Emma’s Girls Get their Glow On with Story Scarves :)

I was excited to go to Khayelitsha, to deliver the beautiful Story Scarves and share the stories with the four eldest girls I mentor at Emma's foster home.

Mama Emma is a wonderful foster Mother to 25 children, ranging in age from six months to eighteen years. She has provided a home full of Love :) and a nurturing environment for abandoned and orphaned children, most of whom have been with her since the age of one or two.

I’ve gotten to know the children over the years and it truly is one Big Happy Family at Emma’s.
It’s heart-warming to see how they all love and take care of one another.

When I arrived the girls were looking after the little ones.

We sat down with the Story Scarves and each girl knew exactly which one she wanted, straight away :)

L to R:  Ziyanda, Siyamthanda, Avril and Violet

The girls took turns to read their messages out aloud and shared the stories on the scarves with each other.

They wrote down how they felt when they received the scarves and shared their hopes and dreams.

“I feel very happy to get the scarf because it is beautiful.
My hope and dream is to work for my Mother (Emma) and to have my own house.”
~ Siyamthanda Wallaby

Siyamthanda chose Pam's scarf  - "Seeds Grow from Darkness"

“I feel happy and excited about my scarf.
My hope and dream is to have a hair salon and do all my family’s hair.”
~ Ziyanda Wallaby

Ziyanda chose Bennii's Scarf - "Remember your Gratitude"

“It felt great, ecstatic, lots of joy.
My hope and dream is to be able to have more achievements, to have my own house and to help Emma.” ~ Violet Tshandu

Violet chose Nicole's scarf - "The Four Elements"

“I felt happy when I received my scarf and excited and glowing. I think it motivates me even more so I can face each day with a glow and smile.
My hope and dream is to be a television reporter and one day have my own television show.” ~ Avril Dilenti

Avril chose my GloWoman scarf - "Keep love & sunshine in your heart and Get Your Glow On :)

Love and Gratitude to the generous GloWomen – Stacey from Story Scarves, Pam, Nicole and Bennii, for the beautiful scarves and inspiring stories they shared with the girls.

They are delighted with their scarves and encouraged for a bright future :)

If You’d like to Spread the Glow with Story Scarves please visit the website for more info www.storyscarves.org

If You’d like to Spread the Glow at Emma’s Home please contact me bets@GloWoman.org
Donations of clothing, food and toys are very welcome :)

With Love,
 
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• Spreading the Glow with Story Scarves :)

Spreading the Glow with Story Scarves :)

Part of my mission on my GloWoman journey is to connect and align with conscious, loving people in order to amplify our Power for Good and Spread the Glow :)

The Twitterverse offered me a fantastic opportunity to create more wonderful relationships when I was invited to my first tweet-up, by Stacey Rozen, founder of Story Scarves.

Story Scarves is a global goodwill movement connecting girls through stories sewn into scarves. The scarves are gifted to girls in Africa – "creating hope-fueled friendships through arts-in-action".

I had no idea what to expect at the tweet-up. To be honest, I thought I was going to be meeting my new Twitter friends for brekkie and a chat.
As it turned out, Stacey had brought along her bags of fabric, buttons and beads and we were going to be making Story Scarves.

At this point, I have to admit :) my excitement turned to anxiety. ‘Needlework’ had never been my strong point and I’d always hated it! Just the sight of all that fabric and thread on the table had me feeling more dread by the minute.
This was not going to be a leisurely breakfast and getting to know some of my Twitter friends.
This most definitely looked like hard work!

GloWoman was out of her comfort zone and had temporarily gone AWOL and Woe-Woman had taken her place in my seat, with upper-lip anxiety perspiration and decidedly sweaty hands :)
I was right back at school, aged 8 or 9 and about to be told off in needlework class, because the fabric I was working on always ended up looking like a damp, crushed rag.

And not one to do things quietly, I was proclaiming my 'uselessness' to the world :)
Unconsciously back in my old pattern, Stacey thankfully made aware of it when she actually told me to stop my negative self-talk! :) :)

That’s when I started to laugh! Suddenly I realised I wasn’t in Grade 3, the teacher wasn’t going to reprimand me, and I was actually there to enJOY myself! :)

Busy Bets hard at work! :)

So what if the other women were confidently cutting and threading needles and making fabulous-looking items, I would just do my best and have fun!
Everyone was kind and really helpful :) and it was great getting to know the wonderful women who Stacey had brought together on South Africa’s Human Right’s Day; to tell their stories, sew their scarves and share their love.

I chose to sew on my beautiful GloWoman logo which I LOVE :) and my friend, the bright, happy Sun :) All the exact colours of my logo that I needed were there in the pile, including a red heart that someone had previously cut out and left  :)

Stacey had kindly suggested that the recipients of these Story Scarves would be the girls I mentor, at Emma’s Home in Khayelitsha township, Cape Town.
Each of us was asked to include a written message for the girls.

And in the end, I was quite proud of my Story Scarf and it didn’t end up looking like the dog’s breakfast I thought it would :)  – even though I stitched one side on backwards!
It’s unique and made by me, with Love :)

Below are my Twitter friends @pamsykes, @nekocarnival and @bohoparadox with their gorgeous Story Scarves:

Pam - www.pamsykes.com

Bennii - http://bohoparadox.blogspot.com/

Nicole -  www.nekocarnival.com

The next step in the Story Scarves journey will be to present them to the girls at Emma’s Home.
I’m looking forward to sharing their stories :)

For more info on the wonderful Story Scarves project:  www.storyscarves.org

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• Emma’s Girls Get their Glow On with Story Scarves :)