Umbrella Child

This post to you is a compilation of elements, including my heart felt thanks for the time, talent and energy you spent, sewing and purchasing clothing and gathering school supplies for gift packages for 16 Ethiopian children during the 2007 Christmas season.
See photos of your work here and read a tiny bit about your Etsy SewYourLove team members.
Mixed in with this is my sense of regret that even the "best laid plans" can go awry...after two years of mutual participation between myself and Umbrella Child, communication inexplicably broke down between us in December. By this I mean that after our gifts were mailed I received little - to no - feedback from them as to when our gifts arrived or about the positive effects they had on the children.
I held all monetary donations until February 10th and then transferred them to Umbrella Child's account in Ethiopia via a reliable Ethiopian business, Birritu Express.

I successfully contacted Mesele Kebede (a board member of Umbrella Child's) via cellphone in March. He confirmed that the funds and packages had been received and thanked us for both, promising to email me in the near future with updates on the children. I had included three disposable cameras in our packages with directions to photograph the children, both in their homes and while receiving their gifts, then to return them to me to process. This plan worked successfully last year and I believe we will receive pictures of happy, appreciative children wearing and using our gifts eventually this year.

Lack of communication could mean a number of things, the best case scenario would be that Tigist and her helpers are simply too busy caring for the children to respond in - what I would define as - a timely manner. I choose to trust that there is a positive explanation. After two years of great collaboration between us including lots of feedback (see Christmas pictures 2006)
I am unwilling to lose faith in Tigist just yet....and I will NEVER give up on the children under any circumstances. However we decide as a team to respond to this turn of events will not change my personal sense of responsibility and devotion to these children or lessen my continued efforts to participate in their lives in a positive way.

I take full responsibility for the breakdown in communication between myself and you, the Team. In hindsight, I see I was not at all prepared to respond to events as they have played out
and realize now that I should have apprised you with updates in a more timely manner.

With this said, several new members have joined our team since December, including Etsy DogOnWear's Gena. She has proposed that, rather than considering disbanding if our experience with Umbrella Child is finished, we seek out another group of children-in-need that we can provide ourselves opportunity to assist. Gena has information regarding a well-established children's program in Tanzania whose needs may well satisfy our desire to create and give beautiful things, receive that gratifying feedback in response and still follow the Etsy SewYourLove mission: "...doing whatever it takes to assist orphaned children financially, materially and emotionally..."

Read about it, think about it. As Gena puts it, "...I feel a round robin quilt coming on..."
If you still feel the enthusiasm, stick with us and lets see what happens!

Thanks again for everything you have done, Susan Rivera