A gift from Rwanda

The other day, I was watching the Today show and they were sharing a story about how Macy's has teamed up with the women of Rwanda in selling their hand woven products. So many of the woman lost their husbands in the genocide of 1994, and found themselves abandoned--the country now 70% women. They started meeting underneath trees and were weaving baskets to build a sense of community, sitting next to women whose husband may have killed their neighbors husband. They got past that and banded together.
An American went over their in 2002 representing the United Nations and was struck by the story and the beauty of the baskets. She helped form a relationship with Macy's to sell their baskets, and the women could use the proceeds to survive.
I thought this story was beautiful, especially for Macy's to support these women. So I went online and bought one myself in support. Mine came in the mail today, and the thought of helping the women over there is probably one of the best Christmas gifts for me.
Here is a link for more information, you should get one too. It is very sturdy, a large size, and gorgeous!
http://www.macys.com/campaign/rwanda/index.jsp

I would also recommend watching the movie Hotel Rwanda. I watched that years ago and it really opened up my eyes to our ignorance to what happens across the globe.


Merry Christmas!