Behind the Bag- Kassie

Well, y'all just settle in, because today your are hearing from Kassie Miller, a sweet and sassy country music singer from Nashville, TN. (I hope y'all read that, and the rest of this post, with a very thick country accent. Because that's exactly how Miss Kassie speaks.) We love Kassie (and Ben) as much as Kassie loves ketchup. That's alot. Enjoy, darlin'!

My name is Kassie and I had always dreamed of going to Africa . My dream came true last May, and I will be on my third trip back this coming May. You can kinda say I like it. I fell in love with Rwanda and my heart now belongs to a little girl named Kevine, who we now sponsor and pray that one day she will be with us forever. She is what keeps me coming back every chance I get. After my first trip, I really felt like it wasn’t long enough. So, the second time I went (this past November), my husband, Ben, and I decided to stay an extra week. That way we could spend more one-on-one time with Kevine. We were able to stay with Tara and Alison at their home for our extra week (we were also the visitors who got evacuated with Tara due to the Congo war!). That extra week made the trip complete.

We really got to know Tara and Alison and spend quality time with Ange and Fanny (Girls that work at No.41 but also live with Tara and Alison). We spent our days at Noel with Kevine and the kids. By the time we’d get home we were so exhausted from playing with the kids all day at Noel that we would turn in early. We would wake bright and early in the morning, shower, and then head to the kitchen for some breakfast. Everyday there would already be some of the No.41 girls working away (this is at 7:00 in the morning). I’d go in to say good morning and the girls would be smiling, sewing and listening to music (Justin Beiber a lot of times). They were always so happy and eager to work. I felt like we were behind the scene of a movie because we got to see with our own eyes how this company operates on a daily basis.

The girls have such an amazing work ethic, sadly unlike most Americans; they would come to work early and stay late. They worked as long as possible because they knew the more bags they made the more they’d have a chance to sell. I love how this business is a full circle partnership…the girls make the bags…which in turn makes them money, and gives them skills for success and confidence…profit from the bags provide lunch for public school children who can’t afford to bring it or can not walk home to eat (because it is too far of a walk)…the bags make American women happy because we love to shop and it’s a GREAT cause.

I love this. Everyone benefits from this. I also love that Tara has some of her girls train and learn to be in “management”. So if for some reason Tara and Alison were go back to America the business can carry on. That’s what’s up. I love carrying my bags and sharing the story behind it. You should get one too!

If you're cool, like Kassie, and would like to purchase a bag, click here.

For more Behind the Bag stories, click here.

OR, if you have a No.41 story you'd like to share, send it to tarajill@yahoo.com