Out of Control

In early June, I got a request for 100 ostrich eggshell bracelets for a business man in Rhode Island to give to his employees.

I emailed the order to the manager of the San Bushmen women and within a little over a week, the bracelets were finished. I sent payment. I was told the bracelets were shipped.

I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more.

I contacted the manager but got no response.

Finally, I got a PM on Facebook. The manager's house was broken into while she was at home. Several men beat her and asked her for money. She didn't have much, so they beat her some more and took her phone and TV. She messaged me (using a friend's phone) that she waited until the order was complete before leaving for the capital to seek medical attention.

Several days and 9 hours later, she was told the bleeding in her ears where she was struck would eventually stop and the ringing would go away. As is the Motswana-way, she didn't tell me any of this until the hospital visit provided good news.

The business man ordered the bracelets because he had found out that the beads were made by the oldest human race in existence today. He heard that the ostrich egg is symbolic of good luck and well wishes. He was going to give the bracelets to his team for working long and hard and perservering.

The gift was for an event he was having on July 8th. The bracelets did not come in time. They arrived on July 17th. Instead of the shipment taking the usual 4-5 days, it took several weeks. They missed their deadline, not by any fault of the San women, but by forces outside of their control.

The business man decided this too was part of the story and a lesson his crew would find too often. No matter how hard you work, somethings are just out of our control.

I have to tell you, when the package had not arrived, I wondered if I was once again disappointed by the Bushman group. After working with them for 12 years, there have been some issues. But, I too had to take a deep breath and acknowledge the a job well done and some unfortunate delays that were out of our control.

And in case we missed it, the universe made sure we got the message. Not only was the package delayed in Botswana, it was also delayed in the US. I sent it two day air but as it happened, the store that had ordered it from us for the very patient business man, was closed on Mondays. And so, today, after a flurry of excitement, disappointment, confusion and relief, The Peaceable Kingdom in Providence, RI emailed me to say, "The bracelets have arrived and they're stunning."

I'm hoping to get some feedback from the gracious and generous business man, a story I can also pass onto my team in Botswana. I look forward to hearing how his employees reacted, but of course, I may never hear from him again. Some things are just out of our control.


 http://www.womensworkbw.com/osbb2007.htm (The bracelet he chose was the very one that had spurred me on to start working with the San Bushmen women to begin with. They told me, once they sold this bracelet, they could feed their family for a month. Who wouldn't want to help them sell them?!?)