FROM GRASS TO GREATNESS In West Africa, way up in the northern region of Ghana, almost to Burkina Faso, is a rural farming village on the edge of Vea Dam. The villagers are resilient despite their poverty. The men farm and the women skillfully weave baskets - a cherished tradition passed from one generation to the next. Elephant grass grows in abundance in that region, and the … [Read more...]
Love Beyond Borders: An International Love Story
Sometimes a married couple might have so many differences, it can feel like they came from different countries. But what happens when a couple actually is from different countries, with different languages and cultures? One Abilene couple discovered how to make an international marriage possible, with hard work and a little bit of dancing. Vicente Rojas is from Mexico, and … [Read more...]
Refugees Grow Fresh Produce on Abilene Farm
The thought of plucking fresh veggies out of the ground or off the stalk brings a big smile to the face of Cyprien Kilulu, a refugee from the Congo who resettled in Abilene in 2010. Thanks to the generosity of Paul Thomas and Gayla Fullerton and their Grapevine Farms, Kilulu and other refugees in Abilene can look forward to eating fresh produce this summer, including plants … [Read more...]
Curating Memories: How Andrew Penns Preserves Abilene’s Black History
The comment Andrew Penns hears most often as he escorts tour groups through Curtis House Cultural Center shouldn’t come as a surprise. “I didn’t know that,” people say as Penns offers tidbits of information on artifacts, people, places, and events significant in the history of the contributions of Black Abilenians to the city’s development. Those words have been repeated … [Read more...]
A Season of Serving Students in Need
The aroma of a turkey roasting in the oven for Thanksgiving and the sight of a pile of packages waiting to be ripped open on Christmas morning started filling the minds of many Americans the minute the Halloween decorations were packed away, maybe earlier. They are comforting imaginings, the stuff of a Norman Rockwell painting. But for some Americans, those imagined aromas … [Read more...]