They have been handmade for you by Sarah Kabenge and whether you’re buying for yourself or a friend, you know you are making a real difference when you buy from awamu because you are also giving a wonderful gift of education to vulnerable children and helping mum’s like Sarah in the slums of Kampala.
We use 100% of our income from all our items to support orphaned children in two of the poorest areas of Kampala and train mothers like Sarah in the skills they need to support their family.
Sarah explains for herself how learning tailoring skills has changed her life in this short film we made with her. It’s only a few minutes long – we hope you like it.
Thank you again to everyone that has waited so patiently since we sold out after being featured in the Telegraph gift guide.
We’re be adding more and more into the shop over the coming weeks. Happy Easter!
There are somedays when I am just overjoyed by silliness and love for the things I do!
Our first baby Elephants are ready to find a new home but this mum wants to check you out first!
This awesome animation was made for us by Charlie Woolock, age 13 – a curious awamu elephant wants to check you out to see if you are friendly…this promises to be the first of a series of animations to help you get to know our elephants in depth 🙂
You can buy awamu elephants from our shop by clicking on the photos below
For every beautiful item produced and sold there is an equally beautiful change happening in the communities of our tailors in Kampala – every penny raised through sales and donations is used to support orphaned and vulnerable children and to train women with the skills they need to support their families.
Awamu means ‘together’ in Luganda the main language spoken in Kampala, Uganda. We chose it as it reflects the name and spirit of both the women’s groups that we work with.
We are passionate about changing the lives of children in the slums of Kampala and we love handmade, ethical production and creating a connection between you and the women who put their time, skill and loving care into making these items for you.
I just opened my email to find this picture (above) of Jaliya and news that she is studying hard for next round for exams that are coming up very soon.
This makes us immensely happy – and is giving me a great reason to share this little film we made with you today so you can see just how your support is changing the lives of children in Kampala.
Please, please watch it. If it makes you feel half as proud as I do right now, it’ll make your day too. And when you’re done, please share it with everyone you know – through twitter, facebook, youtube – to spread the word about awamu and help us to change even more lives for the better.
Jaliya is the inspiration behind awamu. You may recall that Jaliya suffered extreme neglect at the hands of her uncle when she was sent to live with him following the death of both of her parents from AIDS. She was just seven years old.
Fearing she too had the illness and may “contaminate” his children, she was kept in isolation in a tiny hut, barely big enough for her to stand in. Little Jaliya slept alone each night on a sack and was forbidden to play with her cousins, go to school or even touch the family’s possessions.
After hearing reports of a sick child, Regina – a member of the Tusitukirewamu Women’s Group – and our heroine, found Jaliya half-starved with a swollen tummy and coughing up blood.
Regina pledged there and then to look after Jaliya, offer her the love and comfort she so desperately craved and nurse her back to health. Although she knew it would be a struggle, she found a place in her home for her alongside the 10 other children in her care who’d also lost their parents to AIDS related illnesses.
Five years on, Jaliya is a healthy and happy 11-year-old. She’s doing well in school, she plays with her friends and brothers and sisters and, most importantly she has the love of a grandmother (or ‘ja-ja’) from Regina. A love that is so obviously reciprocated.
And this is thanks to you and your support of awamu. 100% of your donations and proceeds from your purchases go to support orphaned children like Jaliya, in the slums of Kampala and the wonderful, selfless women that take them into their care.
We help to train women in the communities in income generating schemes so they can earn a living to support themselves and their extended families.
And we support networks of women who have been similarly affected by HIV who give their time and energy to helping the most vulnerable in their communities. They walk the street of the slums, seeking out children and adults in need of their support. They encourage them to confront their fears, navigate the medical system and offer care and protection to those who are too weak to look after themselves or their families.
With very few overheads (the cost of website/the materials we buy for our products) a little goes a long way…
So thank you for every gift you have bought from us. for every share on facebook and twitter, every donation and, most importantly, every encouraging word you have given us.
There is a massive problem with rubbish in the slums of Bwaise and Makerer as the goverment privatised collection and families can’t afford to pay for it to be taken away.
When there is heavy rain Bwaise and Makererfloods, rubbish gets washed into water channels that over flow and runs through peoples houses.
The women’s groups we work with are trying to find creative ways to recycle what is around them.
By buying these beads or any of our beautifully products you will be helping Sarah and the women we work with earn an income from there craft as well as helping them to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in their community me.
Each of Sarah’s necklaces are individual and unique – please take a look.
Sarah cares for 6 children (not 16 as she says in the video – lost in translation). Her own daughter and five adopted children including her niece Delphine.
Though she supports many more orphaned children in the community.
They live in small small hut made from corrugated iron and mud and with two people to a single bunk bead.
All of the children she looks after are in school she told us “I make these beads so my children can go to school. Education is everything , my children must go to school so they can all have better lives than this“.
Many thanks to Josie Gallo for editing my shoddy footage!
This March we were able to help 26 more children to enroll in primary school because of your support – the money you help us raise though sales, donations and events is transforming the lives of children like Tom in Kampala.
This is a film from Tom and Teopista – Tom is now 7 years old and was ecstatic when he found out his dream of enrolling in school would finally come true. Please watch so they can tell you for themselves.
Tom’s father abandoned him with his Step mum when he was just over a year old. She did not not care for him properly and he became severely malnourished and seriously ill.
When Teopista (his Aunty) heard how he was being treated she went to fetch him, She got him the medical attention he needed and became his permanent guardian.
They live together in one tiny room and Teopista ran a small roadside business – she would sell sweets and cakes she would make around 2,000 Ugandan shillings (0.55p) which they used to buy food for that day – until last year when the Ugandan government banned roadside traders and life became even more of a struggle.
Luckily, the situation was bought to the attention of the women’s group we work with in Bwaise and now, with your help, Tom has just completed his first term in school – he has a new uniform, shoes, school books and gets at least one meal a day at school.
The women in the groups we work with walk the streets of the slums seeking out children and adults in dire need of their help.
Their support often means the difference the difference between life and death in areas with little or no social services or protection.
Whether it is education grants or skills training that helps guardians earn an income. Every penny we raise through sales and donation goes towards project that are making life better for kids like Tom.
Weebale Nnyo!
(Which means ‘Thank you very much’ Luganda – the main language spoken in Kampala)
awamu 