Mama Jose is the kind of person you want on your team. The good news is – she’s on ours.
Mama Jose leads RDF – Reseau des Femmes – which is an all-women’s Congolese organization in Eastern Congo. And from Asili’s very first days, she’s seen opportunity in collaboration. Now, the women of RDF also help manage our water system, and Mama Jose herself serves as one of Asili’s biggest and most powerful loudspeakers. She’s the best marketer around.
Although she’s the type of person who would never seek out praise or the spotlight, she deserves to be praised from the rooftops. So for Day 357, we wanted to do something to make the holiday season just a little brighter for Mama Jose and her family – a meal fit for a holiday dinner.
Mama Jose is a good cook – she has her own style and way of doing things. So instead of preparing the food ourselves, we wanted to give her all the ingredients that she needed for her entire family. Some flour, beans, rice, soy protein, oil, and more.
At first, Mama Jose thought that when we said “this is for you and your family,” that we meant her Asili family and colleagues. She was so surprised when we told her no, this is for your own family, her own children! She broke out into laughter. Her reaction is telling – her natural state is to split her things with everyone else, she hardly ever thinks of herself.
“Wow, this is so great!” she said. “Thank you so much. I love my work with Asili, and hope it continues for a long time to come.”
