On Sunday, April 17, you will have the opportunity to buy art and craft items made by workers in a very poor, rural area of South Africa.  These products, mostly beaded necklaces and animals, embroidered cards, and baskets, come from the Thembanathi Project in the KwaZulu-Natal region.

On Sunday, April 24, after the second service, the Microfinance Committee is serving Peruvian and African soups — and some of the quinoa rolls that were such a hit at our last two Peruvian dinners.  Contributions will help support the Microfinance Committee’s work, both in Peru and in our next location.  There will also be a second opportunity to buy the products  from the

Thembanathi Project.

The Microfinance Committee is looking toward a new project.  Our efforts in Laos and Peru have been successful.  We are

considering — and have made a small contribution already — working with the Imani project in Kenya.  That project is planting crops on common land that will help sustain families both with some of the food raised and with cash earned by selling some of the food.  We are also starting to explore what would appear to be an exciting collaboration with the Neo Fund, working with the poorest of the poor , living in the city dump, in Managua, Nicaragua.  The Neo Fund is a small operation, but it has been doing excellent work for several years already.  Watch for more details soon.  (Contributions to the Microfinance Committee’s work are always welcome!)