|
RWANDAN WEAVERS GROUP -Most of the baskets are made by the women of Gitarama and Ntenyo, a couple of the areas hardest hit by the genocide of 1994, where about 1 million people were massacred. After the genocide, 70% of the survivors were women, who had to support themselves and what was left of their families. The money made from these beautiful baskets provide critical income for these women and their children.
There are differing opinions on just how many lives were lost in the Rwandan holocaust. April 6, 1994 was the start of the massacre of Rwandan people. 90% Tutsis, and 10% Hutus. For 100 days an average of 8000 people per day were brutally murdered. This was reportedly the fastest rate of killings in the twentieth century. Now we are watching a similar event unfolding in Darfur, with the reports of the fastest rated killings and dislocated people, of the twenty-first century.
With the signing of contracts in the Sudan, we are praying for a peaceful settlement and end to the conflict in Darfur. We will be hopeing to help the people from that region, when we can purchase gifts from artisans of that area.
ABOUT TEMAK:
Teenage Mothers and Girls Association of Kenya is an organization working to rescue, rehabilitate and provide vocational training to girls and young women.
TEMAK has its centre in Tom Mboya Estate, Kisumu in the Republic of Kenya, where multiple programmes have been initiated to support the destitute since 1992. Our programmes focus on helping solve the problems of HIV/AIDS infected children, their parents - often single teenage girls - orphans, the poor and the destitute of the community.
WHY IS TEMAK CONCERNED?
School drop out statistics indicate that between 8,000 and 10,000 girls drop out of school in Kenya every year due to pregnancy. Many of the teenage mothers are unemployed with little knowledge on child care.
Teenage pregnancy has many repercussions including psychological stress, social alienation, health problems, and further consequences of contracting STD's and AIDS. Although teenage motherhood is a long-standing problem, it has taken a dramatic and disturbing turn for the worse in the last 10 years, leading to increased child labor, prostitution and HIV infection.
GIRLS IN NEED OF SPECIAL PROTECTION
TEMAK has carefully designed a center where training, rehabilitation, and economic empowerment for adolescent girls is conducted in order to improve the opportunities of teenage mothers. Income generating activities are initiated for the girls in order to uplift their living standard.
TEMAK CRAFTS
As part of TEMAK's Economic Empowerment Plan, we promote and train girls and young women in Arts and Crafts skills and techniques using locally available materials like hyacinth, papyrus, sisal and many other available materials.
TEMAK provides a conducive atmosphere for girls and children to acquire craft skills e.g. doll making, tie and dye, batik and creating tin and wire products, which are later sold. The income is used in support of the girls' projects or given out to individual girls or groups to start small scale business. TEMAK uses the same income to pay rent for those girls who are very desperate.
With every purchase you make, you will help us support the girls and children since every penny goes 100% in support of their educational, vocational and social support.
FATRINE SELF HELP GROUP: is registered as community based group with an aim of creating self employment, and creating awearness on poverty eradication within our community. It has more that 20 members and they prodce quality soapstone handicrafts from soapstone mined in their local area of Kisii, Kenya. They started working as a group in 2003, producing bowls, animals, flower vases, eggs for gifts and hearts and many other beautiful, unique gifts. They are looking for international buyers to buy their products and so they will be able to meet their objectives as artisans, and help supports themselves and their community.
JOSEPH OBARA IS THE FOUNDER/CHAIRMAN OF THE GROUP.... AND KIM AT "GIFTS" CAN PROMISE THEY WILL GIVE YOU THE BEST PRODUCTS AND SERVICE. THIS IS OUR ARTISAN GROUP THAT LOST EVERYTHING IN THE POST ELECTION VIOLENCE/ETHNIC CLEANSING IN KENYA. AND WE ARE WORKING 24/7 TO GET THEM GOING AGAIN!
AS OF JULY 7 2008, THE FATRINE GROUP IS BACK IN BUSINESS! WITH THE HELP OF MANY ANGELS, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO RAFFLES, FUNDRAISERS, AND SECURED AN ARTISAN GRANT THROUGH AID TO ARTISANS, (AND THE AWESOME HELP OF PHIL AT ONE WORLD PROJECTS) THAT ALLOWED JOSEPH AND THE FATRINE GROUP BUY THE TOOLS, MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, & WORKSHOP NEEDED FOR THE FAMILIES TO GO BACK TO WORK!! THEY ARE ALL DANCING IN THE STREETS WITH JOY KNOWING HOW FAR THEY HAVE COME IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS... FROM HAVING LOST EVERYTHING IN THE POST ELECTION VIOLENCE, AND NOW BEING ABLE TO GO BACK TO WORK, WHEN THEY NEVER DREAMED OF BEING ABLE TO GO ON... SUCH A SHORT TIME AGO!
I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL THE HELP WE HAVE GOTTEN FOR THESE FAMILIES.... SO LETS START SENDING THEM ORDERS TO FILL!!
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IS SEEING WHERE WE'VE GONE FROM HERE... GO TO WWW.GIFTSOFLIFE.NING.COM TO FOLLOW OUR GIFTS OF LIFE CHARITIES, STARTED TO HELP OUR ARTISANS IN KENYA.. AS OF JAN 2011 WE ARE IN THE FINAL STAGES OF BUILDING A HEALTH CENTER IN KENYA FOR THEM!
NAWOU, The National Association of Womens Organizations in Uganda,
is a non-governmental organization representing over 1000 groups of women in Uganda. The organization provides the women of rural Uganda with a network where they can discuss issues of their communities and offers a consolidated presence throughout the country and the world.
Uganda is an agrarian culture, with most crafts made from vegetable matter including raffia grass and fiber from the banana plant. The women of the country are often the breadwinners of the family and spend much of their day weaving baskets to sell in the local and international markets. Their profits from the sale of crafts are used to provide the basics for their families, including food, health care, and education.
The women are proud of their tightly woven coil baskets and are still amazed that people around the world want to own them.
ILALA WEAVERS is situated at Hluhluwe within the province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
The organizations was established some 30 years ago, with a clear vision and objective of revitalizing and enhancing the age-old Zulu tradition of handcrafts, which at the time were in danger of being lost forever.
Today, Ilala Weavers helps over 2000 Zulu people, both men and women, to attain self sufficiency, by working from their homes and therefore retaining their lifestyle and rich heritage of basket weaving and bead work, which has been passed down through the generations by Zulu crafters, whose modern counterparts today produce stunning works of art, sought after the world over.
Jimma Banana Art (JBA)
the makers of our banana fiber cards, is a project that was started with the hope of helping a group of young Ethiopian women living in rural Ethiopia earn money to support their families. Working with VSO volunteers on design and production techniques, the women are able to earn a sustainable wage from craft production.
The intricate patterns of the fiber of the banana tree are only the beginning of the story of this card. Card stock is purchased in Addis Ababa, transported by bus to the rural village and carefully stored where it is not subject to dampness. Each piece of cardstock is cut in half, making the cards smaller than traditional greeting cards but producing no waste. Women cut banana fiber into shapes and carefully affix the pieces in a pattern that slowly forms a detailed picture of Ethiopian life. When 250 cards are completed, the number of cards that fit in the largest box that can be mailed without Ethiopian Customs approval (as there is no customs officials remotely close to the village), they are mailed to the US. Invariably, the box is delivered with a note from the local US post office apologizing for the twine barely holding the box together and the obviously long and difficult trek the cards made, not realizing that the box started in Ethiopia in the same shape. The boxes arrive unannounced, about one a month.
ZULU TELEPHONE WIRE BASKET ARTISANS:
In the heart of KwaZuluNatal, the Zulu people of South Africa weave colorful and vibrant telephone wire baskets. These skilled weavers live in an area surrounding a small farm in Elandskraal and have perfected the art of telephone wire basketry. Traditionally, Zulus have woven for centuries with grass materials, but in more recent years have moved on to new and exciting mediums, including plastic bags, and of course telephone wire. The proceeds from each telephone wire basket purchased through Gifts of Life go to the weaver and his/her family, and to improve working conditions and further job creation in the region.
|
