eQuilter Blog

Reposted from 8/3 eQuilter newsletter:

So I have come back from South Africa, and checked off "Africa" on my Bucket List. I've been trying to figure out how to put the experience into words, and in the process found this page of quotes. The one that really jumped out at me was Tom Hiddleston's: "I feel as though the cardboard box of my own reality has been flattened and blown open. Now I can see the edge of the world."

I've seen poverty up close before. I've been in places where I've stood on the borderline between safety and extreme danger. I've seen orphans and sick starving kids before. I've walked through plenty of slums and shantytowns, though certainly not all, because there are some where you are taking a chance with your life by being there even for a few minutes…the favelas of Rio, for instance.

I never thought for a moment that I really knew about the depth of suffering during Apartheid. Now, after seeing the townships and spending a couple hours at the Apartheid Museum, I feel like I have a very small grasp on the enormity of what happened in South Africa, and how Apartheid continues to restrain the indigenous people of this land.

A highlight of the trip was my visit to one of the Clover Mama Afrika centers, to photograph and visit with the children and caretakers. The center is on a hill overlooking the shantytown, and the children in their sharp blue and white uniforms are in sharp contrast to the impoverished existence they lead below. I was invited to speak to the older kids (15-18 yr olds) and one of the things I told them about was the International Space Station, and how to spot it in the night sky just after sunset. To see their faces full of wonder and disbelief and inspiration as I told them this story, was something I will never forget. The circle that they held for my storytelling was a magical experience for me as well.

My heart was filled to bursting with so many intense feelings on this trip, including the joy of traveling with the Women of Color Quilters Network, and seeing their tribute to Nelson Mandela at the quilt convention in Johannesburg. I have posted about 75 photos from this exhibition on my photo page, and we will have the companion show catalog in the next few weeks. I hand carried a few copies so when I find out the correct price, I will put those online. Drop an email to customer service if you want to be notified when those first few copies go online.

I will continue to edit and post photos on my photostream over the weekend.

Reposted from 7/30:

I am writing to you from the Cape Town Airport, as I wait to board the 1st of my 4 flights home. As I reflect on the meaning of these 9 days in South Africa, it strikes me how poverty is in some ways the same throughout the world, and yet it is not….

One thing that is the same no matter where you experience extreme poverty, is that once you see it in person, you cannot fail to be moved. Your life is never the same. You feel you must speak out, or do something, or both.

My first experience with poverty in shantytowns was in Hong Kong when I was 22. In a way, I was lucky to have this experience so young, because it placed my world in a much larger context early in my adult life.

One thing I can tell you is that from the depths of poverty comes some of the most amazing creativity, and some of the most open and loving hearts. I was privileged to meet many of these special hearts in the last week, and that will remain the highlight of the trip. Traveling to a Clover Mama aftercare center, which services over 300 orphans and impoverished schoolchildren living in a shantytown, was an experience I will never forget. (Yes I have photos!)

The group of US quilters with whom I traveled, were many of those joyous open hearts. The last night of the trip, on the way to a farewell dinner in a township, we got a singing and dancing Motown review in the back of the bus…with harmony!

I have posted 75 photos from the Johannesburg quilt show on my photo page, so you can start to look at those as I fly home today. There will be more photos from my South Africa experience, once I get home and have a day to rest. Please also click through to our video page to see the first video filmed in my new studio – on Indigo and Ikats.

The quilt above is by Cathy Knox, and represents a seed pod. (See the whole quilt on my photo page.) The zebra is in the Pilanesburg Game Reserve.

I am writing to you tonight from Cape Town in South Africa. It is winter here, but a relatively mild coastal winter season… it was a partly cloudy/rainy 57 degrees fahrenheit here today.

It is a week since I left Colorado. I spent 2 days getting to S. Africa, and we hit the ground running in Johannesburg. I am traveling with Women of Color Quilters Network, and the reason for the trip in the first place was because of a quilt exhibit about Nelson Mandela, with quilts by African American and South African quilters. There is a companion book (hot off the press here in Cape Town) and we will carry the books at eQuilter as soon as we can get them in stock.

Yesterday we went on a big photo safari at the Pilanesburg Game Reserve, and it was SO exciting to see all the animals in the wild. The problem of rhino poaching is just heartbreaking, made more bittersweet because we saw 4 pairs of mother-and-baby rhinos in the park. The poaching of tigers, elephants, rhinos, etc. is caused by the unimaginable poverty here. When 30-40% of the population live in tin shacks with dirt floors, and no running water or electricity, it is a daunting task.

Thursday I visited an after-care center for kids who live in one of these shanty-towns. The kids who attend this program are the poorest of the poor…. orphans being raised by older siblings, or living in extreme poverty with little or no food. I made a donation to the center on behalf of eQuilter, but it is a drop in the bucket. The program is funded by Clover – a local dairy company. It is called Clover Mama Afrika, and they set up local "Mamas" to run these centers all over S. Africa. If the older sibling is not old enough to raise the kids, then they place them in foster homes. It is a very common problem here, with so many parents dying of AIDS.

Thursday morning I spent at the quilt convention, and I'll have some wonderful quilt photos for you in the next week when I get back. My internet connection in Johannesburg was just awful, and I am having a respiratory issue because of the intense smoke/pollution in Joburg, so I am going to take it easy and post the photos when I get back.

Many thanks to those of you who donated quilts for the children. They were just blown away that we were actually *giving* the quilts. They went to 2 daycares in shanty towns, and the children and caregivers just went nuts over the colorful quilts.

We have 2 days of touring in the Cape Town area, and then I'll start the long journey home on Tuesday, arriving Wednesday.