Feeling Better!

Yahoo!

Tristan, Emma and Ava up and ready for school

after a long week at home with illness

Ava was very excited to go school and show her friends her new purple hair extensions that our friend Carol gave her on Sunday afternoon.

Erica with our friend Atalie in the Iftin Literacy Class

This is a festive week in Eastleigh as the Somali and Oromo community prepares for three days of celebration around Eid. Although the number of students in the English literacy classes are down, there is still much activity going on within the Iftin Women's Empowerment Program as the Self Help Groups work on strengthening their micro enterprise development initiatives and 30 of the Iftin women have begun community based skills training courses in computer technology, tailoring and hair dressing.

Please be keeping the Iftin women in your prayers, as they prepare for a Women's Empowerment Conference coming up in December. This will be an opportunity for the Iftin members to share all that they have been doing with their community and local leaders, and a chance to encourage the women to keep moving forward as they hear from local and international leaders who will be coming to spur them on.

Atalie getting to know the girls in class three

What do women wear?

Atalie and Tunis at the front of the class exchanging Somali and English words for common women's garments in Western and Muslim culture. Anyone wear a gorgorad, hijab, or dira lately? Along with these Muslim terms, the ladies have some wonderful slang expressions as well -- a face covering that only shows the eyes -- a "ninja"! Leggings -- "Skin tights".

What they are: a gorgorad is a petticoat, hijab is a headcover, and a dira is a flowery dress.