I’m down in Alabama for the summer (shooting weddings) and I arrived to an awesome surprise…the film from our trip to Kenya with Kiini was back!  I just downloaded it and did a really quick thumb through and it’s really really fantastic.  I can’t wait to get it all edited and start working on the project in the next couple of weeks.  Here are a few of my quick favorites from the bunch…be back soon with more!

Yeah! Bedouins International will be flying to Kenya on April 25th to spend 10 glorious days with our sweet friends at the Kiini Sustainable Initiative in Nyeri, Kenya. We will be photographing and capturing video of their endeavors there, including helping out communities through micro-credit and agri-business education. They also educate these communities on how and why to refrain from gender violence by showing them the importance of women, and educate the people on HIV/AIDS prevention while giving support to the orphans left by this epidemic.

This trip has been a year in coming, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally get to see it through. These people so desperately need our help to share their story and get support to continue helping the people of  the Mount Kenya region (including Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Maragua, Thika, Laikipia and Murang’a…and many more to come!)

This project still needs your support. If you are interested in giving towards this worthy project, please visit bedouinsinternational.org and click “Donate” (or just click the donate button on the left sidebar!). 100% of your donation will go to the KIINI project.

Thanks again for your ongoing support. This project would never have been possible without you!

Hello friends,

So, I have some news. As you know, we have been planning a wonderful adventure to Nyeri, Kenya to work with The Kiini Sustainable Initiative (KISI). Stephen met Philip during his trip to Kenya in January, and knew right away that his story was one that needed to be told. We began planning for this trip later in the spring, support-raising, itinerary-planning, etc (as I’m sure you’ve seen). But we kept hitting road blocks. So, after much, much, much talk and prayer and consideration, it has been made clear that right now is not the right time for this project. Hence, we have decided to postpone it.

But don’t be sad! Although it is disappointing that we won’t get to see Philip and the rest of the KISI folks as soon as we had hoped, the time will come, sooner I hope than later. We are still planning on making the trip as early as possible next year, and already have a ticket waiting for us. We just know that we want to be good stewards of everything we’ve been given – including the support that you all have given us. It will be used for KISI, but we must wait until the time is right.

In the meantime, please be praying for wisdom and guidance. I know this year has been tough on a lot of people, but I am excited to see how God redeems it next year.

Also, Bedouins misses Birmingham! We’ve been gone so much this year. So let’s have a party, k? Ok. More details coming soon…

As we were brainstorming ideas to raise the last of the funds needed for KISI, my new friend Leah had a most excellent idea – a book drive.

We asked, you gave. (Thank you, dear book-givers.) Now however, what we really need are some book-buyers. Check out our storefront at Amazon and buy one of these delightful little stories/cookbooks/textbooks/poems.

Remember, for every story you buy, you help us to tell the story of the Kiini Sustainable Initiative. We can’t do it alone!

Thanks again to our community for all of your support!

(And for anyone who still has books to give, send them our way!)

Love,
Jessi

The Banquala brought with it many ideas – one being to feature a different organization each week – or what we like to call a “Story of the Week” on our blog. This is our first – The Kiini Sustainable Initiative; check back each Monday for more stories and how you can get involved in telling them!

Their Mission:

To work aggressively towards the elimination of gender violence, poverty eradication and address HIV/AIDS matters by reaching the underprivileged and the marginalized with a range of financial services to enable them to realize their full potential.

Their Work:

KISI has over the years initiated five key programs including Micro-Credit – empowering the youth and  women, eradicating poverty, improving quality of life, and integrating them into the mainstream of the economy, Agri-Business – allowing the communities to shift from subsistence farming to actually being able to generate income from their crops, Gender Equality and Empowerment – educating against gender violence by discussing the causes and consequences of the violence and how to eradicate it, HIV/AIDS Education – advocating for prevention, counseling services, care and support of the infected / affected (including support for those orphaned by the disease) and Poverty Alleviation through all of the above.

The Bedouins Connection:

We will be flying to Kenya to work with KISI this October and we are so excited to be able to share their story with you. Stephen first met Philip (with KISI) in January when he was in Kenya with Integrity Worldwide. As you can see in their mission, KISI is doing amazing work with the marginalized communities in Kenya, but they are having some trouble gaining support due to their lack of communication tools. Hence, Bedouins will be going down there to take photos and capture video footage of their work. When we get back we will put together a multimedia piece and a more descriptive and personal website. We hope to be able to help them gain support for the incredible things they are doing.

How you can help:

Help us cover the costs of airfare, gear, immunizations, food and visas (approximate cost – $4,200) by donating to Bedouins International through our website or by sending a check to 1710 2nd Ave N #501 Birmingham, AL 35203. All donations are tax-deducible and every penny goes toward telling a story. We will also be selling our first book Refocusing the Heart of Media: Chapter 1 to raise more money for this project. The book is a compilation of all the stories we’ve been able to tell over the last 2 years, and includes ~160 pages of photos and information about the organizations. If you buy a book you’ll be helping us tell more stories. ***The first order is going trough Monday, so you have to order this week to get one before Christmas!*** Order online through our website, or by sending a check to the address above. Books are $75.

Thanks for reading about KISI and what we hope to do. Check back next week for another story!