Seeds to Sew

We had a great morning at our house; we hosted 13 lovely people who came to hear the story of Seeds to Sew, a non-profit co-founded by one of Aden's former teachers.er. Jan Ito and her daughter, Ellyn, came over with photos of the village in Kenya where they work, the students that they work with, and wonderful stories of challenges overcome by the girls and accomplished achieved. The school started by Kakenya Ntaiya in a rural village in Maasai country now educates girls through grade 8, when they must test to determine which high school they qualify for. The families of all girls who enter the school agree that the girls will not go through cutting - or FGM - until their education is complete. The school - and its students and leaders-  breaks a lot of new ground in Kenya, where girls usually have to leave school after they are cut (around age 12), are often married by the age of 14 and mothers a year later.

Ellyn brought some wonderful gift bags made by the women in the village as well as great beaded jewelry made by the girls to put themselves through school. Though tuition for a year is only $360, the women in the village make 15 cents per day doing laundry or through other manual labor, so tuition is out of reach unless they can sell their beadwork and gift bags and baskets to a larger market. The stories are inspiring and change is being made - check out the website at www.seedstosew.org for more information! We are having another presentation tonight at the Willow Way clubhouse for folks in the area - 6:30 - 8:30 pm.