A visit to Pamella's
In fall 2009, after Stacey Edgar
of Global Girlfriend 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.
One of them, Akello Pamella, had her little daughter nestled on her lap.
All three women were wrapped in woolen scarves, shivering in the cool
Gulu rain. 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.
"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."
Pamella quickly became one of our best tailors, bringing her daughter
Maria to work everyday on her bicycle. Shortly after starting work with
One Mango Tree, she invited me to visit her family in the village, Awac.
Awac is only a short drive from Gulu town, but during the height of
conflict in Northern Uganda, the insecurity caused Pamella's family to
flee to town for safety. She lost brothers and uncles in the fighting
and her family lost their livestock, which had been the base of their
livelihood. After 21 years away, Pamella's family returned to their land.
She stayed behind and began working for One Mango Tree, saving money
for her own future and sending it to the village to help her family.
See more beautiful photos of Akello Pamela and Maria on our Facebook page.
Want to send Akello Pamella a message, photo or video? Do it here.
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Emily
February 16, 2012
Oh, I love this story! And, I love your heart for these women, Halle.