I recently attended a conference in Atlanta for college students called Passion 2012. 42,000 university students from all over the US and the world came together for three days to worship, pray, listen, and leave changed people for the glory of GOD. (They let a few old people in as volunteers, which is how I was able to get in the room – um, stadium that is.) The speakers were brilliant and the worship unforgettable, but my heart was transformed by the students. The leaders of Passion put before this group of poor college students at goal of $1,000,000.00. Not to go home and pledge, not to call mom, dad, grandpa, aunts, uncles and friends….but to GIVE it, out of their pockets and bank accounts, however meager they may be, and to give it over the course of the three day conference. These amazing students gave not just one million, but over TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS. TWO AND A HALF MILLION dollars! Why? Every dollar that was given went to fight slavery.
There are over 27 MILLION people trapped in modern day slavery all over the world right now. Mostly, these are marginalized people who aren’t strong enough to stop the tyranny of those who are exploiting them, and there aren’t enough people standing up in their place and saying NO WAY. Sadly, we as American consumers can be a part of perpetuating these crimes without even knowing it. See, many of the items we buy every day are made using slave labor: cell phones, jeans, Christmas ornaments, even some of the food we eat.
What can we possibly do to stop the cycle of human trafficking? Well, honestly there are many things we can do, some great and some small. One small thing that could turn into a great thing is to become a conscientious consumer. If we all considered what we buy and where we buy it, refusing to participate in the perpetual cycle of using people as slaves to create products we enjoy, then that small life change becomes a HUGE change in the way products are made, marketed and sold.
I love Karama for so many reasons, but honestly this is the biggest reason of all. The very idea that my purchase makes a difference in the life of a woman or some women because she is paid a fair wage for her beautiful craft, providing dignity and a sustainable life for her and her family is all the reason I need.
I have pledged to do anything I can to fight slavery in the world today. Purchasing smart is just one of them. When you purchase from Karama, you are giving life and dignity to the poor! AND getting something beautiful in return. Now THAT is a circle of good.
Susan Peterson
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Meet Sethi, Dwe, Chipo, Easy, Nodumo, Rejoice, Mercy, Norma, and Lister. Our newest group of Karama artisans
These precious women live and work in rural Zimbabwe, in the beautiful Matopos Hills area. They came together a few years ago to begin a sewing group in order to add to their meager sources of income and to form a network of support for each other, as they are each HIV+. Zimbabwe has suffered years of political turmoil, rampant inflation, critical food shortages, and intense poverty & hunger. These women have struggled for years to provide for themselves and their families, and we at Karama are excited to start partnering with them in order to help them do so in a meaningful and sustainable way. We have jewelry designs and Christmas decorations in the works with them, so remember these “Morning Star” women as you scout our site in the future for beautiful new products!  Harrison's CFCO Girl Karama has the privilege of inviting a group of teenagers from Harrison High School (Evansville, IN) into our journey this year. This sweet group of girls from Harrison chose to come alongside of us through their involvement with Harrison’s first ever CFCO (Center for Family and Community Outreach). The goal of the CFCO is to connect Harrison students’ talents with document and media creation to serve their local community non-profit organizations. CFCO Founder, Mrs. Jankowski (A.K.S. “Mrs. J”), is a firm believer in Karama’s mission and has been a blessing to our cause. Over the semester, our CFCO girls have come on a field trip to our Karama office. During this time they were able to see and touch our products, hear the countless stories, and ask all of their questions. In response to our day together, Taylor shares…”Visiting Karama was a great experience. It was very interesting finding out all the things about that organization. I never knew how much Karama did for all the places in Africa. I enjoyed helping them with all of their jobs they had us do to help them out. I can’t wait to help them out and do all the projects for them that we have in mind.”  Karama Mamas Jill, Heather, & Ki The girls then took what they learned about Karama back to Harrison and created appropriate documents and media creations to best serve our cause. Through video, pictures, and fliers…these girls created products that we hope to use in furthering Karama’s story. Thank you, CFCO, for your commitment to providing DIGNITY and sustainable income to the women of Africa. For a look at some of the fun products that CFCO created for Karama, check out the CFCO weebly page (and find the Karama section) at http://mrsjankowski.weebly.com/final-projects–1st-semester-non-profits.html Thank you, CFCO, for your commitment to providing DIGNITY and sustainable income to the women of Africa. Today we spent the day visiting the wonderful ladies at Mabinti. Mabinti is one of our partner artisan groups who makes the gorgeous silk-screened purses we carry (as well as many other objects: placemats and napkins from Mabinti will be coming to the website soon).  Mabinti silk-screened handbag Mabinti trains and employs women who suffer from a debilitating and stigmatizing injury caused during childbirth, called fistula. A fistula is a tear or hole created in the tissues of the birth canal, due to prolonged or obstructed labor, which leaves women incontinent- constantly leaking urine and feces- and almost always results in the death of the baby. Fistulas are very common in third-world countries and though they used to be common in the West, women in developed countries are now given C-sections long before a fistula could become an issue. Therefore most people in the West have never even heard of this term. Fistula is an incredibly stigmatizing condition, usually resulting in rejection by one’s community and thus a life of isolation, shame, and humiliation. Though it can usually be treated easily with surgery, most women who suffer from this condition do not have that knowledge nor do they have access to such treatment. Fistula is therefore often a life-long debilitating condition which acts to destroy the lives of women all across Africa. Fortunately, Jane and Rose have a different story. As does every other woman at Mabinti.  Rose Rose is a 21 yr. old woman who suffered a fistula 3 years ago. She was told by family members and friends that she was cursed and thus suffered even greater ostracism and degradation than what she was already experiencing. It was a year and a half before she heard about the local hospital in Dar es Salaam that performs surgeries on women like her. She bravely came to this hospital, was educated on the truth of her condition, and received healing through surgery there. It was at this hospital that she learned about Mabinti, who is active with the women in the fistula department there. Jane is a 33-yr. old woman who suffered a fistula one and a half yrs ago. For several months she suffered from incontinence, hoping the condition would just go away on its own. She isolated herself from her community and had to quit the job she had held at a local hotel. When her condition didn’t improve, she too learned about the same hospital as Rose and also went there to receive surgery and healing. She discovered Mabinti through the crochet program there that they were working on with women there.  Jane Mabinti’s training programs give women recovering from fistula surgery the skills they need to start their own small businesses when they leave. After 18 months of training in sewing, screen-printing, and beading- as well as life skills education- these women are given their own sewing machines and usually go on to open up their own small businesses. Many of them sell their products through Mabinti. One of the greatest gifts Mabinti gives these women, though, is a sense of self-confidence and dignity- both of which are usually stripped from them during their experience with fistula. Mabinti is rebuilding lives, developing leaders, and instilling dignity and worth in the lives of worthy women. Some of the concepts we are most passionate about at Karama and exactly why we are proud to sell Mabinti’s gorgeous products. We hope you, too, will enjoy a beautiful product created by the women at Mabinti, knowing that as you do so, you are helping to produce deep change in the lives of women such as Rose and Jane. Thank you for listening to their stories. We trust you are as honored as we are to know such brave women and to hear such stories of redemption. [By the way, when we arrived, we were casually told that "either BBC or CNN was coming later today to interview Jane about her experience with fistula"... Ha, no big deal. Thrilled to know, though, that such a large media outlet is working to raise awareness about such a little-known issue. And be on the lookout for Jane on the big screen.  Everything really IS possible! Here's a brilliant example of local entrepreneurship. Karama’s mission is to help eradicate poverty through market-based solutions. The Karama website, trunk shows, and home events provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products in North America. Not only are the African Artisans blessed, the American buyers are also blessed because they know that their careful purchase mattered in the life of an African woman across the ocean. When women wear their Beza Entoto necklace made by refabricated bullet shells, not only is it beautiful, but it is meaningful as well. Karama believes in treating people in poverty as capable and valuable rather than incapable and burdensome. We at Karama have seen first hand how enterprise brings income and income brings confidence and confidence brings dignity and dignity leads to freedom and freedom leads to leadership in the person’s sphere of influence which can lead to entire communities being transformed. It’s a lovely swirl of GOOD! Check out this video. Karama is in full agreement that “good intentions don’t end poverty; enterprise and freedom end poverty.” PovertyCure – From Aid to Enterprise “It’s high time we stop telling our people we can’t do it. Yes, we shall do it in the name of God.”– Archbishop Desmund Tutu Karama agrees with you Archbishop Tutu. We’re grateful to our Karama customers — you’re part of the solution for eradicating poverty in Africa by being in Karama’s Swirl of Good — Every purchase matters! |
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