I must confess I have been going to the post office lately in heightened anticipation of that first yellow slip announcing the arrival of the first handmade scarves, and this week the first box came! From Judith. In Florida. I have very little idea who she is, or how she heard about the Scarf Initiative, which has had a life of its own, and generated ripples in hearts throughout America, the UK and Canada, and beyond. I only know Judith is a very kind person and sent not one, but two beautiful scarves, here framed by my own two contributions, above. Don’t they look amazing?? Judith thoughtfully included a little blue hat with the blue scarf, and, of course, I cried. It is not hard to imagine how much some little girls in Pakistan are going to appreciate our scarves.

“Young girl in Skardu” Photo courtesy of Saqib Zulfiqar

Much has transpired since I posted the idea to knit scarves for Pakistani schoolgirls. Hurdles to jump. Bridges to cross. You know. First unexpected event was finding out that the Central Asia Institute is only equipped to handle financial gifts, as in money. (Gulp.)

“It’s better to ride the horse in the direction he’s going.”–Werner Erhard

Undaunted I used my resources and reached out to a world-renowned award-winning Pakistani trekker, the President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, and an extraordinary humanitarian, who was a leader in assisting victims of the Pakistani earthquake in ’05, Nazir Sabir. He holds the distinguished honor of being the first Pakistani trekker to reach the summit of Mount Everest. His background gives him the best credentials to run Nazir Sabir Expeditions. And his kind warm heart and breadth of experience give him the best credentials to be our current Pakistani Angel. When I wrote to Nazir Sabir humbly asking if he might assist us with a small endeavor, here was part of his immediate response:

Dear Kathryn Hall,

It is indeed a pleasure to learn that you have been inspired to help girl students of Pakistan where your generous contribution of any kind could help…I have my own operational office in Skardu and I have trustworthy contacts in the entire Baltistan. It would be our pleasure to assist you with distributing your items among school children in Skardu or in any other remote part of Baltistan so your donation should reach the right individuals/persons…it would be better to give them either to the most deserving in terms of need or to those who are at studies at a school.

With best regards,
Nazir Sabir

More tears. Deep gratitude. A flurry of emails has followed, and we agreed that the scarves will be delivered to one of the most remote villages in the Northern Areas of Pakistan–Askole village. And in an extraordinary gesture of kindness, Nazir Sabir offered to send us back photos of the children with their new scarves when they receive them! You can bet I will be posting those! Askole is literally the last stop of civilization prior to stepping out onto the Baltoro glacier that each trekker must travel in order to ultimately reach K2, the second tallest mountain in the world. Many of the men who live in Askole serve as porters on these treks. Repeatedly I have read stories on trekker blogs of these porters who work wearing plastic sneakers, asking, “How do they do it?” Warmth is a luxury not afforded many. Here is a map showing where our scarves are going:

Now, ready? Here is a section of the road that must be traversed to arrive in Askole. This was not a good day for these particular trekkers, but from what I’ve read, these “delays” happen.

At the end of this journey we find the typical home in Askole village. It would not be hard or unrealistic to imagine this very home might well contain one of our offerings.

Here is a photo sent to us by Nazir Sabir of Askole in the summer:

And here is their backyard:

You must be wondering by now how many scarves we have commitments for. I am thrilled to announce that we have 78!! (It keeps changing!) Here are the names of people who have contacted me with the number of scarves they intend to send in:

Many thanks go to Barbara (1), Bee (1), Ceecee (1), Christy (1), Claire (2), Cynthia, Jenny and friends (5), CurtissAnn (1), Cynthia T. (1), Dee (1), Debbie and her mom (7!), Dorothy (1), Elly (1), Helen (1), Jayne (2), Jo Ann (5), Judith (2, plus a hat), cousin Julie & Susan (4), Karen and Betsy (3), Linda (1), Mary (1), Mashala (2), Marjorie (1), Mita (1), Nancy (1), Nancy (1), Nancy’s mom (2), cousin Nancy S. (1), Pat (1), Patricia (1), Philip (1), Purmina (1), Radiance (2), cousin Susan (2), Tahera & Kusum (13!), cousin Tricia (1), VP (1), Barbara (1), Kathy (1). Oh, yeah, self (2). Wow. Overwhelming generosity. And people continue to contact me nearly every day. Check this one out, on its way now from the UK:
http://tinyurl.com/53eqyk

OK, this brings up two things.

First, there is probably someone practical out there who by now is asking, “How will you get the scarves from California to Islamabad?” Right? Yes, I thought so. I’m a trusting soul. I’ve explored a variety of avenues so far and the overarching threads are simplicity and security. To me that spells FED EX. I internally have more or less decided that how I will feel most at ease is to write a cheque and be done with it. This week my next door neighbors (some of you will recall the American Gothic photo of Dave) returned from an RV trip and I was delighted to update them on the status of the Scarf Initiative and to show them the above scarves. I returned home, feeling glad in my heart. Five minutes later the phone rang. It was Jean, Dave’s wife who said, “Kathryn, Dave and I have talked this over and we are donating one hundred dollars to help you get your scarves to Islamabad.” Wow. Stunned silence, my heart opening and more tears quietly tracing a little river down my cheeks.

It’s magical, my darlings. Thank you for joining me in this adventure of the heart and spirit. We are tapping into goodness here.

I want to say in closing this post for any lingering little cobwebby thoughts on the edges of your minds (I had the same little nagging wonderings), Askole village and the Northern Areas of Pakistan are blessedly too remote to be affected by the travails we are hearing about on our television screens lately. Please join me in praying for the well being of our Pakistani Angel, Nazir Sabir, and his countrymen and women, and particularly the children whom we are committed to helping.

Warm and gentle blessings, in gratitude to all participating,
Kathryn xoxo
Postscript: Note that as scarves arrive by mail, I will be posting a photo in this space to show progress for those of you interested! Please just return to this post to peek in on how the project is growing! Here are beautiful scarves from Marjorie in CA, Helen in the UK, and Jo Ann (a very generous weaver in Ashland, OR!). Thank you, all! I wish each of you could share the joy of opening these incredible packages as they are arriving! I promise to keep this photo section updated so you can participate in the joy of the beauty. 🙂


Scarves from Karen and Betsy in CT

Scarves from VP in the UK and cousin Nancy in CT

Scarves from Pat in MT and Mita in MD

Scarves of cousins Susan and daughter Tricia in UT

Scarves from cousins Julie and daughter Susan in OH

Scarves from Radiance in CA and CurtissAnn in OK (center scarf)

11/5-Note: new update with more photos pending!

Part Two: Ship the Scarves Initiative!: My Fed. Ex. office weighed our four scarves and projected the final bill for 63 scarves: $514.00. [10/23–Note: as scarves have continued to come in–now 78, not 63, this “final bill” will obviously increase. More funds will need to be raised. KH] My cousins Susan and Nancy each immediately chipped in $50. We have my neighbor’s contribution of $100. CurtissAnn has sent another $25! Kusum and Tahera have sent $50! Note! As of 10/11/08 we HAVE COVERED costs of the Fed Ex bill!! Special thanks to Brenda for sending in the last $42! Many thanks to Veronica, Barry, Karen & Betsy, Pamela, Luther, Justine, Conny, Patty, Dick, Pat, Philip, David, Radiance, Kathy and Marilyn for their generous support! I personally am prepared to cover whatever duties are imposed upon the shipment. Also, I have purchased a dozen pairs of socks to sweeten the package. To all who contributed, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Posted on October 4th, 2008 by Kathryn
Filed under: The Scarf Initiative | 33 Comments »

Yesterday, as if I needed a reminder (I didn’t), rain fell gently upon the Earth all morning harkening the end of summer and the changing of the seasons. I’d already begun to reflect with nostalgia on certain visuals I found still lodged in the memory of my camera, light bound in a black box, serving to tweak my heart and delight as I relived private random moments I’d experienced during this summer, like the sunflowers above in that big round unlikely vase I’d found.

Another particular pleasure was the lizard that came to keep me company for nearly two months, staging a home in the lavender that lives just in front of the front porch area. Here’s where he was hiding:

Not a bad place to choose as your home, right? Well, he was in there, every single day, for weeks and weeks! I’d never really experienced that before. He came out each afternoon to sun himself, which I would routinely manage to forget, so that when I stepped down off the last step onto the sidewalk, thinking only of ending my business day with a trip to the post office, he would suddenly dart, whish, back into the lavender, and then we’d somehow often repeat the ritual when I returned. (You’d think I’d learn.) Lots of mini adrenaline rushes. What if I’d stepped on him?? (I never did.) Anyway, here he is, dear thing.

I never really looked him up. Maybe someone knows what he is. Then one day he was simply (sadly) gone. I like to think that it was not a certain black and white kitty that is notorious for coming into my yard at night when no one is watching. It wasn’t, right? It was just time to move on and he’s safe somewhere down the road. I’m sure he is. I certainly enjoyed him while he was here. I would come out and talk to him and he never minded. And it was particularly gracious of him to let me take his photo so I can remember him and share him with all of you. Cutie.

Then there were the flowers.

Dahlia from Conny which kept on giving and giving

And Conny herself, on a summer jaunt! (She’s going to kill me, but I love this impish grin!)

Trumpetvine which tried my patience all summer long, it is so invasive but beautiful

Gorgeous blue morning glory greeting me on early morning doggie runs

And the animals…

“Ruby, have you been playing in the mud, again?”

Kitties got a new bed, finally!

Summer brings all kinds of tasty treats, like…

Freshly picked peaches from the farmer’s market spun into luscious pie

No little summer pictorial would be replete without my new summer shoes! Wahoo!

And, yes, I let my manicurist paint and decorate my toes with various colors and rhinestones. Yes, I do. You’re not a bit surprised, are you? I thought not.

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Much love and summer blessings,
Kathryn xoxo
Loving postscript: my deepest thanks to my peers on blotanical.com who have honored me by making Plant Whatever Brings You Joy a finalist in the Best Blog Writing and Blog of the Year Award categories. I am deeply moved and grateful to receive your blessings. xoxoxo

Posted on September 20th, 2008 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Life | 24 Comments »