ChildrensMade in Kenya

Rafiki African Dolls

Wangari Kamau of Umba Creations works with women in Kenya to craft these adorable little dolls. Mwenzi the girl and Wema the boy and their friend Teddy make up the family of Rafiki (friend in Kiswahili) dolls. Each doll comes with a little note of "things passed on" to a child such as "be patient", "help others" and "be thankful".

By The Afropolitan Shop · Jan 20, 2019 · 1 min read

Rafiki African Dolls - The Afropolitan Shop

I started crocheting to make toys that people can use to speak into the lives of children and pass a blessing to them.

-Wangari Kamau

These beautiful, stitched Rafiki Dolls are from Umba Creations started by Kenyan Wangari Kamau and her collective of women seamstresses. She explains, "Each toy comes with a set of blessing cards which the parents or guardians can use to bless their children on a daily basis. The hope is that the kids will keep these dolls and pass them on to their children or others and say 'these blessings were spoken over me.'"

We all know how historically difficult it has been to find dolls of little black girls and boys. Now they are more accessible than ever. If you have or know a child, this would be the perfect gift.