In September, a team of five women from Amani Kenya visited the United States. The women on the team were Jerita, a leader in Production at Amani; Elizabeth, an important member of Distribution; Trizah, who oversees Bookkeeping and Quality Control; Bella, who works in Design; and Joyce, Amani Kenya’s Country Director.
They travelled to Memphis, Tennessee where they spent a week with the women of Hope Presbyterian Church, a long-time partner of Amani ya Juu. Hope’s Women’s Ministry invited the group to travel to the United States to share their stories and vision for peace with the women of their church. Amani is grateful to Hope’s Women’s Ministry for the great personal and church-wide sacrifice that made it possible for the group from Kenya to travel to the United States.
For the second leg of their journey, the visited the Amani center in Washington, D.C. The following are pictures from their time in DC, with some side trips to see friends in Virginia and Maryland. It was impossible to capture everything that happened during their visit, but we hope that you can at least catch a glimpse of the special time the Amani Kenya group was able to share with their friends in the United States.
Open House at the Amani DC shop
Open House at AmaniDC on their first day in DC
Elizabeth and Jerita did a wonderful job of welcoming customers in the AmaniDC shop
Stephanie Ball, AmaniDC's fabulous warehouse manager, made delicious cupcakes for the shop Open House
During the Open House, the Amani Kenya ladies showed our customers how to make paper beads
Elizabeth is an expert at rolling long strips of paper into beautiful beads
Trizah shows her new friends how it's done
Megan Burkhart, AmaniDC's Financial Assistant, meets the mamas
Happy to see old friends
Visiting with past and present Amani staff
Sightseeing
First stop while sightseeing, the White House
Taking pictures of the White House
The ladies were quite impressed by the national monuments
They especially liked the Capital Building
Elizabeth outside a DC landmark, Ben's Chili Bowl
Time for fellowship
Walking together in Washington, D.C.
Sharing a meal together at an AmaniDC staff member's home
Trizah made many kinds of new friends while in the US
Sharing with friends in Virginia
Gathering at the home of a new Amani supporter
Reconnecting with long time Amani friends
Elizabeth and Trizah share their testimonies
Working together at AmaniDC
The AmaniDC staff and Amani Kenya group at the DC shop
Elizabeth learns how to use a computer
Jerita does office work
Bella and Julie enjoy working together
Affirming partnerships in Maryland
Fellowship time at Redland Baptist Church
Women from Redland buying Amani product
Jerita shares her story
Bella speaking with Joyce at her side
Dancing and singing
Good friends cherish time together
Enjoying an African Feast
Preparations underway to feed 20 people
Making chapati
Chaos in the kitchen
Joyce making yummy cabbage
The spread: chapati, cabbage, greens, stew, and ugali
After the meal with old friends
Kwaheri: Time to say goodbye
One last meal together and time to reflect on the blessings of the week
Saying farewell
One last shot of the Amani Kenya team and the AmaniDC staff
Love these Amani ladies and so glad they got to visit our capital city! We will see them all in Kenya in May. Blessings, Melanie Smith and the Baylor Women’s Leadership Team
Hi to all my precious friends in Kenya! I miss you all!! Love, Cindy
PS Trizah, Owen miss you bunches
That is fantastic that they got to come to the US and visit what goes on on this side of the world! I had the chance to visit their Amani in Nairobi (my Kenyan host mama works at Amani) and to see both sides of the production is amazing. What a beautiful group of women- although it is hard to get here, I hope more of them get the chance to come and see how their work has an impact in the states.
It was a double blessing to meet the women who traveled here from Kenya and visited Washington DC Amani shop! Seeing the shop and the production in Kenya and then getting to meet representatives here really touched my heart. May God continue to hold each woman in His hands and bless their lives. Ruth Banick