In Da Mo... the Miao Experience...and a Teddy Bear's Picnic

 It was just so amazing to be here!!!!!!!!

The corn drying on mats outside the old wooden and bamboo huts

The walls of the old houses are made of bamboo with spaces between making it desperately cold and damp in the winter wind and rain. 

Now the government have sent help and provided villagers with bricks to build new houses to provide more warmth and safety.

They certainly lack the character of the old houses but more importantly offer a better quality of life for the villagers

        I think words will just spoil these photos...so I will leave them to speak for themselves :-)

 It was overwhelming to have the girls whose faces I had come to know so well running to meet us

 but the quiet dignity and pride of the mothers 

as they came to present their wonderful embroidery skills in the doll's Miao costumes.

                                                                     was humbling

We are so excited to be working with others to help set up this Enterprise

 for the Da Mo Women to raise their own money, taking pride in their own culture and talents.

We will share much more on this later...

but if anyone would like a unique doll now, they are £28 with ALL the profit going directly the women!

It was brilliant just to "be" there......

While Paula was busy organising the Da Mo Dolls, the Teddy Bear's Picnic was about to begin upstairs........
                                                   
                                                  ..the girls were so excited...and so helpful!

So many girls, so many Teddies, so many letters and photos...
( you can check out the Slideshow of each girl receiving her teddy and letters from sponsors)

                   

 So so many wonderful sponsors who make it all possible!!!!!!

It was really just quite humbling and overwhelming!

A Special Birthday wish for all the girls...

and a special wee one born in Qingdao, living in Scotland, celebrating her 4th Birthday 

with very special friends in Da Mo and from all around the world!

Also sharing the lovely Pizza we had brought with us from Pizza Hut in Nanning - 

the girls and the teddy bears loved it :-)

However it is the one place where there is no difference between the boys and girls!
Poverty here is universal and there is nothing different depending on gender...so I thought it might be a good idea to bring some little things for the boys? They nearly took our hands off they were so excited!

                                                                          Boys will be boys :-)

Bringing love...........

It was fun to have all the girls and the teddies together before it was time to leave...and it also made it easier for us to pick out the photos of the girls to send to their sponsors.

No-one wanted to leave....and the girls did not want us to leave......

...so we all went for a walk together in the village.

It was actually a bit surreal with memories of The Sound of Music, 

as the beautiful Miao girls just burst into song on the mountains!

 We chatted, read & translated more letters from sponsors-

one lovely one from Grandma Maureen to her Caichun

 Sang Auld Lang Syne on the mountain top

very beautiful, but haunting...as we finally had to leave..........

                                One wee soul, just did not want to part with us, or her Teddy Bear!

                                      as another carried away a pic of her sponsors in her pocket

Just as we all took away a little bit of the Da Mo people in our hearts!