A Dream Bigger Than My Own (P1)

On my flight home from Haiti in 2015… I put on my headphones, listened to music and let tears roll down my face the entire flight back to the United States. I was not ready to come home and transition back into my “normal” routines. I felt helpless and knew there was still so much to do, so many people to help. Immediately upon my return, my sister connected me to Naomi Correra – founder of Children Waiting Everywhere whom I believe is the next Mother Teresa!

I emailed Naomi, met her the following Sunday (10.18.15) and she introduced me to Jonathon – a little boy from Uganda who I will never forget. His high spirits were contagious & his smile melted my heart. Children Waiting Everywhere fully funded Jonathan and his mom to travel to the United States & remove a large tumor from Jonathon’s neck. Surgeons from Mott Children’s Hospital successfully executed the surgery and Jonathon is living a healthy life back in Uganda. I spent the entire day with Naomi and Jonathon visiting friends and learning about her organization, Children Waiting Everywhere (CWE) – empowering our brothers and sisters around the globe through health, education and employment. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of the special projects I would learn about and be a part of!

Over the months I learned so much about Naomi and CWE. Naomi lived and continues to live the MOST simple life and dedicates all her time + energy to serving the poor. Her organization is 100% volunteer and 100% of your donation goes towards a special project whether a church, school, surgery or employment etc. I admired their transparency but more than anything was so inspired by Naomi and the impact she was making on lives in Uganda.

I’ve never told Naomi this but she became a spiritual mentor to me.

In August 2016, I told Naomi that I was ready to go to Africa and I was ready take on my own project. Naomi shared many stories of individuals who were in great need. When I heard Esther’s story… my eyes lit up and said, “WE want to help her!” Not knowing whom this WE was? Later to find out my family, friends, colleagues and many more would all play an important role in Esther’s story. All I knew at that time was Esther was a talented seamstress who lived in the slums of Kenya. She had one eye, a broken leg and walked about a mile every day to the market place where she sold her designs. She would never beg for a dollar and she would continue to trust in her God given talents to provide for her family. Esther had a goal to buy her own house. With my love for fashion, resources in the U.S. and Esther’s talent… I knew we could create a plan (even though we had never met) and achieve her goal!!

That Fall I went on a mission trip to Guatemala with Food for the Poor while Naomi went to Kenya to meet with Esther, discuss our ideas and pay for Esther’s knee surgery.

In February 2017, I went to JoAnn Fabrics, bought fabrics of many colors and patterns, designed 10 outfits for Esther to create and sent David with half of the fabrics/designs!

In May 2017, Naomi and I traveled to Kenya and Uganda for two full weeks!

On May 16, 2017 I met Esther. The first thing I noticed about Esther was her beautiful, big white smile! After months of planning and communications, I immediately tried to take out my phone and record us FINALLY meeting for the first time but her husband stopped me and said “but first we must pray” and that’s what he did. We closed our eyes, bowed our heads, connected our hands, thanked God for bringing us together & asked for his blessing as we pursue “the business plan”. Esther showed me her apartment which was located right outside a public restroom. The apartment consisted of 2 small rooms. The first room had 1 bed (for Esther and husband), a sink and pantry crammed up next to each other. The second room had 1 table and 5 chairs. At night they stacked the chairs on the table and laid a blanket on the floor for their 7 children to sleep. Esther has 6 children and took in her brother’s child. At this time she made $3 a day and paid $60/month for rent. She was barely getting by.

Esther proudly presented us her last loaf of bread. Naomi and I tried to refuse but Esther insisted because it was her sign of gratitude. We ate bread, drank water and discussed our business plan. Within minutes Esther shared the terrible news that her boss was kicking her out of his store and therefore she would have no place to sell her designs and no income. As a group we discussed all options and decided the best solution was for Esther to achieve her ultimate DREAM – to own her clothing shop and become her own boss!

That afternoon we rode moto bikes to the marketplace (mind you Esther normally walks this route every day with an injured leg). I remember lots of flies, an overwhelming stench and my first reaction when I saw her shop. It reminded me of a jail cell (5ft x 5ft). After talking to Esther, I realized this shop meant everything to her. This shop was an opportunity for her to run her own business, rent out the shop to other seamstresses, make more money, provide more food to her family, pay for her children’s school fees and save money for a house. She was motivated and so was I. It was rare for a woman to own a shop in the marketplace and ALL of us were determined to make Esther one of them. She was ready to work and so was I. We set a goal to buy this shop for $3,000 by September 1, 2017.

Esther used my drawings, made her own tweaks and created the rest of her designs within 3 days (photo below). After two weeks in Africa, I traveled back to the U.S. solo (Naomi is permanently living in Uganda to stay close to her projects) with a suitcase full of Esther’s clothes and little time on my hands. I executed Esther’s fundraiser- Night for a Star on August 26, 2017. With the help of many AMAZING humans, we exceeded our fundraising goal and raised $3,800!

And most importantly… Esther’s dream came true!!

REFLECTION: Sometimes we think our lives are “suppose” to go one way and forget that ultimately its God’s plans for our lives that matter most. I believe it is our duty to discover our God given purpose. This is something I am trying to get better at – praying for His plans and not just my own. I had different plans for the summer of 2017 but am SO thankful God opened my heart + mind to His plan which was far greater than anything I could have ever imagined. When I returned from Africa, I had 2 months to execute Esther’s fundraiser so I put MY other plans on PAUSE (because that’s what you do when God is calling you) and HUSTLED! It was not easy, there were lots of bumps along the way & at the actual event BUT the day Esther received her contract and keys to her very own clothing shop…every moment was so worth it. Esther (44 years old) achieved her dream & is now a business owner! However, Esther’s story did not stop there. She was beyond grateful for what strangers in the United States did for her family so she decided to pay it forward. With some of the extra funds raised, Esther purchased sewing machines and is offering free sewing classes to orphan boys and girls in the community. These children were unable to afford school fees and Esther was determined to teach them a trade skill. She wanted to make sure these children had a future too. Some may say this is coincidence but I know this is how our miraculous God works. God can use all things together for good. (Romans 8:28). Talk to God, ask God about your purpose & pray that He opens your heart + mind to His greater plans (I’ll be doing the same!). There may be an Esther in your life and you don’t even know it!