Slowly by slowly
Trip Start
Jan 11, 2006
1
29
31
Trip End
Ongoing
Kigali, Rwanda
Monday, October 13, 2008
I hope this finds you well. I am thrilled to update you all on some amazing developments happening in Rwanda. KEZA operates in a non-traditional manner. KEZA products are marketed and sold as high quality fashion accessories. The profits made are put back into the organization and used to pay the women appropriate wages, school fees, and health care. It operates as a business and espouses proper business standards and ethics to support a generation of Rwandan business women.
KEZA has been grasping at straws
for available markets for several months now and has been going in many
different directions to get our story and products in the hands of
American consumers. The goal is to one day be a market network to
enable other projects that meet our quality standards and production
guidelines from around Africa to plug in to the paths we have created
and sell under the KEZA umbrella. But before we get ahead of ourselves,
we need to establish those roads. The last few months have presented many opportunities. Our website is up and working, www.keza.com and will be growing daily! We have had excitement from Macy's and
Bloomingdales, QVC as well as Whole Foods. We just learned on Friday
that 7 out of the 11 Whole Foods regions are interested in carrying
KEZA necklaces. I am so excited because I know that Whole Foods will be an exciting outlet for our products.
The more KEZA products are sold, the more potential the women's lives
have of succeeding. As KEZA grows so does the awareness of the Ubuntu
Revolution and its viability as a force to end gender-based violence.
On that note, we have partnered with the VDay project (amazing stuff,
really-check it out if you are interested at www.vday.org)
and their campaign called VMen calling men to take part in modifying
their behavior and attitudes towards women to realize a future without
violence. It gives me chills. We are making some incredible partnerships and while the general feelings towards women threaten to make me weary in this endevour, there are others devoted to seeing a future without violence and disrespect and as such we must continue.
I love you all very much and look forward to updates on your lives. Have an amazing day.
Peace,
Winter
