“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
-Mother Teresa
It’s 41Day!
Do you remember my friend Tara? Well, April 1st (a.k.a- 4/1) will forever remind me of Tara and her 41Day. (a.k.a- “For One” Day) She started it a few years back because it is her whole heart to prove how truly simple it is to change the world, for one in Gisenyi, Rwanda.
Tara lives and runs her non-profit ministry (No.41) in Rwanda most of the year, but she’s here in the States for a while right now, and it was SO fun to have her stay with us for 5 days this past week!
So what is 41Day she dreamed up? It’s when we give up the cost of our lunch for one day to help feed a community of students at the Kanama Secondary School where Tara lives in Rwanda; many of whom get their only meal of the day at school.
(photo by Alison Holcomb)
Would you like to join us? (Please say yes!) It’s super simple and it’ll only take a few minutes (and dollars) on this one day. If you’re in (yay!), just think about how much you usually spend on your lunch. Got the dollar amount in your head? Okay, now here’s a bit more info on No.41’s feeding program. The (once daily) meals at the school cost Tara 25 cents. So…
$1.25 will provide a meal for one child for an entire school week.
$5 will provide a meal for one child for an entire month.
$25 will provide a meal for one child for nearly half a year!
And it’s important to remember that those could be the only meals those students eat at all. So if we donate and share the news about 41Day today, there’s no telling how it far our donations and messages will ripple, or how many hungry kids we could help.
And that reminds me, if you’re moved to help on a regular basis, you can also set up a recurring monthly donation. (Just $10 month will feed two students for a year!)
“We believe that where you live shouldn’t define how you live. And no matter where you are, food should never be too much to ask. We believe that, right?”. – Tara Clapper, No.41
YES! I wholeheartedly believe that, and it’s one of the reasons I think God has stirred my heart so much for folks that I may not see in person every day, but that are out there praying for things I probably take for granted.
I would be remiss not to also mention these bags Tara’s friends in Rwanda are creating too:
That’s The Great Exchange Tote above and it’s handmade with love right there in Gisenyi, Rwanda. (No.41 actually taught the girls how to make them!) Each one provides a stable job and sustainable income to the young woman who made it, as well as 120 school lunches to a secondary student in their community. (It’s comes in blue and yellow, too!)
The Vestine 4-Pocket Tote (pictured on the left in the photo below) is also handmade with love in Gisenyi. Purchasing one of these kinds of totes also provides sustainable income and lunch for 93 secondary students.
Okay- back to 41Day. I know y’all hear about non-profits all the time, but this really is such a special and important day for my friend Tara’s community. So thank you, thank you for taking the time to read this!
There are a number of things we can do today. The easiest thing is to spread the word about #41Day on social media. You can tag them on Facebook or Instagram and Tara would absolutely love that! You could also check out the No.41 shop. They have SO many cute things! And like I mentioned earlier, by purchasing from No.41, you are not only supporting the women with employment, every single purchase provides meals to students in the feeding program. Last but not least, the biggest way you can help No.41 continue to grow and love this Rwandan community, is sponsorship. There is a one-year student sponsorship in the shop, or you can sign up to sponsor monthly for just $5. They’re also looking for sponsorship to cover the cooks salaries. It’s just $50/month and you can also set that up, recurring, here. Lastly, if you are interested in hosting a trunk show or hearing more about the No.41 Campus Rep program, please shoot Tara an email [email protected].
She’s super sweet….and ticklish. 😉
Hi. I just bought the Vestine in Lime and Tangerine. Can’t wait to get it. I will also be signing up for a small monthly donation. I will post this to my FB page and hope we can spread the word. I love the products, I love the girls, and most of all I love the vision of the ministry. God bless and prosper these young women (and young men).
On the way to work I was thinking that I needed a new purse for spring! This looks perfect. What an amazing woman with an incredible heart. Thanks for sharing this with us. I’m following all the social medias…
Thanks for sharing. It’s so neat!
Note to self: do not sit next to Layla if ever taking a photo together… Put Kevin in the middle…. hmm, I somehow think he’d do the exact same thing! 😀
Tara is just my favorite.
Put on my facebook, now just have to pick out a purse. Great program.
Thanks for sharing this, Layla, and helping to open our eyes–and wallets–to those with such basic needs. You have incredible, inspiring friends!!
This might be a dumb question but how do we know the money is going directly to benefit the students? Or does a portion of it go to some other portion of the program?
Hi Summer!
I’ll ask Tara swing by and answer that question for you!
Hi Summer! Thanks for asking! We’ve only really got 3 portions of our program: the women sewing, the students eating, and our university students. All of our employees are Rwandan and are paid their salaries bi-weekly, the university girls are currently fully funded (and graduating in July!), and basically everything else that comes in goes into the feeding program. Our overhead is very little and all in Rwanda. We don’t have any Americans working on salary. 41Day is a day, specifically, set aside to raise money for the feeding program; 100% of everything that comes in today goes directly to that. Hope that helps!
i absolutely love that quote and have it hanging in my office to remind me that i am doing important work. it might only be affecting one person one by one, instead of societally, but it is affecting change. there is someone in the audience when i do a domestic violence awareness program that is looking at something in a new light. who is looking at a victim with non victim blaming eyes. who is bettering her sister, her friend, b/c she was listening to my presentation. would i love to change how society responds to victims of partner violence, yes, would i like blame to solely be shifted to perpetrator of violence instead of asking the person who has no power and control to stop it “why don’t you leave” style. but each time i say that, i need to remember like the above quote that i am creating many ripples.
thanks,
b