Rags To Riches!

March 23, 2010

After several setbacks with this project, I'm basking in a moment of success. We knew we were making a difference with many women in terms of their own personal growth and confidence, we knew they were improving the quality of their product, what we didn't know FOR SURE was: will these sell well??? I took 22 rugs to my Bible study group of about 50 women today, sold 11 of them and the girls made $426.00 of PURE PROFIT!!! Oh, minus a box of paper clips to be exact:) We sold some rugs and some jewelry on the night of the exhibit & graduation (see photos) and now we are at over $600.00 sales. I'm so thankful for this God inspired idea which looks to benefit these women so much. Thankful too for youtube where I learned to make them myself! I'm developing friendships with several tailors, two of the Pakistani, who are so much a part of this too. They save their fabric remnants and are now welcoming me with big smiles when I show up to collect the trash bags full. They work long, hard, hours in tiny shops where the low ceiling supports another floor crammed full of sewing machines & men bowed over them. They seem to be so happy to help someone a few steps below them on the ladder.

Our "graduation" celebration was a sweet time. It was lovely to see the work displayed all over the room and to have guests come and share in their success. There was confusion of who actually got the gold embossed certificates, signed by the labor attache. These documents are highly coveted and proudly embraced by this culture it seems. We wanted them to be meaningful, but then it was hard to draw the line of who could graduate...if they missed one class, two classes? This time we have made a contract for them to sign up front that states requirements for graduation, expected work ethics (don't keep or give away what you have made:) and guidelines for managing their resources. We ALL learned a lot this first go 'round!

The top photo is me with Yoli, the welfare officer with the impossible job. She works unbelievable hours and always seems very stressed and rushed. She came to the event and stayed after the ceremony for picture taking and ended up laughing & goofing off with the "wards" and it was such a fun evening in a place so filled with sad stories. She said she felt no stress at all that night.

The fact that all their fabric had to be thrown out due to an infectious skin condition of one lady, one of the dear ladies had to go to jail in order to get to return home instead of her agency buying her a plane ticket, quarrels over who would get the limited fabric when I began to bring more, "loss" of jeans taken to them to make purses, and missing jewelry making supplies....we have much more to celebrate than be discouraged over! I pray God will give us the ability to "seek first to understand before seeking to be understood" just as we are teaching them.