FOR ONE Day and a Giveaway!!

Happy Monday, y'all!!

Because it's Monday, and because our power is still out, and because I love y'all so much.
I have some really exciting things to tell you about!

First, FOR ONE Day. On April 1st (4-1). Get it? :)

On 4-1 Day, we would love for you to join us for a day of fasting, if you can, praying, if you do, and we are asking you to donate the cost of ONE meal, if you would. Our feeding program provides lunch for one child for just 25 cents a day! How much do you spend on lunch?

$1 feed 4 children for one day,

$5 feeds 20 children, and

$10 feeds 40 children!

AND it gets better!

I know what you are thinking, Holy cow, Tara, we are already changing the world, what could be better than that?! I know, I know.

We are doing a giveaway!! Of some of our very favorite handmade-in-Rwanda things!!

Your lovely little prize pack includes: A No.41 apron, a hand woven basket from a local women's co-op, a ceramic mug from a local men's co-op, Pfunda tea from the plantation across the street from our house, Kivu Bourbon coffee from Lake Kivu region in Gisenyi, 3 bracelets, and a paper bead necklace.

So, here's what you need to do to enter: Click here and 'like' No.41 on Facebook. Once you have done that, make sure you share 4-1 Day with your friends, here. Finally, donate the cost of your lunch on April 1st, here. And you're done! Make sure you leave a comment below for each of your entries. 

And for you overachievers, for additional entries: follow @no41 on instagram. Follow No.41 on twitter here. Follow my blog on bloglovin' here. Follow Alison's blog on bloglovin' here. Again, comment below for each of your entries.

**drawing will be held on April 2nd, and your prize will ship back to the States at the end of April.

We are so, so excited and we hope that you are, too!! We think this could be huge for these kids!

Have a great week!!

Behind the Bag- What's in a Name

Oh, hey! In honor of 4/1 Day coming up (and our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY yesterday), I thought I would share with y'all a little story of how No.41 got it's name.

Back when I was still living in the orphanage and praying over this burden I felt for the girls and for our community, I felt like God gave me a glimpse of all this could be. It was big, and I immediately backed down.  He followed up that glimpse with, For one, Tara. Do it for one.  One was something I could get my mind around and No.41 was born.  For one child. For one meal. For one year.

One has taken on a much greater meaning these days.

One became 32 beautiful girls.

One is 870 meals everyday. For 870 students.

 

One is our Xavera and her sweet family.

One is sweet Louisa

One is Valentine realizing a talent she never knew she had.

 Lucky, XO, and Maureen are the ones.

 One is Vestine in university.

 One is Fanny providing for her little one.

I guess God knew what he was doing. I suppose He always does. We are changing the world for one.

All of them.

**all photos by the ever talented alisonholcomb

For more Behind the Bag stories, click here.

To tell your Behind the Bag story, email tarajill5@yahoo.com

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

Just Feedin' Some Kids

Have y'all heard?!!

We started feeding some kiddos this month! 870 of them!!

Yeah, it was kind of amazing.

In a this-is-so-amazing-I-don't-know-what-to-say kind of way.

Sooo...... First, I'll say God is good. Like, really, really we-don't-deseve-these-kind-of-blessings-but-we'll-take-'em good.

Then, I'll say thank you, because this most certainly wouldn't be possible without your prayers, love and support, your purchase of bags, and just flat out donations.

And now, I'm gonna show you a whole bunch of pictures from my unbelievably talented, partner in crime, Alison.

We were so proud to have the girls there. This was all because of them, after all. I don't think they really knew what they were in for at this point. More on them later....

On the menu: Kawunga, cabbage, and beans.

Kawunga looks like mashed potatoes and tastes like bread.

Once you add water and oil it becomes thick. Very thick.

Armed and ready to cook some kawunga.

cabbage

 Our four sweet cooks show up, bright and early, at 6am to get this show on the road.

The kitchen is tiny and unbearably smokey. Luckily, most of the prep work is done outside and we have since raised the roof and added a few more windows.

 

As the food started to roll out, we set to work separating the dishes amongst the classes.

 The girls happily jumped in and got to work because they are perfect like that.

And here it comes.....

 We prayed for this day for so long. So long that it didn't even seem real when it happened.

They were eating their first ever school lunch.

And they were oh, so happy!

Y'all, six months ago, our big dream was to get 250 kids fed.

Three months ago, we learned that it was actually going to be closer to 650.

One month ago, the number went up to 750.

This month we fed the exact 870 kids that God had in mind from the beginning.

 It was pretty amazing.

But, more than that, the sweet realization for our girls as they saw, with their own eyes, what was really happening here.

That Tuesday afternoon, our girls found themselves right smack dab in the middle of a move a God.

 What's better than that?

it happened.

alisonholcomb photography

Well, today it happened.

Exactly one month shy of our one year anniversary,

No.41 opened our first feeding program.

I don't have words. Just tears.

I am so in awe of this beautiful mess I get to call mine.

I can't imagine why He picked me.

But I'm so thankful He did.

Today, because of your love, prayers and support,

870 students ate their first ever school lunch.

Can't wait to tell you more!

Behind the Bag- Jenn

You know those friends you never knew you were missing until they came along? That is Jenn for me. Our friendship was quick, like most things here-- everything is intensified, and she has been a sounding board for so many of lives twists and turns. Times when you're so excited all you can do is scream, times when the sadness is so thick no words can be found, and all those crazy times in between. Jenn has spoken life directly to my heart. She is a dreamer AND a doer and she inspires me more than she'll ever know. I am so honored to share her story.....

Hi my name is Jennifer. This is my little family.

My No. 41 story begins long before there was a No. 41...When Tara had been in Rwanda for less than a year, still wondering what exactly God had planned for her. When my husband, Chris, and I were walking on Rwandan soil for the first time. Our story, Tara’s story and the story of a beautiful Rwandan boy all collided that day. We had traveled to Rwanda with a Visiting Orphans team. On our last evening in Rwanda, Tara came to dinner. I was a total mess after leaving the children who lived at Noel Orphanage. My heart was broken. I don’t know if I have ever told Tara this, but I wanted so badly to talk to her, I wanted to know what it was like to live in Rwanda. Scoping out the dinner seating, I made sure that we were sitting at her table. Fearing that I wouldn’t be able to contain myself, I didn’t say much that evening, but God had planted a seed and only He knew how it would grow.

After returning home, Chris and I could not stop talking about one sweet boy that we met at Noel. We wanted to help him, to stay connected with him, to bring him home to live with us, but how? Chris and I came up with the idea of getting a student visa for Alain. The only person I knew was Tara, so I quickly looked her up. Praying that she wouldn’t think I was a total crazy person, I sent the first of hundreds of messages. Tara became our lifeline. I don’t think any of us knew at the time how difficult getting a visa can be. She didn’t think we were crazy. She was our eyes and ears and feet.

Right away, she began loving on our boy and helping in every way possible. She believed the impossible with us. God knit together our story with her story. If Tara wasn’t exactly where she was exactly when she was, our lives and the life of one amazing Rwandan boy would be very different. All along our journey to Alain, she was a constant encouragement and a true friend. Tara will forever be a part of our family’s story. The Vermes love you, Tara!!

When Tara told me about No.41, we believed with her. We had many conversations about Rwanda, our boys, and dreaming great big, God-sized dreams. Tara’s big dreams, are making the No.41 girls’ dreams come true and we are so blessed to be a part of it. It has been so beautiful to watch No. 41 grow, to see God send Alison to Rwanda at the perfect time to join the girls and use her gifts. His plans are perfect.

Through No. 41, we have also gained a daughter. We sponsor, Passy (whose brother is one of Alain’s friends). We are so ridiculously proud of her. At the beginning of the year, she moved to Kigali to go to university.

Recently, we were able to visit No.41, to see where all of these beautiful girls learn and work and live together. They have a great thing going. The girls are full of life and never-ending smiles. Passy was so excited to show us the house she was living in and her room, all made possible by her job at No. 41. To even be a small part of what No. 41 is doing is a privilege for our family.

Stylish, colorful bags made with love and bringing hope. Is there anything better? You should hop over the the shop right now and buy a bag!!

If you'd like to purchase a bag, click here.
If you have a story you'd like to tell email tarajill5@yahoo.com

Behind the Bag- Frank

Oh, Frank Pass. Frank was my Visiting Orphans team leader when I came to Rwanda (and Ethiopia) for the very first time. I think Frank thought I was crazy. I think he still does. 

But I think we get each other now. :)

One of the last days on trip (2 years ago!), Frank said that I reminded him of one of his daughters. Shortly after I moved to Rwanda, I got email from Frank saying that I felt like one of his daughters. And that is how he has treated me ever since. Frank is encouraging and protective and such a huge supporter of No.41. 

He and his wife Robin sponsor one of our girls, Amelie, and are the poster family for what sponsorship should look like. When Amelie was asking for a "hot, white man" to be her sponsor, Frank swooped right in and claimed his spot. What Amelie was really asking for (in her own hilarious way) was a dad and what she got was an entire family! Dad, mom, 3 sisters, and a baby brother. And we have ALL been so blessed to see God's plan come together.

Frank, I could throw in so many inside jokes here, but I'll just let you tell your story....

Hope. That’s what comes to mind when I think of No. 41. It is a place that brings hope.

I have the opportunity to visit many orphanages and organizations that minister to orphans and there is one thing that most of them have in common. A lack of hope. There is a hopelessness to being an orphan. An orphan rarely says, “everything will work out”, because it seldom has. An orphan rarely looks to the future with hope because there is little in their past to cause them to do so.

I remember the first time I visited Noel orphanage. It is easy to become overwhelmed. Over 500 kids, all of them orphans, and so many needs. The babies tug at your heart strings but it’s the older ones that devastate you. You look in their eyes and you see it, or rather you don’t. It’s a lack of hope.

That’s what makes No. 41 so special. It’s a place that brings hope to the hopeless. I have had the privilege of visiting Tara, Alison, and the No. 41 girls several times and their eyes are filled with hope. Their eyes have joy. Their eyes look to the future with expectancy. These are not the same girls I saw at Noel just a year before. These girls are full of life. These girls have hope.

Catching Amelie up on family photos...

We all know how cool the bags are. They are stylish and they’re great conversation starters. We all know how one bag feeds one child for one year and we all know how these bags provide an income to the girls who make them, but it’s so much more than that. These bags bring hope. And hope matters.

I wish that everyone could see the excitement in the faces of the girls when a group of visitors arrives. I wish you could see the pride in their eyes when they realize that we are here to buy something that they made. And that’s the key. These girls are not taking handouts. They’ve created something and it’s something that people want and because they’ve done it once, they now know they can do it again. Many of these girls are now enrolled in university and they know that they will succeed because they already have. They believe their future can be bright because they can now look in their past and see light. 

Hope is contagious. When you buy a bag you help to spread it.

If you have a story to tell we'd love to hear/share it. Send me an email: tarajill5@yahoo.com.