The New Year - 2019
I know it’s cold out, but sunlight is spilling in over my dining room table as I write this. I can pretend that it isn’t really just 25 degrees. The holidays are over and that’s always bitter sweet. I loved having my children home and my sister Gussie here too and I loved pausing for a while.
We had this year’s first board meeting last week. There are financial reports to reconcile and more thank you notes to write but it still felt like putting 2018 to bed and gearing up for this new year.
After looking at all we accomplished and the fact that we surpassed our fundraising goals we made some changes in how we do things.
Two of our board members were reinstated for three-year terms and new officers were elected. I stepped off the board. We’ve been working towards this for a while now as I want to put all of my energy towards being the director of The MoonCatcher Project and know that wearing one hat is a better model for this. Linda Wistar has become president and John Doyle will serve as treasurer. Ginger Etrz will continue as our beloved secretary. Pisie Hochheim, Agnes Pala-Bukahala and Laura Kikuchi will continue as Board Members. I feel really good about all of this. I know that this board will always stay true to the mission while moving this project forward.
I’m starting to organize our Uganda and Kenya trip. I’ve reached out to Phoebe to find out what she feels will be most useful to her. She wants us to spend 3-4 days in a very troubled area of Uganda that is often overlooked by mission groups. We have been making kits for them for several months now and she has promised them that we’d visit. It’s important for us to make these trips as often as we do in order to try to understand what is needed and what improvements we can make. I’m always amazed at what we learn.
In April we head for Malawi and I’ve already bought my ticket. I will travel with a wonderful smart young woman, Charlotte Mack, who has lots of enthusiasm for our MoonCatcher work and will be a great help to the project. Two others may go as well but I haven’t gotten the final word on that.
My New Year’s resolutions are about reaching more girls and educating more people about The MoonCatcher Project’s mission. I’ve got some new countries in mind and want to expand in the countries that we are already in. I want to expand our disposable supply collections to help women and girls in our community as well. And I want to continue to partner with other organizations working to change the lives of girls. I am so grateful to everyone who helps us.
Happy New Year to all.