Happy Thanksgiving from the MIC Group!

In regular retail fashion, we are celebrating Black Friday with a discount! From now until November 30, 2010 at 11:00PM CST, you can get beautiful items like the dolls (above), necklaces, bracelets, and purses for 20 % off everything! The coupon code to get this great deal is THANKYOU When you check out, you will enter that code in the "shop coupon code" field and then click on "apply". 20% will be taken off of your merchandise total. As always, 100% of the profits go to the women's cooperative Miracles in Caring in Uganda. Here is our shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/makeachange?ref=seller_info

Miracles in Caring Update

Check out these cool necklaces!! The pictures do not do them justice at all, but believe me- There necklaces are gorgeous!!

The MIC group has still been making sells, though we had a dry month or so of no sales. For whatever reason, we had a boom of necklaces sell 2 weeks ago. Most of the necklaces that people are wanting to buy are the long (approximately 60" average in length) multi-colored necklaces. These necklaces can be doubled and tripled up depending on what length you want.

When I saw all of these long multi colored necklaces selling, I contacted Hellen (the person responsible for putting together the women's cooperative in Uganda that makes the beads and the beautiful neklaces). I told Hellen that I was running low on this particular style of necklace, so she sent on some more.

These new multi-colored long necklaces are even better than the first ones!! Most of them have metallic seed beads for spacers, and even these large and small beads they have made out of paper are colors such as purple, pink, and lots of pastels.

If you want to get your hands on one of these beautiful necklaces to give as a Christmas gift or just to keep for yourself, they are $10 each plus shipping. You can order by sending an e-mail to macandmic@gmail.com Enjoy!!

MIC Items on Sale!

Bracelet #111 above and #112 below

Bracelet #113 above and #114 below

Bracelet #115 aboce and #116 below

Bracelet #117 above and #118 below

Bracelet #119 above and #120 below

For those of you who don't know, things have gone from bad to worse for Hellen and Innocent. Hellen is still recovering from malaria, and Innocent has been injured in an accident. They are both recovering but now homeless. The hospital bills and being without work have been too much to keep up with. Hellen has been living in a part of the school that has not been finished. Of course, she didn't want anyone to know and worry for her.

Because of the urgency of the needs in Uganda, these bracelets are on sale! You can get one of the beautiful handmade bracelets for only $2!!! Each one is unique, so it is first come first served. Send me an e-mail at heatherlecount@yahoo.com telling me which bracelets you want. I will confirm that they are all still available. Then, I will give you a total price including shipping and send you an invoice. These would make great gifts, and they can even fit in with a letter!! And, for the bracelets that don't have charms, you can get a charm added for no additional charge! I have the following charms available: "friends", Hello Kitty, "love", and "laugh".

I have more that I will post- It just takes time to get them photographed and posted. I will make another post with more bracelets within the next few hours. Feel free to not be specific. I can send you a mixture of several different bracelets, if you don't have a preference. I still have several that I have not photographed, so I can send some of those to anyone who does not want anything specific.

All of the proceeds will go to help Hellen and the rest of the women with what they need to survive. I, also, have plenty of necklaces available still, so please let me know if you are interested in those. Thank you for your support of Hellen and the rest of the MIC group!

Reduced for Quick Sale! MIC Items

Bracelet #101 above and #102 below

Bracelet #103 above and #104 below

Bracelet #105 above and #106 below

Bracelet #107 above and #108 below

Bracelet #109 above & #110 below

For those of you who don't know, things have gone from bad to worse for Hellen and Innocent. Hellen is still recovering from malaria, and Innocent has been injured in an accident. They are both recovering but now homeless. The hospital bills and being without work have been too much to keep up with. Hellen has been living in a part of the school that has not been finished. Of course, she didn't want anyone to know and worry for her.

Because of the urgency of the needs in Uganda, these bracelets are on sale! You can get one of the beautiful handmade bracelets for only $2!!! Each one is unique, so it is first come first served. Send me an e-mail at heatherlecount@yahoo.com telling me which bracelets you want. I will confirm that they are all still available. Then, I will give you a total price including shipping and send you an invoice. These would make great gifts, and they can even fit in with a letter!! And, for the bracelets that don't have charms, you can get a charm added for no additional charge! I have the following charms available: "friends", Hello Kitty, "love", and "laugh".

I have more that I will post- It just takes time to get them photographed and posted. I will make another post with more bracelets within the next few hours. Feel free to not be specific. I can send you a mixture of several different bracelets, if you don't have a preference. I still have several that I have not photographed, so I can send some of those to anyone who does not want anything specific.

All of the proceeds will go to help Hellen and the rest of the women with what they need to survive. I, also, have plenty of necklaces available still, so please let me know if you are interested in those. Thank you for your support of Hellen and the rest of the MIC group!

Very Bad News for the MIC group!

Hellen is now homeless, and still trying to recover from the bought of malaria! Innocent, who had been running the MIC group for the past 4 months is not well either. He was in an accident and now has trouble walking.

Because of everything that is still going on, and the desperate situation of the whole group, I will posting some bracelets for sale soon. Please stay tuned!

MIC Group Update!

The MIC group has done pretty well with the sales on this blog. We have raised almost $200 in one month's time! I sent the last of the money from the sales yesterday- $60 plus the $8.55 wire fee. This money will be divided among the 30 women. I know there is still a long way to go, but the women and families are very appreciative of what we have done so far. Most of the bracelets have sold, so I will be posting more soon.

My temporary job is now over, so I will be able to catch up a little bit over the next few days. If you are still looking to purchase necklaces and bracelets, stay tuned for more great deals!

Hellen is doing much better now though she still feels dizzy. After several tests, the doctors have concluded that her pain is from her long battle with malaria, and with time she should feel better. She still needs to eat high protein food to help her body recover.

For those who don't know, Innocent (her brother) has been helping with everything MIC related while his sister has been sick. The last time I sent money, it was raining very hard and mud was every where. He had an accident and dislocated his hip bone! He has not been able to help with the group since then because now he is trying to heal!

All of this has kind of left everything up in the air as far as packages being sent and money being picked up. Once I knew that Hellen would be able to pick up a moneygram, I sent her the last of the money raised. She picked it up this morning.

Everything should slowly start getting back to normal. They both still have more recovery ahead, but at least they can do some things. I will keep everyone posted on any changes. Thank you for all you are doing for this group!

And the Winner of the Purse is...

Number 100!!! Steve! While Steve is in Colombia visiting our children, he just won a raffle! Thank you to each of you for your donations! There is already enough for Leydi's party, and all of the rest of the funds will be going to her bed and other essentials.

candace.eve 184-193

John 159-183

CheriM 138-158
Jim and Mack 113-137

Steve 88-112
Heather G 83-87
Holly 81-82
Shana 71-80
John 46-70

Holly 41-45

Barbara 31-40
Katja 21-30
Tamara & Jack Schilling 1-20

Final Hours of the Raffle!

If you haven't already done so, get yourself into this raffle for a nice Mother's Day gift! Not only is this purse beautiful, but you can add a special note to your mother that it was made by the hands of women living in poverty and trying to change their situation. Not only has your mother received a beautiful purse, but the women in Uganda received payment for this purchase!

A special raffle for Leydi to help her get the money she needs for her much needed bed! Right now she is sleeping on a thin mat on the floor. A bed would help her tremendously in staying healthy and getting the rest she needs. Plus, with her health condition, she sometimes finds herself sick at home. How cozy and comforting would it be for her to be able to be in a bed!!

I have purchased this hand woven banana fiber purse from the MIC group. It is up for raffle. $1 gets you 1 raffle ticket!! To get into the raffle, make your donation to her fundraiser here And, for those 7 people that donated before the raffle, you will all be entered into this raffle!! This raffle will go until 4/25 at 8:30 PM CST.

Leydi's Fundraiser & Raffle

Don't forget there is still time to get in on the raffle for a handwoven purse from Uganda! This purse has been woven piece by piece (and each tiny weave secured by thread!) from banana fibers. It is 6" by 7" and can be used as a clutch or worn over the shoulder! To get in on this raffle, make your donation here. $1 gets you 1 raffle ticket! Good luck!

20 Posts of Sale Items

I just finished the last posting of the sale items. To find all of the items on sale, scroll down until you get to 4/20/10- That date has 10 posts of items, and 4/17/10 which has another 10 posts of items. No one has ordered anything from the 4/20 posts, so there is quite a lot of new things to browse through! I am removing the items as they are purchase, so you will notice that the posts from 4/17 do not contain as many items as before. As stated before, most of the bracelets can be slipped into a letter, so they are perfect for a sponsor child! Thank you for helping these wonderful women!

Making a Change

“What I’ve experienced is that I can’t know the future. I can’t know if anything that I do will change what happens tomorrow. I can’t know with certainty, but what I do know is if I do nothing, nothing will change.”
—James Orbinski
(1960-); Former President Of Doctors Without Borders

Thanks to several wonderful people, the Ugandan women receive another wire today!! The wire that was sent today was for $70 plus a $8.55 wire fee. Thank you for making a difference in their lives!! By the way, I did ask Innocent to take a picture of the group receiving their money. However, the camera that they had is ruined. He was borrowing a friend's camera, but that friend is no longer living in Kampala. Because of this, we will not have pictures for a while. A cheap camera in Kampala would cost $180!!! So, my thought is, if anyone has a digital camera that they no longer use but is in working condition, we could send that for them. Please let me know. I am willing to pay the shipping cost, as I think we would all love to see these women and the good that the group is doing!! If you have a camera to donate, please contact me at macandmic@gmail.com TIA!

MIC Items on Sale! Additional Post 10 of 10

The aprons in this post are all child size/small adult size, so there is an extra $1 discount to make them $4 each!
Because of the urgency of the needs in Uganda, these aprons are on sale! You can get one of the beautiful handmade aprons for only $4!!! Each one is unique, so it is first come first served. Send me an e-mail me at heatherlecount@yahoo.com telling me which necklaces, bracelets, beads and aprons you want. I will confirm that they are all still available. Then, I will give you a total price including shipping and send you an invoice. These would make great gifts!!

You now have 20 full posts of necklaces, bracelets, beads, and aprons (look back to the posts made on 4/17/10 to see the first 10 posts full of necklaces and bracelets). Feel free to not be specific. I can send you a mixture of several different bracelets and necklaces, if you don't have a preference. I still have several that I have not photographed, so I can send some of those to anyone who does not want anything specific.

MIC Items on Sale! Additional Post 9 of 10

This post is to tell you that you may, also, purchase hand made beads in bulk! If you are a crafty person and want to make your own jewelry, these beads will be sold in 20 piece sets. The cost for 20 loose beads is $2. Let me know if you have a color preference. If not, I will send a mixture. Not all colors are available, but I will let you know if it is.

Send me an e-mail me at heatherlecount@yahoo.com- I will confirm that your color choice is available. Then, I will give you a total price including shipping and send you an invoice. These would make great gifts!!

You now have 19 full posts of necklaces and bracelets (look back to the posts made on 4/17/10 to see the first 10 posts full of necklaces and bracelets). Feel free to not be specific. I can send you a mixture of several different bracelets and necklaces, if you don't have a preference. I still have several that I have not photographed, so I can send some of those to anyone who does not want anything specific.

MIC Items on Sale! Additional Post 8 of 10

butterfly bracelet #3 above

Because of the urgency of the needs in Uganda, these bracelets are on sale! You can get one of the beautiful handmade bracelets for only $2!!! Each one is unique, so it is first come first served. Send me an e-mail me at heatherlecount@yahoo.com telling me which bracelets you want. I will confirm that they are all still available. Then, I will give you a total price including shipping and send you an invoice. These would make great gifts!!

You now have 18 full posts of necklaces and bracelets (look back to the posts made on 4/17/10 to see the first 10 posts full of necklaces and bracelets). Feel free to not be specific. I can send you a mixture of several different bracelets and necklaces, if you don't have a preference. I still have several that I have not photographed, so I can send some of those to anyone who does not want anything specific.

MIC Items on Sale! Additional Post 7 of 10

child necklace # 30 above & child #31 below

child necklace #32 above and child #33 below

child necklace #34 above and child #35 below

child necklace #36 above and child #37 below

child necklace #38 above and child #39 below

The necklaces in this post are all child size, so there is an extra $1 discount to make them $5 each!
Because of the urgency of the needs in Uganda, these necklaces are on sale! You can get one of the beautiful handmade necklaces for only $5!!! Each one is unique, so it is first come first served. Send me an e-mail me at heatherlecount@yahoo.com telling me which necklaces you want. I will confirm that they are all still available. Then, I will give you a total price including shipping and send you an invoice. These would make great gifts!!

You now have 11 full posts of necklaces and bracelets (look back to the posts made on 4/17/10 to see the first 10 posts full of necklaces and bracelets). Feel free to not be specific. I can send you a mixture of several different bracelets and necklaces, if you don't have a preference. I still have several that I have not photographed, so I can send some of those to anyone who does not want anything specific.

MIC Items on Sale! Additional Post 6 of 10

child size necklace #20 above and child #21 below

child size necklace #22 above and child #23 below

child size necklace #24 above and child #25 below

child size necklace #26 above and child #27 below

child size necklace #28 above and child #29 below

The necklaces in this post are all child size, so there is an extra $1 discount to make them $5 each!
Because of the urgency of the needs in Uganda, these necklaces are on sale! You can get one of the beautiful handmade necklaces for only $5!!! Each one is unique, so it is first come first served. Send me an e-mail me at heatherlecount@yahoo.com telling me which necklaces you want. I will confirm that they are all still available. Then, I will give you a total price including shipping and send you an invoice. These would make great gifts!!

You now have 16 full posts of necklaces and bracelets (look back to the posts made on 4/17/10 to see the first 10 posts full of necklaces and bracelets). Feel free to not be specific. I can send you a mixture of several different bracelets and necklaces, if you don't have a preference. I still have several that I have not photographed, so I can send some of those to anyone who does not want anything specific.