Vera Bradley goes to Mongu!

Grocery Shopping in Mongu! Product from a loan recipient.

It has been a month since my last entry.  The pace of my life is hectic but never boring,  busy but rarely mundane and generally full of some unplanned experience that give me too many life lessons.  This past month can be defined this way however,  I cannot let 'life' distract me.  I want to get back to Mongu, Zambia.

Once again I peel off a different layer of my Zambian experiences.   There were multiple adventures in a given day.  8 days of so many facets. I personally needed more time to 'slowly' absorb all that was unfolding before me.   The people are incredible, longing to survive and have hope.  As I dissect what I discovered, hopefully I will cast a vision for someone to help me, as I desire to help others. These forgotten overlooked people are worth fighting for!

As we prepared to leave for Zamiba, we collected many, many gifts to bring for those we were going to visit and encourage.  Sharing this next story is such fun!  Today's post is wonderfully random. Vera Bradley goes to Mongu! We will not be in the bush today! 
  
Vera Bradley for those of you who do not know the name is a designer of cloth handbags, totes, pocket books, stationary, etc. etc. etc.  You only find her stores in upscale malls or perhaps on line.  She has a huge presence in the western world.   Each season the fabric and some of the styles change.   For the die hard Vera groupies to be caught with last years 'anything' is a fashion 'no no'!  I have no clue if Vera Bradley is still alive, but her following is and is going strong. 

A week before we left the US,  I happened to be at a mall hosting their annual Side Walk Sales.  The weather was perfect for such an event and by all appearances the stores were selling a great deal of product this day.  Vera Bradley's venue was particularly busy.  It reminded me of an I Love Lucy sitcom.  The ladies were frantically going through the bins and tubs of overstocked Vera. This was a sale not to be missed!

Watching this sale frenzy unfold, my Hands of Hope mentor and friend's voice jumped into my head, "You never know if someone will give you anything unless you ask!" Armed with excitement and fortitude I walked through the maze of very determined shoppers and asked to speak with the manager! The manager no less on Side Walk Sale madness day!  To my surprise and delight she gave  me 10 VB bags to gift start up business women in Africa!  She shared that Vera Bradley loved to give to these types of projects. With these great bags in hand, I was excited to head off to this unknown place called Mongu! 

Below are 'our ladies'!  Woman who now run a business because of generous, caring people that provide funds through Hands of Hope for small loans!

Isn't she beautiful?  Her radiance and her excitement were felt the moment we met her.  I wish I had caught her name. Getting African women to smile is quite hard.  As you see the smiles on these faces know it was from the heart. :)

 The four ladies on the left, borrowed money from our micro finance loan project. They each have a kiosk in the market and are thriving They actually work side by side!

This lady was giddy with the receiving of her gift!  A treasure! However, her real joy in
meeting us was that she had a chance to earn a living! 

Eloise, Susan, our merchant and m

This lady's kiosk is small however, she has one of the first shops as we entered the market.  These photo's do not capture the excitement and surprise at meeting us, her benefactors and then to receive a gift.

 Hands of Hope (Barrington,IL)  provides micro finance loans to help Zambian women move out of poverty, give them a skill and a life purpose!  Witnessing first hand, the fruits of our effort here was truly a joy and a delight.  We were able to gift our 'business women' with Vera Bradley bags.  Oh, they have no idea who Vera is but, they loved the gift and the beautiful bright colors of the bags.  What they loved even more was a chance to live! 

Consider this, the next time you 'bless' yourself with that 'must have' item, why don't you set aside a little bit more money and bless another person who would love a better life?    Hands of Hope ( (http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/) )

The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving. Albert Einstein

P.S.  I found this Vera Bradley note set on the desk off one of the pastors the day we were leaving Mongu.  Way to go Vera you have made your presence known around the world. :) :)