Now is the time to write more about Joy Ngobi and Jinja Jewelry. Joy is now in Uganda and will return on December 30. During her absence I hope to create more interests in her endeavers.
Joy is from Uganda and now lives in the United States. When she returned to her homeland for a visit, she came upon women trying to sell (in their local area) the necklaces, bracelets, earrings, totes and bags they were making. These marvelous items are made from recycled newspapers, magazines, banana fibers, seeds and/or local stones.
Joy's flyer says "Even though these necklaces immediately caught our attention due to their beauty and creativity, these Ugandan artists had no viable place to sell their wares. At that moment we committed ourselves to helping these women find a market for their unique necklaces so that in a small way we could assist them escape from the many evils of poverty."
When I met Joy she was setting up a display at a wonderful coffeehouse in our area - Bass Creek Espresso. I have never met a person that exudes so much love, joy, enthusiasm and excitement.
It is my desire to find people that are interested in reading her flyer and who knows where that may lead. If you are interested, contact me and I can at least send you a copy and pass your interest along to Joy when she returns. We will be meeting for coffee that first week after her return.
Joy sounds like a wonderful human being. We get quite a lot of this kind of art in South Africa. Our borders a virtually open and uncontrolled and many Ugandans, Nigerians (unfortunately they also sell a lot of drugs), Zambians, Zimbaweans and many more come here to sell their wares to the tourists. They do a huge trade and artworks and carvings and their things are really special. When my family come to visit from Germany, they always return with bulging suitcases!
Love
Ursula