Body and Soul

So, my hands are feeling a little arthritic this evening.

No, not because of the cold.

Not because of my aging joints.

No.

It's because I am a procrastinator extraordinaire.

Seven hours of typing today.

If I haven't learned by now not to revel in the 11th hour...I'm not sure I'll ever.

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Despite my cramping wrists, there's something I want to share. 

And so, I type. 

Some more.

After work today my co-worker mentioned that she was going to go to an open house of a local spa that she patronizes.

Mr. B is not the procrastinator I am, but he still had a docket full of heavy book hitting this evening.

So, I opted for the quasi-GNO.

We drove across the ice encrusted roads at our own peril (South Bend does not believe in the efficacy of the snow plow) until we reached State Road 23.  The only clear street in Michiana, I swear.

And then it was due North to Granger.  Or was it Goshen?  Not sure.  I was preoccupied with marveling at the lack of snow, yet dodging the patches of black ice on the street.

Either way, we reached our destination.

Perhaps I sound like a prude when I say that the spa is not my element.

I suddenly feel so frumpy and...er...porous.

But, there were free hors d'oeuvres. A "mini" hand treatment.  And 20% off of any service that I would book right then and there.

I didn't.

But, my co-worker did.

It was nice.  The estheticians were nice. But like I said, sooo not my element.

As we were milling around, I noticed they had a TV embedded into one of their walls.  I watched for only a minute as my colleague ran to ask someone a question.

It was a PR campaign, I think, of the social aspect of the major line of beauty care items that the spa carried. 

There, on the TV, were faces of strangers that seemed so familiar to me.

Faces of beautiful African women and girls, as they went about doing the day-to-day tasks, so typical of their lives.

I only watched for a moment, as my co-worker returned, and my attention shifted back to my artichoke dip.  But that moment was long enough to vividly remember my friends in Kenya.

And I thought of them, and what they would think of that fancy spa that I found myself in.

I felt kind of embarrassed at the fact that the price of one spa treatment would cost a Kenyan woman months of her salary.

Now that's not to say that everyone should abstain from taking care of themselves and donate their money elsewhere.

But it's an interesting perspective.

One that I think about often...somewhat guiltily in my more gluttonous moments.

My experience this evening is a perfect segue into something that I've wanted to share for several weeks now, but just haven't figured out how to do it.

Just as the many women packed into the spa tonight, women all over the world want to feel beautiful.  That was something that was so impressive to me as I was in Kenya.  There was a quiet dignity that those African women tried to uphold in the harsh conditions where they live.  They loved to feel beautiful. 

And they are.

The same people who started Yehu bank (where we worked) started another company called Basa Body, that tries to help women not only feel beautiful, but to have the opportunity to live beautifully, too. 

Let me tell you about Basa Body:

One of the greatest natural resources that Kenya has is coconuts.  Those trees are everywhere!  Our friends Louis and Troy (who started Yehu) realize that capital (in the form of microloans) is only one rung on the ladder out of poverty.  There needs to be a market for the businesses that these people start. And that's where the coconuts come in.

Louis and Troy started a business--two actually--both of which employ the people of Kenya.  One business produces coconut oil (Coast Coconut Farms), and one makes products that use it (Basa Body).  Basa Body makes beauty care products out of the coconut oil--things like soaps and lotions and such.  Basically, Louis and Troy are creating their own market for coconut oil.  The end beneficiaries are the people like you and me, who use their delicious products, and the people of Kenya who live by them, literally.

I'm a big fan of what Basa Body is trying to do.

So, I'm going to promote it for a second (as this post gets longer and longer).  As in, I'm going to offer you a link in the hopes that you will check it out, at a discount even!

Take a click, and see what they have to offer:




I might be inclined to say that Basa is good for the body and soul.

Now for a little disclaimer... I became an affiliate of Basa Body (and you can too, if you want).  I like what they do and I want to help them out.  But I feel I have to let you know that if you click onto the website from here and make a purchase, I benefit a little, along with all of the African women you see in those pictures.

But I also want to go ahead and give you the old rah-rah sis boom bah and tell you to do it.  Unabashedly, even.  Because I have some other great friends in Kenya who desperately need a market, too.  And it is my hope that this little benefit will be the benefit that keeps on giving.

So go ahead, and treat the beautiful ladies in your life to the most socially conscious spa experience they will ever have.

It will be something to be proud of.

And I'm sure it will make your holiday artichoke dip taste that much more garlicy sweeter.