First Public Meeting to an Organization... and update on the vision.

Hey everyone.... I hope you are making the most of your summer, or whatever season it is where you are in the world.

We are having an open Stitch Uganda meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, 7pm at Happinez wine bar, 42 Princess Street in Saint John, New Brunswick. Anyone interested in taking part in the project is welcome.

Thus far, it has been a pet project I've personally directed. Now it's time to put our skills together to create a global movement... with a board of trustees-- The Circle of Trust. We've had amazing support thus far from Sterling Rope Company who donated webbing for hammocks, and Danny Kean who donated a truck load of vintage clothes(most of which still need to be reworked and sold), and many others who have taken part.

Everyone wants to help those less fortunate, but many don't trust that donations will go to the people they are supposed to serve, and often they are right. Money gets eaten in administration and corruption.

The Circle of Trust will record, bank and grant all funds coming into Stitch Uganda Together. I'll give %10 of hammock sales to the Circle to bank, and when we need funds for projects while in Uganda, I'll ask the Circle to issue funds. I'll recorded everything we do on video posted to Youtube, so donors can see how funds were spent. With collective effort and transparency, we will earn public trust and amazing things will happen.

The plan is to sell hammocks made in Uganda, which in turn gives Ugandans employment, plus free hammocks to the homeless and to create awareness and funds toward developing an Endless Summer Camp in Bunabumali. We can't call this a non-profit. Everyone will benefit-- from the people who sew hammocks to the people who sell them at festivals and in stores. This is a social profit organization.

The vision is to build an egalitarian network of individuals who are working together around the globe, that will all eventually get to spend time in Bunabumali-- in the garden of Eden we will create. Money is not the answer-- it is just one means to get there. The lessons we will learn through this experience are about the power of community and creativity. I don't want to control this organization. It will be a lot bigger and have a greater impact if I don't. I don't want to be that busy. I enjoy my freedom too much. That's why I'm inviting you now, so I can eventually chill out and enjoy a few of the hammocks we'll create on a mountain top above the village. I know just the spot. It has a view of a beautiful rock pillar I can't wait to climb.

I see humanitarian work as an adventure that is rewarding for all involved. I enjoyed all the people I had the pleasure to meet in Bunabumali, and I'm excited to bring others there to feel their warm energy and experience the beauty of the mountains. It is a safe place to create a community of travelers-- artists, builders and gardeners, all working and playing for the love of it, with local people-- everyone learning from each other.

We'll raise kids that know how to live from the earth, and will have opportunities like we do to travel. It will be like a Camp Rotary in Bunabumali where orphans from all over Uganda will go to be blissed-out learning all sorts of arts and having adventures on mountain bikes, kayaking and rock climbing. Uganda is a playground, and it does get some tourism, but not like it deserves. If you can see yourself there, you can be, because that's the way life works.

I spend beautiful days like today inside sewing at home, so I can afford to go back to Uganda in the fall. Even if you can't go to Uganda with us this November, maybe there is some other way you can send your love to the kids? You can contact companies to donate medicine, food supplements and seeds to grow food. I have in the past, and businesses were happy to give. You can learn how to sew hammocks yourself, which could be sold to buy fabric for making hammocks in Uganda. One of the main problems is shipping things over there, but whatever you want to do... let's figure it out and do it. I only have time to do so much. I have set the ground work, so use my photos and video, and make this project your own.

Emmanuel Norman Nakhokho in Uganda as a friend... he is the one who invited me to Bunabumali and is always seeking support for the orphanage his family runs that serves over a hundred children:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=818523624&ref=ts

If you have not seen the videos I shot in Uganda, you can here:

http://www.actionheronetwork.net/uganda.html

Currently, I'm sitting at the sewing machine getting ready for an opportunity to sell hammocks at a performance of High School Musical tonight presented by KV Players and the Saint John Theatre Company. The show starts at 7pm, and runs all week at KV High school.

http://www.kvplayers.com/upcoming.html

Casey Yerxa, creator of Kidsing, set up this opportunity at KV. She is planning to go to Uganda with me in November to play with the kids in Bunabumali and share the arts education that she is all about.

http://www.kidsing.ca

Mike Humble, just sent an invitation to create a Relaxation Station with hammocks and hoops at Crabbe Mountain Aug 29th and 30th for FeelsGood Folly Fest. Lots of bands... certainly worth making the trip!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101058467614&ref=ts

Thanks for your interest. It is only going to get more interesting as we get more organized!

Have fun!

-Cor ♥