My name is Ashley, and I have been involved with Sole Hope since January 2011.  I hosted my first shoe party shortly after that, and now I’m blessed to help you all have shoe parties of your own!  These were my thoughts a year ago after hosting my very first party…

“Not much excites me more than being involved in a project that is a sustaining type project that helps multiple people. This project is just that! We were helping widows around Africa get a head start on making shoes. This will not only provide them with an income, but it will put shoes on orphans feet! Call me crazy, but if that doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what will!!!

Sole Hope desires to provide HOPE to widows, orphans, and others in impoverished and forgotten communities around the world through the trade of shoe making.

A team from Sole Hope recently returned from Uganda to start teaching the women there to make these shoes.  Although we can’t all travel to Africa, we  can help them out tremendously right from our own homes by cutting out the top part of the shoes!

Eight women gathered in my home that night and whipped out 35 pairs of shoes! Ah, to picture the faces and hands of those women who will be sewing the shoes, and the faces and hearts of the little children who will slip them on their precious feet. I can picture them running and running. It makes my heart soar!”

Guest post written by Amy Welker from Missouri:

“My hubby Jason is the Minister of Student Activities.  We have students 7th grade thru College and Career.  I love to plan a great party, so I had to help!

A crazy thing happened, and as I was collecting supplies and organizing, I got plagued with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Virus. There is only a 10% chance for adults to get this childhood virus.  I got it and my feet were covered in huge blisters to the point where I couldn’t walk.  I have not experienced jiggers but I can say I have had blisters so bad I couldn’t walk for three days.  It even hurt to sleep.  God really gave me a great perspective for this project. He is a mighty God of hope and love.

Our whole church (First Baptist Church of Farmington) pitched in on the project. I had so many jeans coming in I had to tell them to stop bringing them!  Same for the milk jugs.  (Next time I will make sure everyone knows to rinse them out. My poor youth help had to rinse them and it was the worst smell ever!  ha ha)

Our kids in the church decorated the jeans with special water proof paint.  Cute hand prints and designs made by kids from age 3 all the way to my youth group.  I loved sharing with all the classrooms the story of the children you all help and showing the way God can use kids to help kids.

We made 120 pairs and plan to have another cutting party this summer to use up the rest of our resources!  So proud to be apart of something that matters.

Have you ever seen a complete transformation of a person in under an hour?  Meet Diana.  She came as part of the jigger removal in Mbulamuti, Uganda.  She was one of the extreme cases.  The parasites had not only invaded her feet, but her mind (Jiggers feed on ones blood, causing to low blood circulation in the body. This in turn causes lack of enough oxygen in the brain).  You could see the pain in her eyes and the way she moved her body.
Sole Hope team member Erin did all she could to comfort Diana as one jigger after another after another was removed from her tiny feet.

After almost an hour of two nurses removing jiggers Diana was done… she received a pair of shoes to keep her feet off of the infested ground.  Her whole countenance started to change, then the Women of Destiny group did something else.  They gave new clothing to the children…  Diana received a dress.

Can you believe that THIS is the same girl just an hour after we first met her?  True transformation! omulungi! (beautiful)

As I sit reflecting on the weeks with the team in Jinja, Uganda and surrounding areas I find myself amazed at the orchestration and timing of everything that has happened. Let me just say this first…. We were not supposed to be here.

We had been planning for months the trip to Zambia. Zambia was the focus. All the details about the trip were coming together nicely. Logistics of where we would stay, what we would eat, what we would do everyday, and how we would interact with the people were all laid out. Then it all changed. There were some occurrences in Zambia well beyond our control involving the safety of the team and we had to seek counsel to make the hard decision to cancel the trip to Zambia altogether.

The tickets were NOT refundable. We chose to change the location of the trip just a week before we were to depart. With some previous connections in Uganda we had some of the basics of the week laid out, but to say that we were stepping out in faith to see what God had in store for us is an understatement. We were relying on daily direction to arrange appointments and set our path. My prayer daily was “God, what do you want us to do today?”

We were surprised and challenged several times a day.

With the help of some new friends we were able to arrange and participate in two foot washing and jigger removal clinics many hours travel from each other where we learned so much more about the massive need for relief and education around this horrible problem.

We engaged in many meals, conversations, and cups of tea with both muzungus (white people) and Ugandans about what they thought the solution to jiggers is and things they have learned from living with jiggers all of their lives.

We were able to visit several other ministries working in different areas and varying focuses. There is so much to be learned from those that have already paved the way.

We played, danced, laughed, and sang with many children.

We also held hands, embraced, comforted, and cried with others.

We were heartbroken by the seemingly insurmountable problems in Uganda and at the same time filled with joy at the HOPE that we saw being cultivated in so many areas. True change is possible.

We learned of the importance of relationships and we have a new understanding about what the word “poor” really means. (Hint: it’s not about material wealth)

I will attempt to tell some of the stories on this blog in the upcoming weeks.

The need is great. The HOPE is strong. True change is possible.

Hello from Jinja, Uganda.  The Sole Hope team made it safely Thursday night.  After many automobile, plane rides, and MANY hours we were relieved to arrive!  We are very happy to be staying with our hospitable friends at Light Gives Heat and sharing some experiences with them.

This week is jam packed with visits to medical clinics and orphanages as well as a full scale foot washing, de-worming, & jigger removal.  I am often struck with the vastness of the “problems” we find here.  Where do we start?  What can be done about this…. or that?  When I start to feel overwhelmed at the vastness.  I am reminded of a story.

My prayer is that we can make a difference for “this one”…….. and for this one……. and for this one……..

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.”
― Mother Teresa

Sole Hope is honored to be part of two upcoming adoption conferences!  We will have an exhibitor booth at the Together for Adoption Regional Conference in Winston Salem on April 28. If you are already planning on going, please stop by and say hello! If you aren’t yet planning on going, and you’re in or around North Carolina, we highly recommend attending! This conference has something for everyone, whether you haven’t considered adoption/orphan care or are an adoptive parent or are active in orphan care or are a ministry leader, there will be something for YOU at this conference! We are excited to be a small part of  one of the driving forces of orphan care in the Church.

Then on May 19th we will be at Answer The Call Conference in Indianapolis.

You may know there are 147 million orphans world wide.  Did you know there’s something you can do to make a difference in a child’s life?  You are invited to Answer the Call, a one-day adoption and orphan care conference May 19. Workshops. Exhibitors. Real answers for your questions.  Register today at AnswerTheCallConference.org Attend the Answer the Call Adoption and Orphan Care Conference, hosted by an inter-denominational coalition of Indianapolis-area churches.

Saturday, May 19, 2012, 8am – 5pm
Traders Point Christian Church
$25/person

Walk-in registration $35 -cash or check only

The first 100 people to register will receive Beth Guckenberger’s new book, Tales of the Not Forgotten FREE.  Register TODAY!

Register Here

Dear friends,

It has come to our attention that there are disinformation and untruths being spread about Sole Hope. We would like to make an official statement refuting the disinformation; I invite anyone to contact us directly if you have concerns about Sole Hope and our mission in Africa.

We are accountable to the U.S. Government through our 501c3 status and to our board of directors and advisors. We are committed, and always have been, to be 100% financially transparent and to communicate in plain language the mission of the organization so that everyone can make an informed decision about us.  It is of our utmost concern to treat every worker and child we come in contact with dignity and respect recognizing that every human being is valuable in the sight of God.

We are planning another trip to Zambia this April.  We welcome you to accompany us and observe personally our excellent working relationship with Africans.  We have followed through with everything we said we would do.  Sole Hope can back up every claim we make with proof in the form of documents, photos, video, and testimony.

I am available to speak with you at all times.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Executive Director

Dru Collie

dru@solehope.com

Cell – 828.423.4659

Welcome to 2012!!! We at Sole Hope want to thank everyone who supports and advocates for our mission:

Our mission is to offer HOPE
to widows, orphans and others within impoverished and
forgotten communities around the world by teaching
the simple trade of shoemaking which provides
jobs and shoes to those in need.

The HOPE is evident in the stories of our shoemakers.  We want to start introducing you to these beautiful souls and share their stories.

Alexanderina Mulenga

Ndola, Zambia

Alexanderina, 49, lives in Sinia compound with her children.  She is a single mother of nine after her husband died of AIDS in 2006.  Before coming to work for Sole Hope Alexanderinas only employment was distributing pamphlets and handouts for an HIV/AIDS organization in Ndola.  She had never attempted to sew or knit.  Sole Hope taught her the life skills of sewing and shoe making, enabling her to open a bank account of her own! As of January 2012 Alexanderina will complete her first full year with Sole Hope.

         When reflecting back on this year, she feels as though she has made giant leaps in her abilities.  She feels grateful for having the opportunity to work for this ministry and it has helped her greatly in providing for her family.  Alexanderina said that she very hard and is extremely excited to see the benefits of their learning and labor.  She cannot wait to see ALL the children walking around in her shoes!