The Kilgoris Project Goes Downtown—Just For The Weekend

Caren McCormack was brisk as she marshaled Kilgoris volunteers at the temporary store that has popped up, magically, within the past week.

The Holiday Stroll was beginning Friday night, and friends and family were due any minute, as she led volunteers through her briefing of back-story behind every hand-crafted product on the displays they just finished putting up.

"Stay with me, now. These bags are handwoven with sisal by one of teachers who is a real leader," McCormack said. After Everlyn Lemiso is done with her long days, she weaves them "by firelight."

The Kilgoris Marketplace will be open just one weekend, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 11-13, at 170 State Street, the old Linden Tree Books space. The Passerelle Investment Company, which owns several downtown properties, donated the space.

From that whole communities will benefit. The McCormacks, and the non-profit Kilgoris Project used to hold house parties to showcase and sell the wares made in Africa that will benefit the organization's education and economic projects. The items come from Kenya, made by women in the cooperatives, and by different artists around the world. Everything has been donated.

Kilgoris is a community in southwest Kenya. Caren and her husband Jon started the nonprofit after forging an unexpected friendship in 1999 with Kilgoris resident Willie Lemiso, a waiter they met while at a safari camp. A shared Christian faith first brought the McCormacks and their Kilgoris friend together. They kept in touch with him. The McCormacks learned of the village’s desire to build a church, which would serve as a preschool during the week, and they contributed.

It may have started out with building a school, but grew into doing whatever it takes to support children to learn. "The whole child," Caren says. That means providing daily food at school, and clean water and fostering economic development.

There are now five schools, and they are planing to build a sixth, in a mountain bowl that is only 7 miles from the nearest school they have built, but too far for small children to attend unaccompanied, McCormack said. There is a woman's cooperative, a tea farm, a clean waterproject, student health care. They feed 500 kids a day at school because children who are hungry have trouble learning. Last summer they brought Kindles into the primary schools, filled with books in Swahili.

---------------

The Kilgoris Marketplace, 170 State Street, is open:

Friday, Nov. 11: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12: 10 am. to 6 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 13: noon to 6 p.m.