania. There are so many needs all over the world right now but this is one small way we feel we are able to make a difference and we know many of you who have followed our blog know and love these women and beekeepers too. We hope you can get involved in whatever way you are able to!

You can find our Virgin Money Giving Fundraising Page here! 

The girls and I will be using this blog over the following weeks to communicate about the fundraiser and things related, so please come back soon! And get ready for the READY STEADY COOK Hive Challenge! (Details coming soon!) If you have any ideas or things to share, please do post or message as we really want you all to get involved and enjoy this month too! We will also be sharing on social media, so please join us and follow, share and contribute on what's happening with #HelpTheHive!

And now for a bit more story (you all know I am not so good at "brief"!!) 

It feels rather good to be back on the blog ... I realise I miss it! But now I am writing from our little home tucked quietly in the valley near Bath in lockdown and I'm not sure how interesting my posts would be! Our thoughts and prayers are very much with those we love in Tanzania. You may have seen Tanzania featuring on the international news recently, as a country dismissing the need for vaccines as a "respiratory illness" seems to spread across regions... 

There have been so many effects of the virus globally. Physically, mentally, economically, spiritually. It has been devastating in so many ways and yet there have also been many good things that we have seen to come out of it in areas of science, community, faith and values. 

There are huge global issues which personally affect each one of us differently. But we can all help one another in whatever way we can! And as we have seen, it is easier than we perhaps previously thought to be together virtually with those physically very far away. And that is why the girls and I are focussing in March on helping the women and beekeepers in Mwanza, Tanzania. 

As we raise support for The Hive, in particular, we are seeking to raise money to enable Aikande to continue in her role supporting the Upendo wa Mama women and also Bhatendi in her work with rural beekeepers. Aikande and Bhatendi are doing a really amazing job (in very challenging circumstances) working with The Hive and we really want to make sure they have they funding they need to continue this work. As of this month, we are so excited that Aikande will be working officially with Emmanuel International. If you are joining us for the first time, we will be celebrating these two inspirational women more throughout the month and you can find out more about who they are and the work they are doing!

International Women's Day is a good occasion to celebrate and give a voice to women who have been marginalised and recognise women who have made a difference. It is a chance to honour and applaud women who are using their gifts to serve and help in wonderful ways and also an opportunity to for us all to serve and pray for women who are oppressed and hurting. Many women today are looking for value and worth, for equality and rights. As a Christian, I am thankful for the truth I believe, that women are created in God's image, and this is where our true value and worth is found. This is life-changing! And if this is our starting point, we just need to look to the example of Jesus as we see just how valued women are in His eyes. It changed society in the first century and it can do it now! 

A Stolen Phone... and other Recent Events!

It hasn't been the easiest of weeks! But it is always so encouraging to look back when writing a blog, and find the little joys that make it all worthwhile! These mamas in Dar es Salaam are one of the joys! It was good to be with them last week and see all they had made since I was last there, and work together on more products. We continued our readings through Proverbs, which always brings wisdom into our lives and situations! And we were visited by the Director of UTSS who came to meet the women and talk about their activities and plans. These women are gaining confidence and starting to generate other ideas for further entrepreneurial activities. We have all learned a lot over the past year about things that work … and things that don't!

The Dar es Salaam mamas group

It was a very hot and busy week with hours of driving in traffic in a very hot car, traipsing and hunting around a huge and insanely crowded market, a full schedule with no lunch breaks and then a late chipsi mayai (egg and chips) or kuku na chipsi (chicken and chips) when I eventually got to my little guesthouse. But while in Dar es Salaam, I was able to make the most of the opportunity to visit suppliers of equipment and ingredients for the Mwanza Mamas bakery! The road towards the Bakery has been a long, and to be honest, fairly daunting journey recently, navigating through tax laws, legal registration processes and viability spreadsheets (none of which are remotely "my thing" and remain way out of my comfort zone and area of gifting) but we are seeing the light of progress glimmer!

The light of all progress dimmed however when my phone was stolen right out of my hands! The thief sped by on the back of a motorbike and was obviously well practiced in theft technique. Not a nice experience! And that made all activity in Dar es Salaam suddenly very complicated … the whole police and phone process was long and complicated and trying to arrange meetings and taxis was complicated with no phone or internet! But all is well now … I have bought a new phone here in Mwanza and was very thankful to get my own number back and keep all my contacts!

Suffice to say, it was good to be home again on Friday night! Just in time for a quick turnaround to get to the Mwanza Mamas workshop early on Saturday preparing for the School Family Fun Day in the afternoon! It was a great opportunity for the Mamas to again be selling in the community, and Amisadai was working with them to practice their English, but most of them got a little shy! It was good to share a table with the girls from Christ's Daughters again. Laura had been staying with them for four nights last week and had been making cookies with them to sell, while she practiced her Swahili! It was a fun community event and we were glad to share in it! Jeni was even brave enough to ride a horse ...the others couldn't contemplate the thought of getting on, certain they would fall off! And they all enjoyed their first taste of cotton candy!

Jeni has her first horse-ride!

Upendo wa Mama and Christ's Daughters table

And now, Tim and Amisadai are in Kenya while Louisa and I stay in Mwanza. As I write they are on the bus and have just crossed the border and should be in Nairobi by 5am! On Friday and Saturday they will be at the African Society of Evangelical Theology where Tim is presenting his paper  … more about this in the next blog! Then they have some time to enjoy coffee shops and buy hundreds of honey jars and meet various people from churches and projects there. We look forward to being all together again on Thursday … albeit briefly before I am off to the beekeepers and mamas in Malya and Ngudu with Bhatendi … but those are events for another week!