A-tisket, A-tasket
Meet Leo Akora. I met Leo almost 2 years ago while on my first trip to Uganda. Leo is the compost team manager for Give Love and was given the responsibility to “watch me” and to make sure I was safe at all times. I joked that he was like a babysitter, always holding my hand, telling me to stand in the shade, drink water, and to put my phone away in precarious situations. We became friends and have communicated with each other almost everyday since the day we met.
Leo aka Coach is also a “babysitter” for all of Kyebando and Kamwokya. He walks endless miles everyday checking in on old friends, young children and anyone who needs a helping hand. I learned long ago that being on a time line with Leo is almost impossible with the endless conversations he has on the streets with everyone yelling out his name…”Coach! Coach! Coach Leo!”
On one of my last trips to Uganda Leo gave me a gift of a unique rainbow basket made by a local woman in his home town of Kyebando. I have seen many beautiful baskets in my years of buying African treasures but never anything in these colors and materials. Of course, the next step was wondering how we could help these women show off their work, and earn a higher wage for their time. So off Leo and I went hand in hand to meet these basket weavers and ordered as many as they could make before my flight back home. Have a look for yourself at the newest baskets in our shop - we hope to do more business with these wonderful women soon!
