what an interview can do

A week or so ago a photographer named Lane Davis came and visited the Sseko workshop. He was traveling around the African continent taking pictures, and had a couple spare days in Kampala, so he came to check out Sseko..... and last week he did a great post on us: http://totellastory.org/2010/09/22/sseko-designs-interview/


Doing that interview for the post was really good for me. I have an amazing job and work for an amazing company that does amazing things.... but some days I forget that. There are moments when I get overwhelmed with orders from suppliers, or getting shipments out, or reading up on the investment code to make sure we register for the right license... It was good for me to be asked about the heart of Sseko, about our incredible girls, about our hopes and dreams... Because I don't ever want this to become just-a-job. Being here is something that is very meaningful to me, and I don't want that to change.


It's funny (or not so funny, I guess) how I tend to forget things that are really important to me if I don't remind myself of them... or have someone else around reminding me. Things as little as forgetting about a restaurant I really enjoy eating at, but also things as big as my purpose in Uganda, and even my purpose on this earth. One of my college roommates, Claire Berger, used to always talk about preaching the gospel to each other, and how we needed to do it everyday so we didn't forget. At first I thought that sounded like a little bit much, but I see so much wisdom in that now. Life happens fast and it is important to refocus and be reminded of whats really important.

I almost wish that I could be interviewed everyday. That everyday, I would have someone asking me why I'm doing what I'm doing... why I'm living the way I am... why. I guess I'll just have to make more effort to ask those questions of myself, to stop and examine my heart more often to make sure I'm never just going through the motions.

stay or go?

The past month or so my mind has been filled with that question: "stay or go?"

At the beginning of August, I found out that I had the opportunity to stay on longer with Sseko. It took me a little time to sift through the decision making process.... I had to ask myself questions like..... Do I want to keep living in Uganda? If so, how much longer? If I didn't stay, what would I do? Where would I live? Where would I work?... Lots and lots of questions. But in the end, they all boiled down to the big one- stay or go?

And I've decided to stay! I'll be living in Kampala through August 2011... I decided on that time because one of the big factors that lead to me staying longer was that a good deal of the work I'm doing now is in preparation for the next class of girls. I want to be able to see all these things through. By staying through the end of next summer, I will be able to see these new girls go through our whole program and then go off to college. I am really excited about the idea of getting to see them all the way through.

Sseko isn't the only reason I'm staying though... I'm also staying for the people I've met here and started building relationships with. Julie and I already have synchronized thoughts- multiple times a day she will take the words right out of my mouth and I swear she can read my mind so I can only imagine how much scarier that will be when we've spent a whole year together.... Dani just moved in- this morning she caught me working out to my Jillian Michaels workout video, The Shred, and instead of just closing the door and rolling her eyes, she started doing the invisible jump rope right along with me.... Amanda and I have weekly lunch dates- I could say so many things about her, but I'll just keep it simple and say that spending time with her is like a breath of fresh air.... These are just a few of the people here that I have come to know and love. And those three ladies specifically will be here for a pretty big portion of my time here. The community in Kampala is pretty transient- people come in and out so often, so it will be so SO good for me to have some consistency in these girls.

I am excited to call this city home for a little longer.

the best

I had the best day at work, and wanted it share just how amazing it was.

10:00am- meeting with the wife of the Vice President of Uganda, Mrs. Bukenya. She called me the Monday before the meeting, and when she called of course I didn't have her number... so after our quick convo of setting up our meeting time/place, I saved her number. My ghetto-Ugandan phone won't save a name longer than 12 letters. Margaret Bukenya wouldn't fit, so don't worry, the VP's wife is down in my contacts as Marg.

But anyway, meeting her was great. Me and Julie just sat on her porch and told her all about Sseko and our girls. It was such a fun little chat.

12:00pm- we made our way to the fabric market to pick up some new patterns. Just fyi, Sseko's spring line is going to be so great, because we have been buying some killer patterns recently!

12:46pm- Julie and I make our way, with bundles of yards of fabric in tow, to our favorite bakery, Hot Loaf. We get a few samosas for the taxi ride home.

1:30pm- Julie and I decide to spend the afternoon outside hanging out with our ladies. One of our employees, Allen, has this adorable daughter named Shiraz. Shiraz is 3 years old and the only thing she knows how to say in English is "I love you," making our hearts melt even more and making us seriously want to reconsider the no-children-at-work policy we currently have.

We had just given Allen and Joyce (our two newest employees) their first pair of Ssekos, and Shiraz kept trying to put her mom's new sandals on her feet. It was in that moment Julie and I were inspired to make baby-Ssekos.

Shiraz helped Julie along the way

the end result was pretty sweet!

like I said.... it was the best.

with our powers combined...

I watched Captain Planet as a kid... and all I really remember from that show was the moment that all the kids with the rings and the special abilities from nature would put their hands together in a circle and shout: "with our powers combined..." and the out of now where, "I am Captain Planet!"


(Ridiculous reference, I know.... BUT bear with me)


Last week my bosses in the States (Ben and Liz) had the chance to go to a weekend conference in California where other social businesses were able to get together to collaborate and update one another on different sectors.... There were around a dozen companies there. Companies like TOMS Shoes, Krochet Kids, Ember Arts, and Sseko Designs (of course). These companies all do different things... They have different business plans, different products, different approaches to the way they think the principles of social business should be applied, but there is a common thread. When they all get together, something great happens. Captain Planet doesn't come bursting out of this circle of people, but with our powers combined, I think something truly great can take place.

I love that there are companies out there that are similar to ours, and that not only do they exist, but we actually get to rub shoulders with them. There is a movement starting in the realm of business, and it is so cool to watch it happen. Companies are starting to care. They are finding ways to be profitable and socially conscious. This is a beautiful movement.

And this beautiful movement, I am seeing more and more that the redemptive nature of the gospel is not limited to the "religious" realm. This world is a broken, dark, and messed up place. I got a really great e-mail from a friend this week who passed along this quote from a man who was explaining the concept of salvation to his son.... He said that sin isn't just about feeling guilty. It is about how the whole world seems broken into a million tiny pieces... And those pieces fight against each other. Against other people, against creation, against God, even against ourselves. But restoration is possible... little glimpses of it now, and one day in full. We can try to put together the broken pieces... when we do things like picking up litter, or sitting by the lonely kid at school, or providing a job for a woman who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to work, or something as small as buying fair trade chocolate chips at the grocery store. There are these little acts of restoration we can do everyday to fix the broken things in this world. And in the end, like Tim Keller says, it will somehow be greater for having once been broken.

Whether they realize it or not, these businesses are reacting to the brokenness that sin has brought into the world and seeking to do their part in it's restoration. I think in some way everyone senses that this world is not right, and I am glad that people and now businesses are acting on those feelings. And that they are drawn together... and as cheesy and idealistic as at may sound, they are moving toward restoration and building a more beautiful world together... powers combined.

whirlwind

The past few weeks have been pretty crazy to say the least... One weekend I was up in Gulu, the next I was camping on the Nile river and then flying back to the US. And now, a week and a half later, I'm back already. See... whirlwind.

I got asked a lot if I was having culture shock, and my response was always no, because they are like two totally different worlds. Its kind of like a parallel universe. Everything in the US was what I expected, and how I remembered. And Kampala is just the way I left it.

That was actually part of what was hard about being home... It felt like just the way I left it. I graduated from college and moved out here before most of my friends parted ways, so I wasn't around for the difficult departures and the reality setting in that the community I had built up over the past four years was splitting up. I guess I sort of just accepted the fact while I was over here. But when I got back, it was kind of like nothing had changed, and here's why: a wedding.

The main reason I went back to the states was to be a bridesmaid in my roommate Claire's wedding (which was great, by the way). The week before the wedding I got to see all my best friends... I got to laugh with them, pray with them, talk for hours with them, and cry with them. Everything with them just fits... its a truly beautiful thing. But while I was enjoying them, it also made me sad feeling like I was missing out on this beautiful thing that was happening without me... It wasn't until Sunday after the wedding that everyone started leaving town and heading back to their perspective new cities, that it sunk in for me.

As good as my week home was, most of it was like a false-reality. It was a taste of something I had, that doesn't actually exist anymore. Now Claire's married and moved to Dallas... Abbey's living it up in Austin... Tracey is headed out to Seattle.... Francis 307 has been vacated by all my roommates... the Hendricks just moved to Haiti for goodness sake! As hard as it was to realize this, it was so good to come to terms with. I feel like it freed me up even more to be wholly here, in Kampala. After this week, I know that even if I were back in the States, it wouldn't be the same.

And now I have returned, and it really does feel good to be back. Kampala is beginning to feel more like home.... and it doesn't hurt that my life here is pretty great. I mean, who gets to not only do a job they love, but also live in a place where they can go camping on an island on the Nile, get a first hand account from a girl in Gulu about her experience living on the run from Kony during the war, enjoy amazing weather (85 everyday... yes, please), experience a new culture while learning to examine your own, and go to a market where you can find literally anything you would ever need for a costume for under $2.50 (Owino is the best. Halloween 2010.... watch out).

just good

As I have said before, work is different every day. Some days, it can get pretty challenging. But others days, its just plain good.

Today was one of those good days.... It was one of those days when I am reminded of why I am here doing the work that I am doing. It's not just to check the quality of our product by examining every strap thats sewn, or to make sure the express order of size 8's gets to the post office before it closes, or even to develop new policies and procedures as we grow..... its because of this:

This is a picture of me with Teopista and Betty. We had a cupcake party today to celebrate the girls acceptance to university. This week was when all our girls found out what schools they got into, and I feel so incredibly proud of them. It has been so cool to get to know them, and see how hard they work, and know that all this hard work is paying off. Only about 25% of students who graduate from secondary school in Uganda get the opportunity to attend university; our girls are some of the fortunate few.

Every once in a while I get a clear picture like this of our company's mission, and that makes for a very good day.

feeling spoiled

I feel like I have to confess something.... Last week, Julie and I hired a cleaning lady.

Yes, a cleaning lady... And honestly, I had mixed feelings about doing this before I got to Uganda. I knew that a lot of people who live overseas have "hired-help," and I thought it was okay for people with lots of kids, or a huge house or something... but not for me. I did my own cleaning before, so I figured I could do it just as well in Uganda.

Well, I was wrong. Cleaning in Uganda is unlike any other cleaning I've done before. When we fist moved in to our new place, I swept and mopped all the floors (something I do maybe once every couple weeks at my house in the States). The next day I couldn't even walk around barefoot because a layer of dirt had already settled back on the floor. And cleaning the bathrooms- same story. Dust, everywhere. And my poor clothes.... for the past two months I've been trying to hand wash all my clothes myself. And I don't think I was doing it right... Since I still had dirt stains on a few of my shirts after retrieving them from the line, I think all I have been doing is making them smell better, not actually cleaning them.

In comes Justine. She is a widow who lives in the area and has been out of work for a while. Apparently she has "something not quite right" with her (at least that's how another Ugandan woman described her). I haven't noticed yet; Justine seems pretty with it to me. But regardless, now she has a job for a couple hours every Thursday. And believe me, she is so good at what she does, and she is incredibly appreciated in this household! After she comes, I can walk around barefoot.... and she made my white-t's look brand new..... and she even took the trash down to the burn pile. She's like an angel.

I am blessed by Justine's new presence in my life.... and the best part is, she is blessed by me and Julie too. If you think the job market in the US is rough right now, try living in Uganda. It's pretty typical for a college graduate to spend a few years doing what we would consider a crappy job before they get a big break and land a job that they are actually qualified for. I have met quite a few people here who are currently driving taxis and cleaning houses who have university degrees in things like engineering or business administration or social work. Jobs are few and far between here.

Which is why I have become even more passionate about providing the opportunity of employment. It is something I think we often take for granted in the US. At least I know I had this view that I didn't have to work a job that I didn't want to. If we don't like our boss, or the work we are doing, or our working conditions, we just quit and get a new job. Maybe with the recession, this mentality is changing.... but I have heard statistics here like "only 5% of the labor force hold permanent jobs" and "women make up 92% of the informal work sector," which makes what's going on in the US job-wise pale in comparison.

Fortunately, there is a movement in Uganda for job creation through social businesses (like Sseko for instance).... and I realized that hiring Justine is a very simple way that I can also be responsible for job creation. Yes, I could clean my own house and clothes, but why would I when I know that Justine could do a much better job than me, and by employing her we are providing her with a source of income? The answer seems simple to me.... So in those moments when I feel spoiled for having a cleaning lady, I remind myself that it not just a matter of my own convenience and comfort, but also a way that I can care for the widow without giving away handouts (probably one of the last things Uganda needs)....God has commanded us so many times in scripture to care for the orphan and the widow, and here I have finally found a tangible way to do that in my everyday life.