I thought we had travelled to look at an empty plot of land in the mountains. I expected we’d attempt to envision what the mother’s center would look like, make some marks in the dirt, and take a photo before heading back down the mountainside. Instead, we were met by a crowd of strangers. Mothers, babies, children, fathers, the village leader, and a flower-lined path and archway. I was confused. I thought perhaps we’d made an additional stop before the land so I asked Lauren, the program director, who these people were. “They’re here for us,” she replied. The babies and children I saw with bloated bellies and the reddish tint in their hair all pointing to Kwashiorkor malnutrition and their mothers holding them were waiting for us. Their faces were filled with hope and excitement. They understand the vision of the Ochoch and they are done watching their children suffer. I’ve been looking more forward to this day than all of Black Friday. Today we are donating 100% of our net proceeds (every penny beyond the cost of our product) to building the Solly Ochoch, a Mothers Center, in Sepalau, Guatemala. We have been working toward this goal for the last five months but after visiting the people there and seeing the intensity of the needs, my life will never be the same. This Ochoch means an 18-month nutritional plan for the babies and children who are malnourished, it means safer labors and healthier mothers, it means getting seeds to grow food and learning how to cook with it, it means clean water, and, more than anything, it means hope for a largely forgotten people. But we remember. We see them. We hear them. Their babies are our babies. Their needs are ours. And we ask that you will join in our remembering. You can donate directly at blog.sollybaby.com/ochoch or purchase anything on our site today, knowing it will all go to build this life-changing center. With love, Elle
Giving Tuesday // It Takes A Village
I thought we had travelled to look at an empty plot of land in the mountains. I expected we’d attempt to envision what the mother’s center would look like, make some marks in the dirt, and take a photo before heading back down the mountainside. Instead, we were met by a crowd of strangers. Mothers, babies, children, fathers, the village leader, and a flower-lined path and archway. I was confused. I thought perhaps we’d made an additional stop before the land so I asked Lauren, the program director, who these people were. “They’re here for us,” she replied. The babies and children I saw with bloated bellies and the reddish tint in their hair all pointing to Kwashiorkor malnutrition and their mothers holding them were waiting for us. Their faces were filled with hope and excitement. They understand the vision of the Ochoch and they are done watching their children suffer. I’ve been looking more forward to this day than all of Black Friday. Today we are donating 100% of our net proceeds (every penny beyond the cost of our product) to building the Solly Ochoch, a Mothers Center, in Sepalau, Guatemala. We have been working toward this goal for the last five months but after visiting the people there and seeing the intensity of the needs, my life will never be the same. This Ochoch means an 18-month nutritional plan for the babies and children who are malnourished, it means safer labors and healthier mothers, it means getting seeds to grow food and learning how to cook with it, it means clean water, and, more than anything, it means hope for a largely forgotten people. But we remember. We see them. We hear them. Their babies are our babies. Their needs are ours. And we ask that you will join in our remembering. You can donate directly at blog.sollybaby.com/ochoch or purchase anything on our site today, knowing it will all go to build this life-changing center. With love, Elle
