Small and beautiful....

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is much that has been done, but so much more to do in the way of providing opportunities here in Kenya and in many other places. It is about providing a way, not simply in a uni-directional fashion but in a bi-directional, or collaborative, way. Hopefully, this is what is happening during my visit to NEGST. Hopefully I am not simply coming and providing a "service" or a function and then leaving with no lasting results or change. Rather, I hope that my time here has been collaborative and that the library staff and myself have grown in new ways.

One of the ways in which opportunities have been provided here in Nairobi, and in Karen specifically, is through Kazuri Pottery and Beads. Kazuri means small and beautiful in Swahili and it is the name given to an operation that began roughly thirty years ago making handmade beads. Soon it was realized that the business could provide employment to an underserved population most in need of steady work--single mothers. Today Kazuri Pottery employs nearly 80 women.