Connected While Apart
Empowered

A sampling of my masks — these were all made by hand for me — a favorite color in batik, mermaid scales, the big lakes, Eric Carle’s butterfly from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and water-washed rocks with words of affirmation.

Dear Mayfield,
Most days I go through two or three masks — one that I wear inside the building that day whenever I leave my unit, and a separate one for each time I am out and about beyond the walls of where I live.  Last week Diana mentioned that she wanted to update the congregation on the successful Covid 19 Emergency Fund at JAMS.  When I read her email on Saturday, the emergency fund drive was information she had already shared with me.  I didn’t know she was also going to include news on the JAMS masks.  I was very pleased to learn that masks had finally arrived at JAMS.

DeKalb County has been busy with local stitchers creating masks since the earliest days of the pandemic.  I have had the privilege of going to church with and/or working with all four of the JAMS mask makers — Rob, Sue, Joann, and Diane.  Together quickly this summer they stitched at home 400 masks, two for each of the students, teachers, and staff at JAMS.  Travel between the US and Kenya was restricted for several months when the masks were first finished.  Once it opened up again, a volunteer arrived at school with a suitcase stuffed with the masks, all made in JAMS school colors.  In addition to the masks, the suitcase held extra elastic and thread for  repairs as well as fabric, patterns, and instructions so that students could learn how to make more masks themselves.

First and foremost, these masks are a loving gift that will increase the likelihood that wearers and those around them will remain safe while Covid-19 rages across the globe.  Beyond that, the masks are an amazing gift of empowerment.  Wearing a mask empowers members of the JAMS community with a small act they can take part in to protect the health of one another.  Having the means to repair the masks empowers them to extend the life of the masks they have received.  The opportunity, with fabric, patterns, and instructions, to learn the skill of mask making is one more example of vocational empowerment that is already carefully woven into the educational experience at JAMS.

The excellent education at the Jane Adeny Memorial School is an empowering experience for all who are there and for the community around them, especially those who are most vulnerable in their midst.  Mayfield’s early and consistent support of JAMS is an empowering bond between us, stretching the 9000 miles from DeKalb County IL to Kenya.  The masks thicken that bond with a few more threads.  Thank you Rob, Sue, Joann, and Diane for adding more texture to a bond that already sustains life here and there.
Peace, Martha