TAPP - The Rest of the Story...

I mentioned in this post about TAPP women in the Bukasa area who make their living, in part, by working in the quarries.  These ladies sit among bigger rocks, breaking them into smaller rocks, and filling wheelbarrows. Their pay? One wheelbarrow full brings about 35 cents. It takes about a day to fill two wheelbarrows.

One of the clients in Bukasa, the second we visited on Tuesday, showed us these scrub pads she weaves together. Two were shown to us and we quickly purchased them, promising that if we were able to see her on Thursday, we would purchase more.

Yesterday, Prossya came to the TAPP office holding nine of these pads and we were glad to buy them all.  She handcrafted, stitch by stitch, nine of these pads.  She was glad to sell these to us for roughly $2 each. (By the way, the normal approach to buying and selling here in Uganda is to haggle until the selling price drops considerably. We did not deploy that cultural approach in this occasion and paid full price.)

For context, here are some thoughts:
  • At $2 per pad, the 9 we purchased, in addition to the 2 bought on Tuesday, put her $2 over her monthly rent.
  • The 11 pads she created and we purchased was equal to over 61 wheelbarrows full of rocks. 61!
  • It would have taken her over a month - each day - to earn the equivalent at the quarry.
  • The beaming smile she offered to us on both occasions was priceless.
TAPP offers so much to these "Positive Living" Clients.
  • Training and education for self-sufficiency and access for medical information and testing.
  • Training and education for "Positive Living" with this terrible disease called HIV.
  • Opportunities for entrepreneurship creating and selling jewelry, clothing, scrub pads, food, and other creative goods.  
  • Programs and ministries for these women to be encouraged and to encourage each other.
  • And, so much more.
The third client we spoke to on Tuesday, Margaret, also works in the quarry with her 1 month-old son at her side or on her back as she works.  We're working with the TAPP leadership to identify a way that we can "kick-start" a trade for her so that she can reduce her (and her child's) time in this back-breaking work.

What can you do? Of course, pray that these men and women will seek Jesus and His provision through this ministry and the church of God.  Pray also that the TAPP leadership will be enabled and empowered to lead their clients rightly.

Whenever you see TAPP jewelry or other articles, purchase them.  Remember, every purchase can be a double-blessing.

Lastly, stay tuned to this blog for further opportunities to support this important ministry.

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