My morning squeel!
I just got this message from beth- i'm so excited i can hardly hold my squeeeellllll in -but i have to because my roommates are still sleeping- so i'll just spread my excitement to you! ( SIAO is a HUGE international art festival/show/sale in Ouagadougou. Papiers is the women's cooperative I volunteered with for a year when I was studying in Burkina Faso.)

____________

Here's some wonderful news to cheer you up: Papiers WON a MAJOR prize at the SIAO this year!!! We got the news on Saturday that we won the Celtel-sponsored prize of 1,000,000 fcfa! The women are delighted, to put it mildly. The prize was presented at a big dinner on Saturday night. We only got one entry ticket and the women kindly insisted that I represent them. So, I got to be on Burkinabé TV. Very amusing!
Now we have a couple of big certifucates and a check for a million cfas! It's really the acheivement of a dream for all of us. The time you spent with the women and all you have done for them played a big part in making it happen. So, congratulations to you!

And the best thing is that this prize has drawn the attention of the Village Artisanale. The Directrice visited the stand and made an appointment to visit Papiers. So, it seems almost certain that the women are going to get a place at the Village! If that happens, the women are going to gave access to not only a wider public, but also all kinds of training. It will be just the boost the project needs to survive my departure in 2008. I really can't ask for more.
This issue has been in my prayers in the last few months and I am feeling overwhelmed by blessings now!

The women will each get a small cash bonus, but most of the prize money will be reserved in order to install a nice store/workshop at the Village Artisanale.

I hope this news brightens your day!
Love,
Beth
______________

sure has!!!! here are some photos of the booth...