Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
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)
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)
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