Solution, Shoes and a Shin Dig

Yesterday I wrote about learning to be a more responsible consumer. You can read that post here if you need to get caught up.

Right when I was so outraged at the clothing industry that I wanted to set my closet on fire the coolest thing happened.

It was a Monday. That's not cool. Mondays happen every seven days.

Monday is baking day around here. That's not cool either. Baking Day was cool the first two times it happened, but since then it's just...baking day.

On Mondays girls from church come help me. We bake. We talk.

Cameron came over last Monday. This is when it starts getting cool. Right in the middle of cooking pumpkin muffins she told me about one of the neatest things.

Just that morning I stood in my closet and said to the Lord..."What do I do? I feel hopeless. Will I ever know if what I'm buying honors you Lord?"

Cameron told me about Sseko Designs.

It's a sandal company started by a young girl...here she is:


She's a cutie.

This cutie has a name.

Liz

Liz was in Africa. She found out smart girls were graduating from a private school called Cornerstone Academy in Uganda. However...after graduation, these girls weren't going to college. Liz wanted to know why. She found out the girls don't have the money for school, and have no way to earn it. There's no work. It's non-existent. What work does exist goes to men. There was no way for these smart girls to earn enough money to afford to continue their education.

Liz was not satisfied with this sad situation and wanted to do something about it.

Oh...you've just got to love a woman who is frustrated. Watch out world. Just watch out.

Liz created Sseko Designs.

Girls...who recently graduated from a secondary school in Uganda make sandals so they can pay for their first year of college.

From the website...

Sseko \say-ko\ Designs was created to help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Sseko Designs is a not-just-for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country's educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.

Although consumerism makes many empty promises, responsible and proactive consumerism has the ability to change lives. Like the lives of Mercy, Mary and Rebbecca.

Every sandal has a story. This story has only just begun, but with your help, it will be a story of hope, success and change.

Shoes with a story.

Shoes that help me say with confidence..."I know where these things came from. I know where my money went. I see the face behind the product. I see the cause behind the purchase."

I bought some Ssekos last week. I love them. LOVE THEM. They are the cutest sandal I've ever owned.

The ties are interchangeable. There are a bunch of different ways to tie the sandals. I've had a blast experimenting with new tie designs.

Take a look at these cute shoes!

Spend some time on the website. Look at all the pages. Read the stories.

Let your eyes stare at the beautiful girls who make these shoes. Their faces fill my heart with joy. I have prayed God's love, strength, peace and hope over their lovely faces.

I can't stop looking at these precious girls.

I've gotten so many compliments and questions about my shoes, and I've only worn them a week. They are that adorable. I've gotten so many compliments about my shoes that I asked Cameron to give me some "cards or something" with Sseko's information on them because people want these shoes!

Most importantly...I love looking down at my feet and thinking..."Yes. Lord...I can answer for these shoes."

Mary, Rebecca and Mercy made 'em.

So they could go here:

What a joy to know the money is going towards sending these bright young women to college.

_______________________________________________

NOW FOR SOME FUN! A PARTY! A SANDAL SHIN DIG!

I hope that everyone will buy some of these cute shoes. If you live here locally (or near here) you can buy the shoes from Cameron. Then you only pay $2 shipping instead of $7 or so.

I know that these shoes are "higher" than I normally pay for shoes. I'm learning that my need for "cheap" is actually costing me a lot. My desire for "cheap" is the driving force behind social injustice in the world. When all I care about is the price...I win. Everyone else loses. Children lose. Women lose. I'm asking God to help me be content with less. It's not that I can't afford a $40 pair of shoes. I just can't afford 10 pairs of $40 shoes this year. I need the Lord to change me.

This month there is a deal going on where you get an extra pair of straps for free. Fun! It's like getting two pairs of shoes.

For those of you who buy some of these great shoes (and live nearby) you're invited to a Sseko party!

Cameron will have extra shoes to sell. She'll have a bunch more straps that aren't available on the website (including some must-have Aggie maroon patterned ones).

AND...

She'll teach us several fun ways to tie our new sassy sandals.

Because I'm surrounded by some of the brightest most creative women on the planet I would also LOVE for you to get your shoes early...experiment and come ready to show us any of your own unique ways to tie our shoes.

If you live here locally and want to order shoes, please email Cameron at:

camcrake@neo.tamu.edu

If you don't live here locally and buy some, leave a comment and tell me. Thinking of all these cute shoes sending these precious ladies to college is making me smile.

The party will be Tuesday, December 1.

If you're buying sandals and coming for the fun, please email me or leave a comment. I think we can have the get together at my house, but if we go all sandal crazy, I might need to find a bigger place!

Yay for being responsible consumers.

Double Yay for learning to live out God's call to be stewards of our resources in a way that honors our Maker.

I know this only solves my shoe problem...but these are baby steps, remember.

Baby steps.

Baby steps are good. You can cover a lot of ground with baby steps. And my baby steps will be in some of the cutest sandals you've ever seen.