Cath’s earrings broke and she came to one of our Repair Cafes in Larkhall to get them repaired. They have an incredible backstory!
Cath said “I used to work for an NGO called Tearfund as Mali country rep. We worked with local Church organisations in Mali who served their local communities (mostly Muslim) in mainly in helping improve public health through community water and sanitation initiatives. In 2013 there was a coup, a counter coup, a Tuareg rebellion and an Islamist incursion (al Quaeda funded) and northern regions of Mali including Timbuktu were taken over by Islamist fighters.
Our Christian colleagues along with hundreds of thousands of others, had to flee in fear of their lives. The beautiful musical Malian culture was silenced, its architecture destroyed, and people were absolutely terrified at the imposition of a violent version of sharia law. My colleagues fled south and were housed by other Tearfund church partners around Bamako.
When it was safe to do so I went to visit them and held a workshop for our church organisations to work together and reshape our response to this flood of newly displaced people. On that trip, I bought these earrings, from Timbuktu. They remind me to pray for those living precarious lives, struggling to serve others in need. They also remind me of the beautiful Malian people: their culture, their music and their heritage.”
We’re so pleased that we could repair your earrings for you Cath! We hope you get many more years of wear out of them.
If you need a repair, come to one of our Saturday Repair Cafes or book a place in our shop in the city centre via the booking link.
