Yeah, I decided to bring my little Audrey girl with me to take pictures. Isn’t she the prettiest?

Audrey is a natural model.{{Blouse: Fab’rik Chapel Hill (similar)
{{Jacket: LOFT
{{Jeans: Target
{{Shoes: Target
{{Necklace: The Mighty River Project c/o (last seen worn here)
{{Clutch: The Pleated Poppy c/o
Photos taken by Brooke

So often I feel excited when I introduce you guys to a company or a business or a brand I love. But today it’s a little different.

I am, literally, HONORED to introduce you to The Mighty River Project (TMRP). I’ve been following TMRP for a while and I am absolutely in awe of what founders Erin and Scott Littleton have done. Y’all know I have a heart for Africa as I’ve done mission work there. Well, Erin and Scott took their love of Africa, specifically their love of the country of Uganda, and took it a step further.

I wanted y’all to hear about TMRP from Erin herself:

My husband, Scott, and I founded TMRP almost 2 years ago.  We had taken several trips to Uganda, one for an extended period of time to help out at a babies’ home, and also ended up adopting a 3 and a 5 year old from that babies’ home.  After a time of settling into our new family (and having a belly baby!) we felt strongly that God wanted our family back in Uganda, serving the people that we had come to love so dearly.

We knew that we were meant to care for orphans (a la James 1:27), and spent several months praying and seeking counsel about what, practically, we were supposed to do once our plane landed on that gorgeous orange clay soil.  One issue that kept coming to the forefront of our attention was that so many of the Ugandan orphans that we had cared for and fallen in love with lived in care facilities for entirely preventable reasons.  In fact, many of the children that we knew had living parents, who were simply unable to care for them.

So we started TMRP (named for Amos 5:24 — “Let justice roll on like a river”, and also because Uganda is home to the source of the Nile) with the aim of coming alongside vulnerable families, with children on the brink of orphanhood due to illness, poverty, disability, etc, to give them the social, emotional, spiritual, and practical tools to be able to stay in tact.

Like a river changes the surrounding landscape bit by bit, inch by inch, by simply flowing, we hope to create small, sustainable changes that eventually change the landscape of Uganda. There are two main parts to our program:  What we are doing now, and what we hope to do long-term.

Currently, we employ four artisans: Juliet and Dorothy make baskets, Teo makes magazine bead necklaces, and Rita makes aprons and bags.  We pay them a fair price in the local economy for their products, then find market for them in the US.

TMRP’s partnership with these mothers allows them a consistent monthly income that helps them provide for their families.  The proceeds from these crafts not only support these women and their families, but also allow TMRP to help with emergency needs that arise in the communities where we work as well as with livestock microlending and other initiatives that give families the ability to have that leg up that will keep them together.  We aim to do this in a very sustainable way that in no way creates dependency on handouts.

As a mama to three, I am passionate about TMRP because, for one, I can’t fathom being so alone and in so desperate a situation that I had no other choice but to place my children in an orphanage.  Even if we can help a few families avoid this fate, we will count that as success.  In addition, as we tangibly come alongside these women, we are excited about showing them a God who loves them with abandon.  

The most recent woman to become part of The Mighty River Project family is Juliet.  She is a single mom of four kids, and a widow.  Her auntie taught her to make banana fiber baskets when she was a child, and she says that she was given a gift when she learned to make these baskets.  Because Juliet has this skill, she is able to provide for and educate her four children.  We are thrilled to be a part of that, and are excited to pass the gift of basket-making on to other mamas.   –Erin

How inspiring is Erin? I know, right?

Well, want to find out how you can get involved in The Mighty River Project?

1. Shopping the store is a great one, as proceeds go back to TMRP program; the more product they are able to find market for, the more women they can add to the program, and the more families are strengthened!
2. Donating monthly or one-time is another great way to get involved.  Donations go towards getting their full-time program up and running in Uganda. Put it this way, if everyone reading this post RIGHT NOW donated just $5 per month, TMRP could be on the ground in Uganda full-time by this fall! Yeah. That’s awesome. I became a monthly donor of TMRP and I am PROUD to be a part of such an amazing organization. I mean, even $5 or $10 a month makes a HUGE difference!
3. Hosting a home party is another way that North Carolinians and others within a 250 mile radius of Winston Salem can help out!  Hosts of a home party provide a venue for TMRP to set up their store for a few hours (in a home, apartment, church, etc.) and invite all your friends.  They talk a little bit about who they are and what they do, and then the shopping begins! Hosts also get a store credit as a thank you for helping them spread the word.

Well, Erin has been SO SO SO SO generous as to giveaway a choice handmade magazine bead necklace to one lucky still being [molly] reader. Use the Rafflecopter tool below to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Happy YOLO Monday!  Each week, Carly & I will be selecting a few of our favorite posts from the Monday before to feature. It’s a great way to put the spotlight on a few of y’all each week!  Please be sure to link up an ACTUAL post, not just a link to your main page. Our favs from last week?

  ~pink and colorful bubbles~

 ~5 simple rules for shopping~

 ~Just Tulle-ing Around~

  ~Ways to Wear Gingham~

 The Rules for #YOLOMONDAYS Link-Ups:

1. Follow your hosts Molly @ still being [molly] and Carly at Lipgloss & Crayons
2. Grab a button and / or post a link back here in your BLOG POST (NOT your blog’s main page) so your readers know what all the #YOLOMONDAY-ness is about. We love you guys linking up and we do go through and read all your posts… so if you do not give credit, we will have to remove your link. That’s no fun, right? Right. So be nice and share a link! Pretty please?
3. Link your blog post up using the linky tool below! It can be ANYTHING! An outfit post, a giveaway, a story, a recipe, whatever. Why? Cause it’s #YOLOMONDAYS!
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5. Have fun! Cause #YOLO!