I was contacted a while back by Valerie, a super sweet momma who now lives in Uganda. After she told me this, how could I say no? “… I followed this blog for years starting in 2008 when I was living in the US and pregnant with my first baby. I was so overwhelmed with the whole cloth diaper scene, but your blog helped me figure it all out and was a major factor in my love of cloth diapers!!” Can ya'll please help me promote and support an amazing cause. Did I mention there is a SUPER cute cloth diaper ornament involved? And even if you can't donate, spread the word by sharing. <3
Now I'm going to let Valerie take over…
When Betty, a young woman from rural Uganda, was pregnant with her fourth child, she received the surprise of a lifetime – she had naturally conceived quadruplets! Her quadruplets, two girls and two boys, were born in the capital city in March and released from the hospital at 2 weeks old, weighing only about 3 pounds each.
The quadruplets are now almost 8 months old and are doing very well. Betty and her husband, a peasant farmer, love their children dearly and are doing their best to provide for them, though it’s not easy! One item that is completely out of their reach is diapers for their babies. Like many babies in Uganda, they either go without diapers or wrap their babies in rags. Not only does this create more work for Betty (who is already overworked!) but it can also lead to the quick spread of disease among the babies and other young children. In fact, diarrheal diseases are one of the leading causes of death in children under 5 in Uganda.
This Christmas, you have the opportunity to spread your love of cloth diapers to the other side of the world by giving Betty and other mamas like her the gift of cloth diapers. Kijani, a social enterprise based in Uganda, is running an alternative gift drive to raise money to donate 300 cloth diaper sets for children with special needs and babies in Uganda. Kijani empowers Ugandan women by training and employing them to make high quality modern cloth diapers for the local East African market.
Only $12 will provide a baby with a high quality all in two cloth diaper set (one cover and two snap in soakers), and only $24 will provide an older child with special needs with an all in two diaper set (one cover and two snap in soakers). If you donate, you will not only bless a mama like Betty with diapers, Kijani will send you an awesome cloth diaper Christmas tree ornament made with beautiful Ugandan fabrics and a thank you card. These can be kept for your family or given as a meaningful gift to a loved one.
Donations can be made through Kijani’s etsy page. To donate a baby diaper set for $12 click here and to donate a special needs set click here.
Although Kijani focuses on the local market, they are selling a limited number of cloth diapers, baby blankets, sleeping bags, and toy diaper bag sets in their Etsy shop: Click here to see.
All proceeds from these sales will go towards helping Kijani open the first ever cloth diaper shop in Uganda. For more information about Kijani, see www.kijanionline.com or watch a local news feature at
For updates and more details about the gift drive, follow on www.facebook.com/kijanigiftdrive
Jenn is a long-time cloth diaper educator and a passionate small business advocate. She has worked in the reusable diaper industry for over a decade, helping millions of families via her websites All About Cloth Diapers, Thinking About Cloth Diapers and Cloth Diaper Geek as well as hundreds of small businesses during that time. Her goal always to provide simple, reliable information.
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