At the end of each school year DAIS hosts Trash to Treasure event – a sort of garage sale where our families can sell, buy or exchange unused things from their houses. This year we had 26 booths selling furniture, clothes, electric appliances, toys, books, kitchenware, household items and many more.
One of our teachers, Ms. Erin Carney, ran a very special stall at the event. Instead of selling her used clothes or random utensils, she introduced us to her meaningful craftwork – colorful rugs made out of old t-shirts, and all-natural hand lotion bars. All funds she raised selling these items went to support poor village schools in Uganda.
Over the past few years, Erin has been involved with the Teachers Across Borders non-profit organization. She went to some poor rural communities in Uganda to help running professional development sessions to local teachers. Thanks to this program schools got access to advanced teaching strategies in music and English language instruction, which is totally amazing in such remote African villages. But while quality of education was improved, their living conditions remained poor. So the organization decided to raise funds to purchase supplies for the schools, provide better housing for teachers, and even build a new village school.
Erin decided that her hobby that she has been doing for more than 10 years – knitting and crocheting – might help here. She started to create unique handmaid rugs and sell them during charity events. These rugs are made of reused materials, mainly from second hand t-shirts and old bed sheets, so her work also helps to reduce waste and protect the environment. Every Erin’s rug has its own design, and it takes at least two hours to create a small one. She also wanted to teach others how to make these rugs, so this year she ran an ASA at DAIS Elementary School and shared her passion with young kids.
We are proud of Erin and other teachers and DAIS community members who made Trash to Treasure a huge success. At the end some money and unsold items were donated to our school organizations to support future events. Thank you everyone for coming!
