poverty

Orphans in Zimbabwe

Photo: kids in Zimbabwe along for the ride to fill water containers I'm currently en route from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to Colorado, wrestling with the joys and tragedies I witnessed of a courageous people under the siege of a bankrupt economy. Why are kids orphaned in Zimbabwe? What are their lives like? Travel along vicariously with…Read more Orphans in Zimbabwe

Why do slums exist in Kenya?

One of the greatest joys of my recent trip to Kenya was sharing the experience with two of my children, Justin age 17 and Jacob age 20. I tried to capture some of the wonder I felt in a previous blog entry: Meeting Myself There. Because of Justin's most unexpected surgery, Tommy John to repair…Read more Why do slums exist in Kenya?

The Beautiful One

Hope's Promise 2017 Connection Trip to Kenya, May 25-June 5 I invite them: come. Come, stand on the brink of devastation, human suffering as you have never seen before. Come, listen to these words: “Give yourself to the hungry, satisfy the desire of the afflicted.” Isaiah 58:10 See their faces, look into their eyes, feel…Read more The Beautiful One

Joy Hunt

Sr. Fidence was like a beautiful rose in my hand, but her fragrance drifted just beyond my grasp as she stood there barefoot, her white-draped physical being unable to contain an other-worldly joy. I didn't understand her at all. I wanted to, desperately. How, in the midst of despair and hardship, hunger and lack, did…Read more Joy Hunt

Photoshoots: behind-the-scenes

We have stories to tell, and photos powerfully weave layers of color and texture into a single view. My long-time friend and Pamba Toto business partner, Debbie, and I are newly impassioned to impart insight into our products and the artisans who make them. After visiting Kenya together last June, we are fully cognizant that there is…Read more Photoshoots: behind-the-scenes

Huruma Means Mercy, Part 2

We leave the aching hope of the Mother Teresa compound for the teeming chaos of streets beyond. Now joining us – me; my Pamba Toto co-founder, business partner and dear friend, Debbie Lee; and her husband Brian - in the car is John, with a smile to shove back the darkest night. He directs us…Read more Huruma Means Mercy, Part 2

Kitengela

Fall down the rabbit hole. Slip through the looking glass. Tip toe across the hanging bridge. However it is you arrive, this is most certainly a magical “other” sort of place. With each step, my eyes open wider and my soul expands. Once over the swinging bridge, glass mosaic underfoot, like a hint of what…Read more Kitengela

Canopy of Hope

Day by day Haiti seeps into the sea. Deprived of any other reliable energy source, her citizens harvest what they can find. Food today or soil tomorrow? When a belly roils with hunger pangs, the tree is felled. Peasants charcoal the wood in shallow covered pits, then bag and sell it. Experts say Haiti is…Read more Canopy of Hope

A Prayer for Haiti 2

Haiti snuck in as a most unexpected visitor. My heart cracked to make space for it. Vulnerable and achingly beautiful, its vivid colors play in my mind, dancing in the brilliant sun on naked hills. Before and after I visited early this year, I read everything I could to try to understand how such crushing…Read more A Prayer for Haiti 2