Stuffed Animal Project

The Story Behind How It All Started

When I was home in August/September 2021, God gave me a vision for a project in Nairobi. One day I was at home watching a movie with my mom and brother. It challenged me to think about a legacy and what I was leaving behind. “Random” (but not random to God) things started happening that made this whole project fall into place.

While I had lived in Nairobi, Kenya, I stayed with a family whose mum (Rebecca) is a tailor. She made some bags and hot pads for me to bring home as a fundraiser. Then, someone from church gave me thread on Sunday because she didn’t need it and thought maybe someone in Africa could use it. Next, I was to drop off one of the bags to a friend of someone who bought it because it was closer than me running to that person’s house. The lady where I dropped the bag off at was moving and getting rid of material she had stored up. Guess who became a recipient of some of that material? Yep, you guessed correctly. Me! Lastly, I had watched this movie and recently found an article that was published on my grandma. It was an article about her and these stuffed animals and pillows she used to make for others while they were in the hospital. LIGHTBULB! Why not take this idea to AFRICA?!?

After asking Rebecca if she would be willing to sew and stuff for me (and her accepting!), the project started to come to life! I reached out to my aunt to see if she had any of my grandma’s patterns. No. Fortunately, I had two examples of finished projects that I took along with me when I headed back to Kenya in September of 2021. My friend Kim, Rebecca’s son, was enthusiastic about this project too. I asked him to be my sketch artist since I’m not that talented in that area.

Kim sketches and traces. Rebecca cuts and sews. Kim turns them right side out, stuffs, and does the final stitching to close up the animals. Of course, the whole family pitches in too during various times and ways. When I’m around, I also help in any way I can.

When I left December 3rd, we had completed 103 animals. I’ve hired Rebecca to make 50 animals per month. The animals will then be handed out to children’s homes or orphanages or to kids in the areas where I’m living. For me, it’s a three-fold ministry. The family making them gets blessed financially; the children receiving them get a personal item they can call their own and FEEL the LOVE of God; and my grandma’s legacy lives on.

Some of the finished products!

When I came home in December, I talked with someone whose grandma also made the animals at one time with the farm women or grange. She offered to give me some patterns she had. Of course, I said yes!! Hopefully there will be some new animals created soon! I sent them to Kim, and we picked out some for him to sketch there since I’m unsure when I will be returning.

I was supposed to return to Kenya in January, unfortunately due to a vaccine mandate to enter the country, I could not return. As of right now, I’m still unsure of the timing of my return. I’m happy to know the project is in good hands. Currently, they are waiting for me to return before the first distribution so I can participate. However, their house will only be able to hold so many animals before a zoo erupts! But maybe they’ll feel like they are on a special assignment from God like Noah?! Only time will tell. 🙂

Are you interested in helping to fund this project?

Here’s the breakdown of costs:

  • Material (when needed): $10/month
  • Poly-fill: $25 every other month
  • Labor: $100/ month (maybe some extra to throw in a bonus every now and then!)
  • Transport: to be determined upon delivery location

Ways to donate:

**For any method, please specify that you would like it to go directly to the stuffed animals. OR any GENERAL donation towards my mission work will allot money towards the project when needed!

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