Locust Valley Garden Club members had a chance to see photographs of some of the amazing flowers of Africa as Kathleen Harrison showed slides taken there while working for Project Harambee NFP, a group she founded.
The pictures, including one of a three-foot flower blossom that looked like a blue tower, were taken while waiting to meet with people.
“In Africa you learn patience. An appointment for 10 a.m. can mean from 9:30 to noon, so to keep from going crazy, I take photos with my camera,” Harrison said.
Patience is also evident as Africans work to survive in their challenging environment. A slide showed a woman chipping away at a large rock to make pebbles. A wheelbarrow filled with pebbles earned the woman $1.
Commented Harrison, “I don’t want anyone saying people are poor because they are lazy.”
Harrison works with women who create handmade items that she brings back to America to sell.
“There is no market there for the items and there is intense competition for sales,” Harrison said.
At Bailey’s she set out a table displaying beaded jewelry, woven baskets and angels, all for sale. When she told a friend how expensive the beads were to purchase, the woman suggested making beads from paper and sent her instructions which has resulted in unique handbags. An African woman who makes beaded angels is going to teach others the skills needed for them to add the items to their product list.
Keen, as she is known to friends, explained Harambee, a program to help the people of Africa through self-help. Harambee means “All pull together for justice in Africa.” She added, “It means we all pull together and everyone’s load will be better.”
Her introduction to Africa occurred while working as a professor for Semester At Sea, a program that offers a full load of college courses for students, including visits to 10 different countries. On board she learned to stand upright even when the boat was rolling and the view out the windows was a large expanse of ocean. When she expected to sightsee at one port of call, she was instead put in charge of 15 students, who were going to volunteer at a village. It was a life changing event going into the interior of the country. Seeing the poverty and the people of Africa, she asked rhetorically, “What is Africa like? They eat different foods, speak in different languages, but we are all very much alike. The differences are only by accident. We are lucky to be born here where we work hard and do well. They work hard but because of the system, they can’t get ahead. We give them a hand up. We empower women. Each craft has a story behind it.”
She is especially proud of their Grow A Doc program, with six new graduates.
In the PH newsletter she wrote, “That’s six for six, a 100 percent success rate for these sponsored students. We ‘all pulled together’ to help them achieve their goal. Each has lost at least one family member to HIV/AIDS, so you can understand their passion to comfort and heal.”
Also in the newsletter was a photo of LVGC President Janet Doctors holding a brown doll. Members were asked to bring the dolls to Keen to bring back to the children of Africa, where all the dolls are blonde and blue-eyed.
“When you consider the message this sends to Kenyan children, it’s not only stupid, it’s immoral. I’m now on a campaign to collect and get brown dolls to Africa, with lots of help—from New York to Georgia to Arizona.”
You can hear her passion for helping Africans in her words. If you would like to know more about Harrison’s work, go to the website Project Harambee NFP.org. It is a great “people helping people” organization.
The next Locust Valley Garden Club meeting will be on March 11, when Barbara Levine will talk on Gardens of the World, at Bailey Arboretum.
