Kohl Crecelius is a part of something great. Actually, if you want to get technical, Kohl Crecelius is the executive director of something great. That great thing is called Krochet Kids International. Their mission: to empower people to rise above poverty. I mention Kohl specifically because he was my contact person, and, for the record, he seems like a pretty cool guy—but let’s get back to Krochet Kids, since that’s the point of all this.

First some history. Kohl, how did all this come about?

“The idea of Krochet Kids international stemmed from two specific experiences that my friends and I had. First, in high school my 2 friends and I learned to crochet and began selling beanies to teachers, classmates, and anyone else in our hometown of Spokane, WA. They were a hit. We crocheted throughout the latter half of high school and developed a small headwear business. Second, when we parted ways and went to college each of us had the opportunity to volunteer abroad and learn of the issues surrounding extreme poverty in our world. We left from those experiences yearning to help.

KKi was the marriage of these experiences in a powerful way. We saw the simple act of crocheting being able to provide relevant and needed jobs to destitute individuals and communities, while also providing an outlet for anyone to get involved through the purchase of a hat.”

The great thing about Krochet Kids is that their emphasis is on helping the individuals as much as possible. Rather than teaching a Ugandan woman how to crochet and sending her out on her own to make whatever living she can, they believe in a more “holistic care” approach. “We not only offer a stable income through crocheting, but we also provide supplementary education and career development training. We have seen the group of ladies we are working with blossom into business savvy entrepreneurs from humble, and even illiterate, beginnings,” Kohl explains. He went on to tell me that the sale of their merchandise not only provides income to the individual who made it, but also puts money into the whole community—focusing primarily on children and education for now.

The people at Krochet Kids encourage all of us to do what we can, and why wouldn’t they? We’re talking about a few people with the ability to crochet who have had a great impact in Northern Uganda by implementing their talents and getting creative. If nothing else, their story should eliminate the possibility for any of us to think that we can’t do anything big enough with our own abilities. In fact, Kohl had this to say as an encouragement to all of us, “I would just say to start somewhere. The act of taking that first step will most likely open more doors, and you’ll gain more knowledge in that area, to continue to help. Whether it’s donating to a cause you believe in, or emailing them about volunteer opportunities or referrals to other similar organizations, something will happen.”

“Simply put, I believe we all have been blessed to live in a country and be provided with the opportunities we have. In turn, we have the amazing privilege of reaching out in love to those in our world who are in need. Let’s do it!” This is our challenge. Let’s do it!

To get involved with Krochet Kids, find them at any of these places:

http://krochetkids.org
http://twitter.com/krochetkids
http://causes.com/krochetkids
http://facebook.com/krochetkids

Also, in researching all that Krochet Kids International is involved in, I found this very valuable information for anyone who owns a store or shop or anywhere with shelf space.

The guy that wrote this is our dear friend Joseph Thomas. He’s working to reshape his community. Learn how you can help him by visiting http://reshapehardincounty.org.



Leave a Reply