Josephine, Claire & Pamela

Swamped. Underwater. Drowning in purses.

In fall 2009, after Stacey Edgar visited our project, we received our largest handbag order to date. We knew we were going to need more tailors to get things done. We'd brought all of our tailors under one roof in June 2009, but the ladies from Bobi and Unyama camps weren't quite ready to make our more complicated purse designs to the level of quality we needed. One day after work, Lucy and I were talking about our predicament, discussing our options.

The next morning was a rainy one, and I knew Gulu would be in a standstill. With most people traveling on foot or by bicycle, very little happens on rainy weekday mornings. I took my time waking up, made some coffee and unlocked the workshop door. I was headed to the office with my laptop bag, but out of the corner of my eye I saw three ladies huddled on the front porch.

Aol Josephine. Lajaro Claire. Akello Pamela.

Lajaro Claire lounges on the front porch with one of Aber Grace's daughters

All three women were wrapped in woolen scarves, shivering in the cool Gulu rain. Pamela and Josephine were nursing their babies. I smiled and greeted them all, and quickly realized that none of them spoke English. I had no idea why they were there. Suddenly my phone rang - it was Prisca. She apologized for being late to work (Prisca rides her bicycle several miles to get to work each day), and asked if any of the ladies had yet arrived. I glanced at the three women on the porch - they avoided my eyes.

Aol Josephine's adorable Jonathon

"Um, yes, there are three ladies I've never met - none of them speak English. I think they've been sitting on our porch for some time. Do you know anything about this?" I asked.

"Ahhh, sorry," Prisca laughed her short, now famous laugh. "Those must be the new ladies Lucy found - they are already tailors and they can sew well - they can help us with our order. I am coming Halle, let me come."

Pamela, Josephine and Claire would come to be a steady force within One Mango Tree. After just a few days of work, it was as if they'd always been with us. They made fast friends with the other women, and set an example with their punctuality, concentration, and consistent quality of work. Pamela's daughter Maria was terrified of mzungus (white people), and screamed bloody murder anytime I came near her. I enjoyed her cuteness from afar - Pamela always beaded her hair and tied a teddy bear to her back in the same way women carry their babies in Uganda. Eventually her fear dissipated, and she even started to shake my hand.

Pamela comforting Maria after a mzungu encounter

Josephine brought Jonathon to work every day, in a comfy cocoon on her back, swaddled with a piece of cloth. He quietly looked around the room, rarely making a peep, and always content for a nap after his feedings.

Josephine working with sleeping Jonathon on her back

This was all before Alice, our daycare teacher, and Maria is now in nursery school full time. Adong Kevin's daughter, Aber Juliet, has taken over the sassy "mzungus-are-going-to-eat-me" role. When I was in Gulu last month, Josephine and Claire were both pregnant, and getting close to their delivery dates - both the perfect picture of healthy mothers.

When I was looking through photos to use for the new blog design, one of Claire and Josephine - back when they first started with us and were working away diligently on that huge order - seemed the perfect choice.

Check out this great photo of Josephine, Claire and Pamela in traditional Acholi dress.

Photos in this post were taken by Crystaline Randazzo during her time at One Mango Tree with Momenta Workshops.

xo Halle

MEET Our Ladies: Prisca

Prisca is one of the most phenomenal women I know and I think before you know anything else about her, you have to know that she has the best laugh I’ve ever heard (high pitched, soft, and short if you can imagine it; I promise, it’s great.). She loves Nigerian films and always begs me to stay late and spend the night at her home with her family. She was one of the very first ladies at One Mango Tree and because of her incredible integrity and work ethic, she now manages the office in Gulu on a daily basis. She has a quiet disposition but works incredibly hard from dusk through dawn: in the office, she’s taking care of the women, making sure they have everything they need, that deadlines are met, and things are running smoothly. She has a lot on her plate. At home, she’s taking care of three beautiful babes, cooking, and cleaning… and there’s a particularly remarkable thread of consistency running through all areas of her life – she is consistently sacrificing for those around her.



She and her husband live just outside of Gulutown and because of the economic stability she’s developed through working at One Mango Tree, they’re close to finishing a brand new home… but this time, rather than a circular mud hut, it’s a solid brick and mortar home. It’s beautiful and should be finished in December… don’t worry, we’ll invite you to the house party!



To say her home life is full of laughter might be an understatement… and it’s all thanks to these three. Goretty, at 4, is her youngest and she is always bouncing, smiling, and trying to be helpful. Once, we decided to surprise Prisca by cleaning up the house and after mopping one small area of the floor, Goretty got ambitious and decided to mop the entire house without being asked. Isaac, at 7, is the only boy and definitely takes after his father (who works in construction) as he wanders everywhere with a hammer in hand. He’s incredibly bright, number one in his class to be exact. When he's not studying english and math, he's running around, building things, and climbing trees for mangos. He also has an affinity for pushing Prisca’s buttons which most definitely prepares her for life at the OMT office. Cynthia, at 9, is the oldest and the one thing you’ll notice about her is that she’s always laughing. Prisca confidently describes Cynthia as “stubborn” which really means she's extremely outgoing compared to other girls within the Acholi culture.

For all the conversations I’ve had with Prisca, there’s one statement that continues to return to me: “Without One Mango, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my family. My one hope is that we can keep making our bags and that people will keep enjoying them.”

I say this time and time again but your purchases are changing lives. Halle developed One Mango Tree as a way of using trade to provide a sustainable income and empower the local women of Northern Uganda. We’ve seen exponential growth in the hearts and lives of our women; these stories are rich and full of proof that when you empower a woman, you’re changing the lives of everyone in direct community with her. So, thank you to those of you who love and share the story of One Mango Tree with friends, families, and strangers. It’s because of you that all of this is taking place. Making the conscious choice to value the person who makes what you purchase truly transforms everything.

In the words of Donald Miller (one of my favorite authors), "The stories we hear change the way we see life. Stories teach us what is worth pursuing, what is worth living for, what is worth sacrificing for. If you aren’t telling a good story to the people you love, who is? Is it the television, your kids friends, your wife’s boss, the girl who works at you husbands gym?”

- Lauranne

_________________


To see more photos from my visit with Prisca on our brand new FLICKR.