Here are excerpts from letters sent by Coastal Grove 6th graders to twelve year olds in the Good Samaritan Home and from GSH students to Coastal Grove boys and girls. We will have to figure out a way to include drawings, as they are lovely--flowers, geometric patterns, and self protraits. Laura Salazar

I am 12 years old. I love playing football, also. I love dancing, too. . . I am very glad to be your friend. Maybe we can meet each other someday. N. in Coastal Grove.

How is it going in Kenya? The weather is great in Blue Lake. I can't really turn in the air but I can do a backhand spring but I can't quite land it correctly. I know a bit about the solar system and planets. . . . I like to learn, ride my bike, skateboard, and play guitar. E. in Coastal Grove.

I love my cat named Jimmy. Right now there is heavy raifall. Around the slum is muddy and untidy. I also like playing instruments like piano. I do practice for one hour. T in GSH

I am eleven years old. I have a sister and a brother. My mother and father are dead. I speak Kiswahili and English. In Good Samaritan I like sheep and goat and pigs. M in GSH.

I live with Aunt Mercy as my parent. She is old. She recues more than 200 children in Good Samaritan. We have 3 babies Faith, Ruben and Jackie. S in GSH

"To be honest, I don't think I comprehend the dimensions of havoc, disruption, discontinuity. . . . We say it disrupts the social fabric but we don't go deep enought to say what this means. It will be a different society." These words are from Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca and quoted in Twenty Eight Stories of AIDS in Africa. Mrs. Mandela went on, " . . . the grandparents have to fill the void, have to try to connect the chain of knowledge, experience, values, that goes from one generation to another--when you jump a generation, there is a void and you can't fill it."

Graca Mandela's accents the importance of the work Fabulous African Fabrics and groups like ours are making in Africa today.

Stephanie Nolen's book cited above has given me a lot to think about in the last week as I read the stories of AIDS impact. Be looking for more from this beautifully written book with its broad window to the struggle that is AIDS in Africa. And read Twenty Eight Stories of AIDS in Africa for yourself if you can.

Laura Salazar, FAF Executive Director

FAF Fall Schedule 2007

SEPTEMBER 22  9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

     Eastown Streetfair, Ethel Street, Grand Rapids, MI

     The streetfair is an event drawing thousands to Eastown, the art and crafts center of Grand

     Rapids.  The FAF booth will feature Laura's Salazar's watercolors and surface designed

     textiles.

OCTOBER 20   9:00 A.M. through 3:00 A.M. 

     Artist's Attic--First United Methodist Church of Dunedin, Florida

     It's a tradition.  Visit our booth and others at this top drawer craft festival.  Enjoy Breakfast,

     lunch, and snacks.  Also check out the Dunedin Fall Antiques Fair 

THE CLOTH AND THE MUD, SPRING, 2007

NEWS FROM FABULOUS AFRICAN FABRICS

a 501 (c) (3) organization

1158 Kensington St. NW Grand Rapids, MI 49534 and

433 South Paula Dr. #7 Dunedin, FL 34698

www.fabulousarficanfabrics.org

616-735-4109 Michigan, 727-733-9694 Florida

Editor, Laura Salazar, FAF Executive Director

Fabulous African Fabrics is organized to support agencies working with AIDS widows and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Kenya and other African countries, to inform United States citizens of the AIDS crisis in Kenya and to promote African textile arts

FAF PARTNERS WITH ROTARY ON $13,900 GRANT

The Good Samaritan Home of Nairobi Kenya has received a grant of $13,900 from Rotary International for high school tuition for its students in the next school year. The grant came about when Keith Kurber and Laura Salazar, both of the Dunedin North Rotary, Dunedin, Florida worked together to write a proposal for the grant. Kurber, a past District President of Rotary involved other clubs. The Hudson club headed by Judy Scheve and Ginny PIerce of the Keystone Sunrise club raised further funds. International Rotary matched this money. The Rotary Langata Club of Nairobi, Kenya, and its President Mutala Kilonzo contributed a cooperative grant. Mr. Mutala's club will administer the funds.

Although the money will go directly to the Langata Rotary, FAF gives heartfelt thanks to all of those involved. Because of FAF's many faithful workers, excellent publicity and strong financial support, we were able to draw attention to the needs of the Good Samaritan Home. We look forward to hearing about how well our students are doing in their classes. Thank you all for your help and a special thanks to Keith Kurber who was determined that the Good Samaritan Home would recieve a significant amount of money for tuition.

Mercy Thuo wrote "It is great to hear from you with the encouraging news of what God is doing. . . We believe the grant will boost us and push us to another level. With the tuituion it is already needed because right now we have some balances plus the ten students who are out of school."