Dear All,
It's hard to believe that it's been five years since we were all together to raise money for Global Mamas in Ghana in order to start the process that would see Melanie's dream of a Fair Trade Zone come to fruition.
There have been countless attempts by Renae and Kristin to move this project forward and you wouldn't believe half of what's transpired. Global Mamas, led by these two talented, fearless women, have prevailed and the land for the FTZ has been purchased and construction has begun.
These are Renae's words from September 3rd, 2020:
I wanted to let you know the good...Great...UNBELIEVABLE news that as of today, Global Mamas officially owns OUTRIGHT the 5 acres of land upon which the FTZ will be built. What an incredibly difficult journey this has been for years and I'm grateful to you and your family for supporting us along the way through the thick and thin. With the approval of our land lawyer, the land is now paid for in full remaining one live sheep, and a bottle of Schnapps (and according to Hannes "something from our heart") for the chiefs). Congrats to all of us! And now onto the construction phase :)
And this from Kristin, September 3rd, 2020:
I echo Renae’s sentiment… Thank you so much for buying this land for us in honor of the most kind, caring, loving, funny, and beautiful Melanie! Thank you too for believing in us as we navigated the absolutely insane Ghanaian bureaucracy and corruption surrounding land purchases. Others might have given up, but WE ARE NOT QUITTERS!
As all of you can imagine, this amazing news brought all kinds of memories and emotions with it and an overwhelming feeling of FINALLY!!
This email is to thank you. Thank you friends, family, and neighbours for allowing us to remind you about Melanie's dream, our family dream, and your integral part in making this new development possible.
We're starting to think about the possibility of having another fundraiser. We don't have any plans at the moment but if/when we do, we'll send a follow-up email and post the details here.
We trust that all of you are well and happy!
Wayne & Diane, Shannon, Jay, Nathan & Emma, Danielle, John, Sloan & Calvin
