Christmas Greetings from Amani!

Dear friends of Amani,

As we celebrate the peace of our Lord this Christmas, we also want to celebrate an amazing opportunity He has given us to continue to share His peace globally.

The Amani family has grown tremendously since its inception in 1996. As part of the Amani philosophy, the family always looks to find ways to pass peace to others. In this way, the women of Amani Nairobi reached out to plant centers in Rwanda and Burundi. In recent years, as Amani's message of peace shared through beautiful products has been carried around the globe, we have seen the Amani family grow tremendously in the United States. This partnership has provided stability and growth for the Amani women in Africa. It has also added great diversity to our family where we are mutually impacted by the peace from continent to continent. As a result, the Amani family in Africa has decided to plant another center - this time in the US!

Join us!
Passing peace in this way from Africa to America is a groundbreaking step for Amani and has been met with much excitement and anticipation. This new home for Amani will be located in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington DC. Please join us in this celebration of growth as we set up AmaniDC. You can lend a helping hand if you are in the vicinity, donating materials for the offices or retail store, or give a donation to help offset start-up costs. What do we need? Click here for an updated list of items. On Thursday, December 18th, AmaniDC will host an informal, pre-opening event to introduce Amani to the area just before Christmas. If you live in the DC area, please come check out the new location. Bring some cookies to share and your Christmas list! open-house details AmaniDC will open officially on January 7, 2009.
The Amani women in Africa have inspired us to own our part of passing peace on American soil. AmaniDC will be more than just a retail outlet for Amani products; it will be a welcoming space much like its mother center in Nairobi where peace and love prevails. Over the years, we have learned priceless lessons from the Amani women in Kenya. We have learned what it means to love in spite of our differences, to extend grace even when we have been wronged, to forgive our enemies, and, most remarkably, to live in peace and unity together as a diverse and transformed community. We desire for this to be a place where all are welcome. AmaniDC will provide a gathering place for visitors, friends, and customers to share a safe and peaceful haven. We welcome you to come and visit us!

Amani has come to America. In taking this bold step of faith, we owe much to our African sisters who planted seeds of peace in the hearts of women throughout the world. Our African Amani family will continue to walk with this new young Amani center as she grows, modeling what it means to live to in peace and harmony in the DC community. We invite you to join us in this journey.

May you enjoy the abundance of our Lord's peace this Christmas season as we celebrate His birth and work of transformation.

Glory to God in the highest,

Becky Chinchen
Executive Director


PS If you would like to read more about AmaniDC please take a look at our blog.

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If you are interested in donating to set up costs, please click here to give a gift in-kind, or consider donating below. Asante sana!