Give to Give Hope

Guest Blog by Judy Lincoln of 10,000 Villages

This week’s theme in the 30 Days of Giving Challenge is “HOPE.”  It is unfortunate to think that, at this time of year, HOPE is all that some people have.  This week, I am here to challenge you to provide hope for those in need – in our community and abroad.  Each day throughout the week, I will be posting ideas and challenges to my Facebook and Twitter followers to encouraging the community to Give to Give Hope. 

The following Guest Blog comes Judy Lincoln of 10,000 Villages.  I am inspired by her words of hope and by the work on the organization that provides hope for so many. 

Judy's Blog

There are so many days where it is humbling to work for an organization that is celebrating 65 years of empowering artisans. Every day it is humbling to work with volunteers who are committed to ensuring we are here for another 65!

Ten Thousand villages began with an idea when Edna Ruth Byler, a Mennonite Central Committee worker, brought several pieces of embroidery home from impoverished women in Puerto Rico in 1946. She showed them to friends and neighbours who placed orders for more and the pieces soon became popular. Fair Trade had been born! Within three years she had sold $30,000 worth of women’s handicrafts. 

The flourishing project eventually moved out of Byler's basement and became known as SELFHELP Crafts. Thousands of loyal customers and volunteers have helped to build this program into the strong alternative trading organization that, in 1996, became Ten Thousand Villages.

In October, the 48 stores across Canada celebrated Fair Trade and our founder, the phenomenal Edna Ruth Byler. She was a forward thinking woman, who saw that employment for women could change their lives.

Today, many women in Bangladesh are changing their lives with Sacred Mark, one of the producer groups that work with Ten Thousand Villages.  They produce these small bars of soap that will do more than just clean your hands–they will show you the true effort it takes, and the results of such effort, to become a clean person.

The women of the Sacred Mark organization have changed their lives, from surviving their involvement in the Bangladeshi sex trade to choosing to earn a living by making soap instead. Importantly, these strong women are provided with a safe and respectful working environment to make products that cleanse hands around the world. Each bar of soap is packaged and sealed with the individual finger print of the artisan who created it, making each one unique and important.

Sacred Mark is one of the organizations which is under a program named “Pobitra.” Founded by Mennonite Central Committee, this program has since been passed on to be run by the Bangladeshi people.

Pobitra seeks to help the poor and unemployed inhabitants of Bangladesh, in the hopes of leading them to a better and safer way of living. These women participate in an eight-month-long training session, which not only educates them in art of soap-making, but also in literacy and peace, human rights, health and hygiene, and mental health. The graduates commit to starting a new stage in their lives, with a different goal and a different means of living. They are seen as being reborn into this new life.

Buying a Fair Trade product supports the women working at Sacred Mark and many more like them around the world.  Fair Trade gifts are a great way to celebrate the holiday season and there many items under $10 that can truly make a difference including the soaps of Sacred Mark. 

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Ten Thousand Villages has two locations in Ottawa, 371 Richmond Road (Westboro) and 1174 Bank Street (Old Ottawa South). With over 100 local volunteers, we are proud to be working with a common goal of creating opportunities for artisans to earn a living, and to tell their stories in the National Capital Region. 

You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our blog. 

To shop online and find stores across Canada, visit: www.TenThousandVillages.ca