More about the African quilt project….

Jill Urbach & her mom went to Kenya this summer, and she tells me it was an amazing experience. Here’s more about the project, and her presentation on the 26th at the Presbyterian Church:

Local Women Develop Africa Quilting Project

Jill Urbach and Kitty Sorgen recently traveled to Kenya to give some impoverished women hope in the form of a new means of income: Quilting.

Kitty Sorgen and Jill Urbach taught at the Mashaka Children’s Center, a primary school in Meru, Kenya, north of Nairobi. The Mashaka Children’s Center is run by Nairobi-based Oasis Africa and educates over 100 students. The caregivers of these children, primarily women, struggle daily to find labor that would earn them a dollar or two or, sometimes, just a sack of potatoes.

Dr. Gladys Mwiti, founder of Oasis Africa which runs the Mashaka Children’s Center, had a dream of teaching the Mashaka women to quilt so they could develop a self-sustaining cottage industry. A chance comment at a women’s retreat on Orcas Island in March led to the development of the Africa Quilting Project, headed by Kitty Sorgen in Friday Harbor and Dr. Mwiti in Kenya.

On Saturday, September 26 at 6:30PM at Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church, Jill Urbach will host a presentation with photos and video footage about her journey to Kenya, the living conditions of the women, and the Africa Quilting Project. The presentation is free and the community is invited to attend.

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