African quilts are a beacon of hope

Ann Richardson, executive director of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, gets around town in the week prior to the show. One of her many stops over the Fourth of July weekend was at Sisters Coffee Company on Sunday evening. Richardson introduced a presentation that is close to her heart: the Quilts of El Shaddai.

El Shaddai is an orphanage for survivors of Rwanda's genocide, located in Kigali, Rwanda's capital city. A unique quilting project has created a way for the boys of the orphanage to learn a skill and earn money.

It began when two Sedona, Arizona women, Dottie Webster, who made Sunday's presentation, and her associate, Suzanne Connolly, traveled to Rwanda in 2006. They are trained in trauma relief and were asked to join a team serving the orphanage. While there, they spied some treadle sewing machines and inquired as to their use. They were told that the boys would occasionally make shirts to sell for school uniforms, but mostly the machines sat unused.

Neither woman knew anything about quilting, fabric or technique, but they certainly loved the vibrant African fabrics they spied in the market in Kigali. They envisaged the boys making quilts that would be sold in the United States, with the money earned going back to the boys to make their business self-supporting.

They bought up large at the market and found a quilters group in Sedona that welcomed the chance to be involved in such a project. The group made wall-hanging quilts from the fabric, which Webster and Connolly took back to El Shaddai as samples and gifts for the orphanage. They also took a friend who agreed to teach the boys the basics of quilting.

The boys, who according to Webster are a cheerful and affectionate group, happily set about learning their new trade, and their first quilt sold as soon as Webster took it back to Sedona. Proceeds from the quilts go toward hiring a quilting teacher, restocking supplies, creating individual funds for each quilter, shipping the quilts to the U.S. and providing food for the orphanage. The skills the boys learn will help them survive when they must leave the orphanage at age 18.

The quilts ended up in Sisters due to a serendipitous meeting between Webster and Richardson. Webster was visiting Sisters, where she was told about the quilt show and that she "must meet Ann Richardson, who organizes it."

Standing in High Desert Gallery, she mentioned that to gallery owner, Myrna Dow, who asked why she wanted to meet Richardson. After hearing the explanation, she said, "Well, she's standing right over there."

Richardson immediately agreed that selling the quilts would fit right in with a Quilt Show goal of benefiting a "far away" charity.

The bright quilts may be viewed all week at Sisters Coffee Company. Any quilt with a green tag on it is for sale and may be purchased through the Sisters Quilt Show sales office, located in the Chamber of Commerce on Main Avenue.