And, I love that they’ve come to expect it.
I love that they know I’m never going to come and forget them.
-Kelly Raudenbush
Caring for caregivers. It’s more that just a tagline or our favorite hashtag. It’s literally the heartbeat of our mission. Everyday, it’s what we seek to do stateside or on the other side of the world. One of my favorite ways we tangibly do this is through gifts, something special intentionally chosen for the orphanage ayis. It’s one way we say, “we see you, you are valuable, and you are treasured.” Every time we go, we take joy in deciding what we will take for our friends who work long hours with little recognition. On our last trip, we took handmade aprons that each had a unique pattern so that every ayi could pick one to fit her own style.
My Mom has become permanently recruited as a resource when our gift idea is something handmade. It’s her way of being a part of our mission, of playing a role in caring for these women, the caregivers. When we hatched the creative idea of making totes as our next gift, she got busy sewing right away. We loved this idea of two-of-a-kind tote bags and are filled with anticipation to tell the nannies about it. We hope that it makes them feel extra special to know that for each bag they pick out for themselves, there is a sister on the other side of the world carrying the same bag. We want them to know that it’s not just us who think they are worthy of these gifts but that those who bought a matching tote remember them too.
But my Mom knows our heart and our intention behind our gifts. She knows that we use the gifts to connect with the nannies. She has learned that our gift giving is more than just giving a gift but speaks love. With that in mind, she made an extra special gift for Kelly and I.
These two totes have a square from all 30 patterns of bags made. She made these unbeknownst to us and slipped them in with the last shipment of totes. Beyond making us our very own beautiful tote bag, she gave us a very tangible gift of caring, and we can’t wait to show the nannies this bag. We love that this bag will express in ways that words cannot that we carry a piece of each of them with us.
With every gift we’ve given, the nannies always gush on about how they can never forget us. Now we’ll be able to show that we won’t forget them either.
Want to be a part of this? Click HERE to see the few remaining two-of-a-kind tote bag packages we have available to help us raise a portion of the funds needed to keep our efforts going.
Erin Garrison has been a pediatric physical therapist since 2010 and was first introduced to The Sparrow Fund through serving on an orphanage trip in October of 2016. It was during this trip that her heart was stirred, and she was drawn to a big move and career change in order to serve children living in orphanages and their caregivers both for a season and forever. Her passion is to help equip and train the orphanage staff on developmental and handling techniques to assist in reducing delays. As Family Services Coordinator with The Sparrow Fund, she seeks to be a resource for families as they transition children to home and get connected to the services needed. You can contact Erin directly at eringarrison@sparrowfund.org.