Whaaaa It's crazy to think I've been back in the US for a month! In some sense it seems like just a few days ago that I left Lwala, in other ways it feels like I was there for only a weekend and I've been back for years.
This summer was truly incredible and I know it broadened my perspective on the world, sharpened my desire to help people, and enriched my personal understanding of poverty, sickness, richness, happiness, and Furaha, in so many ways.
The soap group is still working, making soap... they got an initial loan of 200 shillings (enough to make over 3000 bars of soap) last week and now they are busy producing, marketing, and selling! When I think of the fact that one bar sold in the US could make about 5 dollars of profit (400 shillings, or 80 bars worth of profit from those sold in Kenya) it really motivates me to try to sell some in the US. If anyone would be interested in helping with the process (reaching out to small business, local farmers markets, researching grants, etc) please let me know! I've talked to a few people/businesses who are interested in selling the soap, which is exciting!! Also, if anyone would be interested in buying a bar, email me at hspring89@gmail.com... 10 bars sold (50$ if sold for 5$ each) would be the equivalent of the average Kenyan's monthly salary! Also, we're hoping that if we can create a constant supply of soap to sell in the US and soap to sell in Kenya, profits from soap sold in the US can go to supporting some of LCA's projects related to water, sanitation, and hygiene! If anyone has experience with fair-trade, marketing, etc, (or knows someone with this type of experience) let me know!!
Even just writing about this makes me incredibly excited... all my classes this semester are very dull and it's interesting to compare the type of enthusiasm I have for the work I was doing this summer with the work I'm doing in school. Could get depressing to think about!! For now, I'm holding on to my beautiful memories from Lwala, and the wonderful community I have in the US!
I hope you're finding some JOY in this crazy world! : )
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