Happy New Year!

As the new year is just around the corner, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the achievements of the previous year and give thanks for all of the fabulous support we've received.

This year marked the second year of my living in the states post Peace Corps. This is an important marker as its just about the same amount of time that I was in Uganda. We had a lot of technological advances this year: POP started this blog, a Facebook page, and Twitter and Paypal accounts!
Obviously, there was the euphoric trip I took to Uganda where I visited the women who became my family in Uganda( The complete blog update on that trip is coming I promise). Being reunited with the Gemakumyino Women's Group and UAOWF was really an indescribable joy. We spoke about a lot of great new ideas and I can't wait to get started on them!


What highlights did I forget? I'm sure there are a ton of them. The sales from Path of Paper have connected women and begun conversations. The Ugandan producers provide for their needs by creating a product with their own hands that is sought after and valued thousands of miles away.  They pay their children's school fees, rent on better housing, as well as cover health costs. Economic power strengthens ones ability to feel confident, make decisions and speak ones voice.

Next year we have a pretty high mark to meet, but I am foreseeing great things in our future!

I'd like to say a special thank you to my mother, siblings, all of my aunts especially Dee, Valerie and Maria. To everyone in the Gemakumyino Women's Group, UAOWF, Via Creativa Gallery and the Lyman family. To Ryan Villanueva, Alissa Walsh, Bobby Wermus, and Gregory Hoffman.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Some pictures from Kate's visit to Iganga. large plates of local food. make the heart so warm . I'll soon post a longer description of my trip to Iganga, but for now I'll let these pictures do the talking!

Thanks to my brother Nicholas O'Grady for taking these fabulous pictures! Path of Paper has never looked better

tujay!

Well everyone. The day is finally here! I board my plane to Uganda tonight!Reservations have been made, prescriptions filled and I am [mostly] packed.



I already feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster ride.. finally feeling mentally ready and excited to extract myself from my busy new york life, unplug from the internet and smart phones. I'm excited to immerse myself in a truly great opportunity. Yesterday Rick and I changed our adventure plans again so it looks like the last 3 days we and Michelle will be stared at by chimps at fort portal! Exciting..

So there will be tons of pics and videos and updates upon my return, but for now.. wish me luck and thanks for all the support!





also, the fairtrade sale at waterside in norfolk is going on this weekend and my mom and sister have been doing a great job!! So if you're in the area, be sure to stop by and see what people are doing to change the world! There are some really talented vendors there, and I'm always inspired! Many thanks go out to Via Creativa Gallery for all they have done to involve us in this momentous event! This is our biggest sale event of the year, and if anyone can do it right its caroline and cyndi! Upon my return i'll also upload some amazing pics Nick, my little brother, took of our merchandise! It looks great and next we'll need to work on a catalog!

Thanks for all the support!

Making strides!

I really don't have words to express how I'm feeling right now. As the departure date to Uganda creeps closer it becomes harder and harder to deny that I am going. I've done a few things to prepare myself for leaving: I've gotten a shot in the arm, and a prescription for doxycycline [for malaria prevention]. I somehow ended up telling the doctor that I liked getting the good kind of needles, which came out sounding very wrong. I need to write a Yelp review about that medical center.. I'm just not quite sure what to make of it yet.
I've received generous donations from my friends, and I feel incredibly blessed by them.

I'm getting excited for some little things that have nothing to do with getting to see fabulous ugandan co workers/family. These include:
-Oweeno market ( I already have a mental list of the incredibly great clothes I need to bring back from there: jeans, jeans jeans, brown boots, and hats!..oh dear)
-Chapati! enough said
-MOTORCYLCE RIDES!!! thats right folks, in about less than 3 weeks, I will ride recklessly at least once on the back of a motorcycle... maybe without a helmet and ..most likely SITTING SIDE SADDLE!!!!! Risk becomes me.
-Pilsner (my oh so creatively named Uganda beer of choice)
-Little Bananas, Jack fruit ( possibly the secret ingredient to Juicy Fruit)
-The call for prayer



Wow, I could really go on forever if given the chance. I guess I am excited to go back. I also have a few things to remember to do while I'm there and need to start making that list. One of these things includes taking more video while I'm there.

Lastly, many of my Peace Corps friends will be happy to know that I have date to eat pork at the pork joint! While I'm in Uganda, my vegetarian diet goes out the window. I'm sure my stomach will hate me for this decision a few days while I'm there, but in Uganda the animals have such a higher likely hood of enjoying a full and natural life than in America. But now that I think about it, I really wonder where the meat in restaurants in Iganga and Kampala come from. I'll have to ask more questions this time, but most of the time I eat meat it will hopefully be with families who raised it themselves. The last thing I'll say about my vegetarianism is that pig meat is my least favorite to eat. Its the only animal that I really feel a spiritual guidance against eating. But I'm excited to go to the pork joint for the sake of tradition. And I do remember their tomatoes being especially delicious, and their Pilsner's especially refreshing! Not even to mention that they play all the latest music videos and I will be up to date on all the latest jams by the time I leave! YES!!


Well writing this just made me think of one trillion other things I need to do....I would especially like to thank the Uebelhoer family for donating their laptop to UAOWF.

I'll continue to post more as the days fly by. I'm revitalized in my dedication to Path of Paper, and cross my heart promise I am going to study Lusoga soon!!!

THANKS RY!!!!

Very special post here today folks!
I want to give a big ole thank you thank you thank you to Ryan V. for being the first one to donate to the Path of Papers Send Kate to Uganda fund!!
Ryan V. is an amazing guy! Not only is he generous, but hes an amazing musician! Watch him jam on youtube or on facebook! If youre in Richmond, you'd be wise to give him a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smKJPAqtD8c&feature=related
http://www.facebook.com/ryanvillamusic

I'm honored, and we really appreciate it! Thanks Ry!

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/uganda.htm


Need to figure out which shots I need to get! Think it may just be typhoid and figuring out some malarial drugs...
I'm debating if I want to take any malarial meds. If I do get malaria ( which I managed not to do throughout the 2 1/2 years I was there as a PCV while only taking mefloquine semi regularly), I can always buy a quick fix over the counter there... something to think about! I've been mentally preparing myself to have a case or two of diarrhea.. super fun! But since I'll be shocking my system with meat for the first time since I left (!!) and probably bad water, its kind of inevitable.. lets just hope it doesn't take days off my trip.

A member from the organization where I work is very excited to give me candy, some tshirts and toys for the kids and some jewelery and wraps for Sharifa. I'm so excited to give these out and be able to share her generosity.

Also, I've decided I do need to take part of this trip as a vacation for myself. I haven't figured out how best to do that. I'd like to go somewhere new where I can relax with a Pilsner ( warm or cold, really) and enjoy some great scenery... but a trip to the Karmoja with Rick sounds like a blast too..we're meeting up this week ( finally!) to revist whats possible... we'll have to see!
very excited!

To do lists!

Here are all the things I need to do before getting on the plane to Uganda:
1. Meet again w/ Rick to discuss travel plans
2. Email Peter and find a cheap laptop to bring for him ( ....)
3. Find out which shots I need to update..and get 'em!
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/uganda.htm
4. Meet with Momma O and compose a list of what needs to be communicated while I'm in Iganga
5. Send emails and make phone calls to my Ugandan friends to let them know when and for how long I'll be coming
6. Send a mass email to friends/family telling them about my trip and requesting that in lieu of birthday presents, they help to pay my airfare!
7. Find old GRE scores, decide if I want to retake them, and take steps towards that and looking into what school in NY have non profit management programs that are interesting to me.
8. pack

newsflash: they have received the money!

I'M GOING BACK TO UGANDA!

Hey everybody!
I have some exciting news to share about Path of Paper. It all starts with a Saturday morning brunch not that long ago.......
Rick Barley, another Peace Corps Uganda Volunteer who is 6 ft 5," great at guitar, and was my roommate when I first moved to New York City met my brother, my brothers friend, and myself, for brunch with big news! Rick had decided to go back to Uganda in the beginning of December! Rick outlined his trip to me, and since these plans were only a few months (2 to be exact) before mine, no decision needed to be made; I was travel with my friend.
In addition to meeting with the Gemakumyino Women's Group in Iganga, I am blessed to have the opportunity to visit an affiliate organization to the clubhouse where I work in New York city, Fountain House. (The link is below, please check them out!) So, Michelle Rodriguez, a coworker of mine who volunteered at an orphanage in Gulu, Uganda decided to join the trip and now I'm excited to be on the same flight with her!!
There will be an increasing amount of updates from here until December 4th, but I wanted to point that December 2nd will be my 27th birthday and if you are a family member, friend or anyone who would have given me a Birthday or Christmas present, I'm asking that instead you donate money (through our pay pal account) to my trip. I've done a lot in my [almost] 27 years, but saving thousands of dollars was not one of those things! Helping me to pursue my passion and reconnect with Ugandan friends is the best gift you could give me this year...



There are several reasons I want to go back to Uganda. I'll admit some of them are personal, I want to reconnect with the friends I made in Uganda, and the people who became my family. I have framed pictures of several of the children who touched my life while I was in Uganda and I've been amazed at the strength of the pull I feel to go back and see them. Knowing it is a possibility removed it from being an option long ago. It was only a matter of time; of when, not if, and although no time is ever perfect, putting the trip off until I am older, wiser and wealthier began to feel like something I told myself to make me feel better.
Of course, Path of Paper is the main reason I'm going back to Uganda. But,this for me has always been a mix of personal and business. The women who make up Path of Paper (and the people who help at UAOWF- link below) became my family in Uganda. They protected, taught, nourished, and enlightened me. Their personal well being and the well being of the business are linked completely. When we don't have money coming in, they go hungry, their children's health and education is at risk, and the clothes on their back become more fragile. Communication can only be so good over Skype conversations and emails, especially when communicating about things as miniscule as the design of a necklace, a color scheme, not to mention trying to describe this blog and the tax forms the American side of business has filled out this year. To ensure that Path of Paper can run sustainably, and transparently I NEED to touch the hands of the women who make the beads, I need to eat food with them, and I need to give them all the paperwork my saintly mother and I have been trying to organize and understand since I left.
Along this vein, I should say a few words about how business outside of my big trip back to Uganda is going. Recently, we've encountered a new problem, and I'm hoping its one that can be solved. First, we delayed and delayed sending money to Uganda, trying to amass enough money for the wire transfer fees to make sense. When we finally got everything pulled together and sent money, it wasn't long before we received reports from the secretariat of UAOWF ( and my Peace Corps supervisor who helps to monitor and advise the producers for Path of Paper) as well as the Akusa Muguwa, (who is, in business-ese the communication representative between Path of Paper and myself) that the money did not arrive in Iganga. My mother, Cyndi, immediately called Wells Fargo, and tried to figure out where the money could have gone astray. As of right now, we have a tracer on the wire transfer, and Wells Fargo has confirmed that the money did get to at least Uganda. So we are holding our breath as we continue to follow through with this. There are so many options that could have gone wrong with this money, and there is the potentiality that this is a lethal blow to Path of Paper, and the money and hard work of many is lost, we are doing everything we can to figure out exactly what happened and make sure that justice is met. We don't call ourselves path of paper for nothing, and we'll figure out where our transfer went astray!


I'll leave off here for now, there will be many more updates in the future, as a I navigate re-upping on my necessary shots ( where is my WHO card?), planning the itinerary for the trip and speak more and more to my friends and family. So stay tuned!
If you are a supporter of Path of Paper, and want to help us continue to support the lives of women in Iganga, now is the time to donate. Pay pal is easy, just click the button on this blog! Every little bit helps!

Thanks for all the support.
Lots of love,

Kate O'Grady

POP CEO#1








http://www.fountainhouse.org/

(site where I work in NYC, I will be visiting an affiliate organization in Kampala, Uganda while I'm in country)


http://www.freetocharities.org.uk/uaowf/

(website for the organization where I worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer; an organization that continues to help support Path of Paper)

mpola mpola

Hey everybody,
I just added a paypal donate button to this blog ( pretty big deal for a die hard luddite like myself)! I'm hoping that we can raise money to aid in funding my trip to Uganda in February, as well as take one step closer to being able to sell beads online, and make it easier for anyone who wants to donate to our cause.

About two weeks ago my business partners and I ( my mother of course, and my Aunt Val who uses her business degree to help us create necessary paper work, sell beads, etc etc) met up in Milwaukee Wisconsin and worked on, amongst other things, our Fair Trade Federation Application. It seems we're back on this route again; trying to get Fair Trade Certified to up our credentials, and hopefully get us into some stores!

As we spoke, the list of things we need ( and want) to do in order to keep Path of Paper running grew by the second. We are well aware of our limitations and realize quite fully that we might be in over our heads, but the good thing is that our motivation is back! So be ready for lots of updates, lots of changes and a whole lot more professionalism!

Path of Paper is improving and I'm already counting down the days until I am back in Uganda.

Going Back

I've decided that I need to go back to Iganga. My mom and I have hit a road block in filling out the non-profit status application,plus with a full time job, I've found it hard to be as pro active about POP as I should be. But I've been working on establishing a similar business at my 9-5. I've worked with some really inspirational people and their insight has reignited my passion for the women in Iganga.
I also recently got an email from Peter Nsubuga, who was my supervisor when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda. He told me that the political dust has settled, but that food prices have doubled in the last 3 months!! That's outrageous! Can you imagine paying double what you pay for groceries by October? Especially if you're struggling already, it must be so stressful. Plus, the rains have been delayed in coming, making growing personal crops impossible.

Anyways, my goal is to go back to Iganga in February or March of 2012. Until then, my mom and I are back onto filling out the non profit application and getting the word out about our group.
I'm praying for the women of Iganga. I hope my own selfishness won't stop me from using the great opportunity I have to help women elevate their status and their families.

Thinking about Uganda.....

The second of these links is very disturbing, and they both really got my heart racing. I have to admit I've been distracted recently from dedication to Path of Paper. With a new job, city, and chapter in my life I was feeling more distant from Iganga than ever before. But, these videos took me back to the streets I used to know, woke me from my British Royal wedding self indulgent lifestyle and reminded me not to forget the people who became my heart.
In the coming weeks, we at Path of Paper are getting in gear to get a lot accomplished! There are new products, new ideas, new 501 c3 forms, and new help to enlist!
We're going to be present at the Blair Middle School Spring Craft Fair on May 7th (from 9am-3pm), so show up, email us, and friggen do something with what ya got!

Thanks so much for your interest and support!





http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13237058


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13243259