Meet The Makers
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Mizan left his small school and daily school uniform in grade 8 to look for work that could provide for his family. With 5 other brothers and sisters and little income in the family, Mizan felt the weight of responsibility. Many young boys in the narrow gullies and brick homes of his North India rural town of 1.5 million are lost in the shuffle, desperate for work. But work, consistent life giving work, more often than not, cannot be found. Even with some tailor skills he struggled for a number of years on a piecework basis working various jobs. Then two years ago he was introduced through his uncle to a job where he now stitches CAUSEGEAR products. It is an environment where he has been able to build his skills in an encouraging, empowering environment and receive a regular, monthly fair trade wage. His family, needless to say, are very happy and very proud. Desperation and hopelessness lost. Joy and Dignity found. |
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Dignity Designs is a jewelry and textile company in Nairobi, Kenya. Their parent organization, Heishma, providing jobs for mothers while their children receive education and therapy. |
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I began making baskets over 40 years ago when as a young girl i wanted to learn a profession to support myself. I was taught by a friend in my hometown of Bomborde au Polis in the north of Haiti. Today i live and work in Gonaives and we have a group of 15 people that work on the baskets together. When we have a large order we can even gather more makers to help! We make the baskets with a palm leaf material called Latanye. This material comes from about 5 hours north of Gonaives and is not very easy to get. We buy the material and also have to pay money for transporting it to us. It takes about 2 hours to make the small baskets and up to a day or two to make the larger ones. It is strenuous work and we need to stop and take breaks and stretch in the middle of it. Yes we get tired, but we are working! We are happy to have a profession that is respected and lets us make a good profit and earn what we need for our life. We provide food for our family, pay the kids school. With what we earn we take care of ourselves. We all have a lot of hope for the future. Our business is growing and we are building a future for our kids. -Ariel Dorval |
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Max Emile is 21 years of age and works for our partner organization in Haiti, HandUp Global Goods. "My dream is to be a pastor one day because I am grateful for the opportunities that He has given me. I am saving up money to build a small house in a town where there are a lot of hungry children. I want to be in a position to help take care of the children in this community. It is a pleasure for me to work for this program because it gets me one step closer to accomplishing my dreams." |
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Growing up in an environment where you must overcome challenges, Guddu has been resourceful from a young age and has made numerous efforts to contribute to his family needs. At the age of 14, Guddu left home to find work in other cities. But like many, time after time he was promised his wage only to be left with nothing after months of work. Now as a young man, Guddu has found a place working on our partner Causegear's products where he is paid a fair wage on time, all the while being challenged to greater levels and treated with respect. Little did he know, his resourcefulness would pay off as he daily solves technical problems and makes the most of every raw material and hand tool available to get the job done well. The joy of working in such an environment is impactful, known best by his great smile and energetic attitude in the workshop. Guddu | India |
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Bab leads a group of young men that work with Bamboo grown about an hour north of Gonaives. They make xylophones, windchimes and rain sticks and with these natural fiber. They also built a clay oven in Jubilee to make sturdy beads that are then hand painted and used in the Jewelry production. Bab is young but a natural leader. He and his team have big dreams for the community of Jubilee. They want to grow the guild and bring many more people into the workshop and give them good jobs. He works with diligence and respect for the people around him. 2nd Story Goods | Haiti |
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