Well we have just returned from the trip of a lifetime! We delivered 70 dolls while in Uganda, 54 are now residing at Little Angels. We were able to use doll funds to donate some soccer/footballs balls and money for school supplies. Thank you to everyone who bought and decorated dolls!

From the Little Angels website:

Duncan, the founder of Little Angels grew up in a poor family and became a sponsored child at the age of fourteen. Duncan Successfuly completed high school and had ambition of completing further studies to become a doctor. However after high school his sponsor was unable to continue to support him financially ,so his dream of being a doctor could not be achieved as could not afford the tuition costs.
Instead of being disappointed on missing out on his dream,Duncan wanted to show his appreciation to his sponsor by giving back to his local community, Duncan decided to started a project for the children who were from financially disadvantaged background and provide them with an opportunity.

There are currently 200 registered needy children under the care of Little Angels Needy Children & Orphan Project. These children are between the ages of 3 and 8 years old. It is noted that in Uganda the loss of one parent is tantamount to orphanage. The loss of one or both parents typically causes severe limitations on the ability to generate income. In turn this has a significant, negative impact on the well-being and social mobility of the child.

A child that has lost one parent is referred to as a “single orphan’ and a child that has lost both parents is referred to as a ‘double orphan’. Where possible orphans are brought under the care of a relative and this arrangement is facilitated and managed by Little Angels Needy Children & Orphan Project. There are currently 45 single orphans and 61 double orphans under their care.

Please consider supporting this project or sponsoring a child. More info can be found at www.littleangelsuganda.org

More photos are posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/one_doll/

Some of my favorite dolls made by Ally.

The first two of many dolls we'll be taking to Joplin, Mo this summer.

We’ll be heading to Joplin in July! If you’d like to decorate dolls for us to deliver please order soon. www.OneDoll.com

Thanks!

Kallie Dovel, traveled to Uganda in the summer of 2007, getting a first- hand look at life in Northern Uganda. While she was there, she met women making paper beads but who lacked a plan to market and sell them. After spending time in their homes and hearing their stories, Kallie knew there had to be a way to give opportunities to her new friends. She brought a box of jewelry back to the U.S., and spent the next year finishing her degree and dreaming up the concept of a development organization. She brought a few friends on board and her ideas quickly evolved into 31 Bits. The girls traveled back to Uganda in August 2008, and selected six women to begin buying jewelry from on a monthly basis. Since then, we have grown to 63 women; each with a unique story of suffering that has been overcome with joy and liberation.

Find out more about what they do in Uganda at http://31bits.com/blog/

 
So….as luck would always have it as far as the dolls go…we found out that there was a Haiti convention being held in Miami the week we were planning on being in Haiti!!! We had been put in contact with Alison Thompson one of the founders of a charity called We Advance www.weadvance.org who had expressed an interest in the dolls so we flew to Miami and met with her and the other founders. While there we also connected with several other charities that are interested in our dolls. (It’s looking like Haiti will become a regular stop on our delivery schedule.)

Ed and I went to the convention center on Tuesday and presented 70 dolls to We Advance. They (among other things) run a clinic and counsel women and children that have been assaulted in the camps. They wanted the dolls for their youngest patients, girls of as young as 2 years old, that have been sexually assaulted. I can’t believe we live in a world where this happens to children and I hope the dolls you have lovingly created will be of comfort to them.

Anyway, Alison has promised that she will get photos for us once the dolls have been delivered. Delivery will of course happen over time as the young girls and children come into the clinic and the dolls are handed out. 

A huge thanks to all of you that helped decorate and/or organized parties. A special thanks to my friend Kris Springer! Every doll was wearing a handmade necklace from Kris. The necklaces become perfect bracelets for the girls. AND…we still have some necklaces leftover for our next trip to Haiti (possibly this summer).

xoxo,
Tracy

Santiago. La Paz, Bolivia, Oct 2009

Happiness is a new soccer ball. Regulation sized? Great! Inflated? Bonus!

Ed, my husband and I took off for the run-down neighborhoods around La Paz with a social worker and a translator.  Our goal: To hand out approx 30 hand decorated dolls and 16 soccer balls to handicapped children living in the slums.

Being born poor is not uncommon in Bolivia, it’s one of the poorest and least developed countries in South America. But add a handicap on top of it and life can seem pretty bleak. So why not add a bit of happiness to a situation that we can’t possibly change in this lifetime.

The dolls and balls were greeted with a happiness and joy that I don’t recall feeling at any of the cash registers or malls in Denver.

Huh, maybe happiness isn’t a new pair of shoes.

Maybe happiness is a smile and a new soccer ball.

If you’d like to join us we’ll be at the charming Bella Notte Unique Gifts in downtown Golden, Colorado.

April 2nd from 5-8pm

May 15th from 10am-4pm

A donation of $20 helps with the cost of dolls, supplies for decorating and soccer balls for the boys. Thanks! See you there!

Bella Notte Unique Gifts is hosting 3 doll parties!  If you are in need of a unique gift for a friend or are looking for children’s toys or clothes this is the place to shop. They have items available from local artists as well. They are located in the heart of cute downtown Golden, Colorado and will be hosting gatherings on the next two ”First Friday’s“  from 5-8pm and  all day on Saturday, May 15th!

We’ll have decorating supplies and ragdolls available so bring your creativity! The cost is $20 per doll, the money will go to cover dolls, decorating supplies and soccer balls for the boys. After the party your doll will be traveling around the world to children living in poverty. The next destination is Egypt and Jordan and some of the dolls will be traveling to Haiti in the fall.

If you’d like to see photos of some of our happy decorators or recipients please visit our Flickr site.

We have a flyer available for download. If you’d like to post one for us we’d appreciate it.

Hope to see you there!

So far we have 38 dolls and figure we’ll have about 50 total when we leave.  I’ll be having another doll decorating gathering next month so please let me know if you want to be invited!  

I did find an website that describes the journey from Egypt to Jordan and gives excellent advice on visas and the crossing via Israel. Jordan Jubilee 

Also, I’ve been reading the following book and LOVE it. Finally someone can explain such a complicated area in a way that I can understand.   

What Every American Should Know about the Middle East

The What Every American Should Know series returns with a timely guide to the region Americans need to understand the most (and know the least)

The latest edition of Melissa Rossi’s popular What Every American Should Know series gives a crash course on one of the most complex and important regions of the world. In this comprehensive and engaging reference book, Rossi offers a clear analysis of the issues playing out in the Middle East, delving into each country’s history, politics, economy, and religions. Having traveled through the area over the past year, she exposes firsthand the U.S.’s geopolitical moves and how our presence has affected the region’s economic and political development. Topics include:

· Why Iran is viewed as a threat by most Middle East countries
· What resource is more important than petroleum in regional power plays
· What’s really behind the fighting between Sunni and Shia
· How Saudi Arabia inadvertently feeds the violence in Iraq and beyond
· How monarchies like those in Jordan and Qatar are more open and progressive than the so-called republics
With answers that will surprise many Americans, and covering a vast history and cultural complexity that will fascinate any student of the world, What Every American Should Know About the Middle East is a must-read introduction to the most critical region of the twenty-first century.

This doll was made for a friend’s new granddaughter. She loved butterflies and the doll had to have exactly 7.  I decorated the dress with 5 butterflies using iron patches cut into shape and embellished with fabric paint, added another to her hair and one on her tummy (as a dot for the “i” in her name).

If you’d like to purchase a doll to decorate please visit our website One Doll.