WorldCrafts partners with multiple artisan groups in the United States and around the globe. One WorldCrafts artisan group in Kenya, Mother Care Handcrafts, helps disadvantaged artisans in Kenya earn a fair wage by using their skills in centuries-old handcrafting traditions. Among the artisans are several women who, thanks to the jobs Mother Care offers, have been rescued from prostitution. The profit from the crafts provides the artisans and their families with education, medication, shelter, clean water, food, and clothing. Through this wholesome, creative skill, these artisans receive basic material needs, as well as spiritual blessings and growth.
Another artisan group, The Lily House in the Dominican Republic, offers healing to women who have been sexually trafficked and those who are risk of being trafficked. With high levels of poverty, illiteracy, and physical abuse, Dominican women are exceptionally vulnerable to traffickers. The Lily House teaches women to create beautiful jewelry. In the process, these formerly enslaved women learn that they are themselves beautiful creations worthy of love. “I knew how to do nothing with my hands before Lily House,” said N. “The only thing I knew to do was sell my body. Now I make beautiful things with dignity.” Your purchase of jewelry made by The Lily House artisans brings hope to those who were without hope.
WorldCrafts partners with multiple artisan groups in the United States, including Refugee Sewing Society in Clarkston, Georgia. This ministry teaches viable skills to vulnerable refugee women. The women receive payment for the products they sell, helping them earn a supplemental income. They have access to available resources, including English as a second language and citizenship classes, which will allow them to adapt to their new home in America.
You can make an impact in the lives of all WorldCrafts artisans by supporting the Jackson/Reese Endowment. This endowment supports the work of WorldCrafts as it develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. Each WorldCrafts product represents a life changed by the opportunity to earn an income with dignity and to hear the offer of eternal hope. Your gifts to the Jackson/Reese Endowment aid the work of WorldCrafts. The impact is eternal—basic needs are met and individuals are finding eternal hope.
Written by Emily Swader, national WMU Compassion Ministries hub manager and marketing strategist.