Gender Equality Uganda Project #42752

Provide Vocational Training for 10 Ugandan Women

by Ribe Project, Inc.

Project Report | Oct 19, 2023
Expanding our Mission

By Brett Krieble | President/CEO

Recent escapees

Hello Ribe Friends,

Another season is upon us. As we move into fall here in the States and summer for our friends in Uganda, we continue to train women in the vocational trades of bead/jewelry making and basket weaving, and then provide fair wage employment for those who complete our program. Our latest news, however, is that we are adding sewing skills to our vocational curriculum (or tailoring as it is titled in Uganda)! We are starting small with cute African animals and hair scrunchies made from traditional Kitenge fabric. We think you will love them!

In the last 6 weeks, we have had some unexpected expenses in Uganda. If you are familiar with my personal story of how I became connected to Gulu, you know it goes back to the civil war that devastated the country's northern half for over 20 years. In that war, rebel leader Joseph Kony kidnapped thousands of children to become his soldiers. Since the end of the war, Kony and what is left of his Lord's Resistance Army have continued to terrorize people in the Central African Republic and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Recently, one of Kony's sons (by one of the many women he kidnapped) was able to escape, bringing with him his abused mother and several of his siblings. These refugees have ended up staying in the home of one of our artisans, also a former escapee, who has a family of her own to feed. The Ribe Project has been providing extra funds to help care for these people until they can find ways to support themselves. We would appreciate any support from our friends to help us to ease these traumatized individuals back into the local society.

Finally, we want to give a huge shoutout to the students at University High School of Indiana who last year, formed a Ribe Project Club. Since then, they have made it their mission to raise money to provide tuition scholarships for the children of our artisans. To date, they have raised over $1,000! Thank you, Ribe Club!!

As always, we acknowledge that without your support, we could not accomplish our mission.

With love and gratitude,

Brett

Ribe Club at University High School

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Jun 20, 2023
Sometimes When You Least Expect It....

By Brett Krieble | President/CEO

Greetings from Gulu!

Since our last report at the beginning of 2023, we have moved our Gulu office. As often happens worldwide, our landlord decided he was raising our rent, which put that lovely house and compound out of our reach. Don't worry, though, because we have our amazing and unstoppable Ugandan Director, Gladies Orombi! Without skipping a beat, it was Gladies to the rescue! We are now in a smaller facility, but closer to town, which is more convenient for all concerned. We look forward to turning this new place into our Ribe home.

In the spring, students of University High School of Indiana started a "Ribe Project Club" to raise money to pay school fees for the children of our artisans. In their first fundraising drive, they collected nearly $300 for their Ugandan peers! We can't wait to see what they accomplish in the fall. Thank you, Ribe Club!

Now, back to the title of this report..... if you remember, in our last report I mentioned that fundraising was our biggest hurdle moving forward. We need more monthly donors and more outlets for the sale of our beautiful artisan creations. In May, The Ribe Project was in the lowest financial position we had been in since the first months of our existence. To be honest, I was not sure how we were going to continue to pay our wonderfully creative women artisans. Then, out of the blue, a letter came in the mail from the family of one of my graduating U.S. students. With that letter was a check for a very sizable donation to our organization! This incredibly generous gift will allow us to keep our doors open and gives us more time to recruit donors and find new revenue opportunities. It was quite literally, a lifesaver for The Ribe Project!

I will close this report with a big ask. First, please consider becoming a monthly donor. A monthly donation of even $10 allows us to build a working budget. Second, support us by purchasing our beautiful baskets and jewelry! Each time you do, you not only have a lovely, handmade, and unique showpiece, but you also support our vocational training and fair-wage employment programs! We need your support!

Much love from, The Ribe Project

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Feb 21, 2023
Happy 2023 from Gulu!

By Brett Krieble | President/CEO

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