I finally started making the Zoori with the children! They really love them. In fact, the staff loves them and wants to also learn to make them. They think they would be a good way to make money. My plan is for the children to make one practice pair and then one red, gold and green pair (the Ethiopian colors) for me to bring back and auction.
I love the spirit of cooperation between the children! They really help one another! One little girl made one slipper of a pair and her friend made the other. Because they are orphans, they realize that they only have each other. It's very beautiful!
Here's a picture of the first Zoori! I have many other pictures but they all have to be cleared before I can post them. My internet access is still a living nightmare. However, I met one of the founders of the residence and he told me that for a $250 start up fee and then a monthly plan, I can get wireless right on my Mac! I wish I had known about this while I was budgeting. It's too late now, as my budget is air tight. It's too bad though because I have a lot of pictures and video to post.
I am also letting the kids take photos with my digital camera and video with the Flip camera. It's fantastic. One of the little boys is really a really talented photographer. I've been showing him and another little girl PhotoShop. Their images are outstanding! I plan to print and auction them to raise money for the laptops when I get back.
Other than that, things are ok. Luckily for me, I've lived outside of the US before. The closest place to here would be Bahia, Brazil many years ago. I'm taking cold showers and the sanitation if troubling but what can you do? I still consider myself very lucky to be here.
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