Happy New Year!

As we have been reflecting on this past year, we would love to share some of the highlights of 2021 with you.

We are grateful for the way we’ve seen God continue to multiply impact through Azizi Life partnerships, not just in Rwanda, but in various locations including the United Kingdom, France, and South Africa.

In Rwanda, we celebrate that we’ve been able to work with over 800 artisans and beekeepers, and generated over half a million artisan hours of work. This is significant considering that the pandemic continued to necessitate closures and restrictions. We are definitely grateful for having played a part in providing artisans with work. And you, our dear customers and retailers, have played a part too!

The vaccine roll-out in Rwanda has been a big blessing and a huge answer to prayer for us this year. This has enabled our staff to work together and to grow into a team of  21 full-time staff, 41 part-time teachers and staff, and 20 volunteer teachers in the prison literacy program. 

We are also celebrating the fact that since starting the adult literacy program back in 2017, we’ve facilitated over 4,500 hours of classes. Right now, there are over 900 students enrolled in the six-month term. This group is set to graduate in the Spring of 2022. Thank you to everyone who donated to make this possible.

One more noteworthy thing is the huge milestone we’ve accomplished in purchasing a one-acre plot of land in order to build our own little campus. We have just broken ground, and we very much look forward to completing the building that will expand our capacity to step into the bandwidth of what God wants to continue to do through Azizi Life. And it will be awesome to reduce our carbon footprint with the installation of a solar power system.

Traveling the world?  Us too!

You can now find Azizi Life products in Austria, Germany, Australia, Israel, Costa Rica, and Japan, as well as in the US and in Canada through SOKO home.

As we transition into a new year, we recognize the importance of being grateful and expressing it as we look forward to the new year and prepare ourselves for the journey ahead, we are so grateful! We could tell you so many stories of how we have experienced God’s grace.  And we continue to be thankful for everyone who has linked arms with us through purchases, donations, volunteering, prayers, and encouragement.

In the new year, keep your eye out for updates on our building project, as well as announcements about our NEW SHOP at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. We’ll also share photos and success stories from our literacy graduates this Spring.  And of course, we’re working with the artisans on new collections of products for you as well.

We look forward to walking this incredible journey with you throughout 2022.