Trashion Show

October 29, 2010

Tea lights flickered on the desk, dancing to the sound of ocean waves & flute music. I smoothed the skin across her brow in an effort to press the stress away. Working gently over her scalp, down her neck & kneading my way towards her shoulders I traversed muscles like steel cables tightly strung.

It was "Spa Night" at the shelter and time to pamper our hard working designers who have been working day and night on their rugs, dolls, and dresses that will be entered into the upcoming "Trashion Show" competition. A local modeling school which is run by Michelle, a British lady, offered to teach the women dressmaking techniques using recycled materials, then put on a professional fashion show (which sadly they cannot attend since they are undocumented and at risk of arrest if they leave the shelter.) This show will be a benefit to the two shelters I am working with; tickets sell for around $40. The Holiday Inn here has agreed to give us the ballroom for free, other companies are kicking in donations for printing, special lighting, refreshments, etc. and they will all get exposure as well. Both local papers will report; the Kuwait Times is working on a story on Trash to Treasure now. They have a wonderful Filipino reporter who spent over an hour at my house, then came to "spa night" to get more of the story and photos (miraculously they have agreed without any qualms to let them publish pics.)

I was wondering how I could reward these 30 ladies who are pouring such creativity and time into this project when I got a call from a lady who owns a beauty salon. Rebbecca saw the Trash To Treasure rugs at the British Business Forum where one of our new partners Crown Relocation, was selling rugs for us. She bought a rug & tracked me down to see how she could help. After purchasing 10 rugs, she wanted to do more! She was thrilled to bring her staff to the shelter to serve these ladies who could never afford her services but could benefit so much. Once again, before I even knew what to ask for, God had the answer "in the wings" and Rebbecca came, as promised 2 days later to the women's pure delight.

We set up the room with a table for nails, hair, space to continue working on their projects, and Yolly (Welfare manager) let us use her office as a quite space where I could give a few massages. At their request, I now have Michael Jackson hit songs on my ipod and they grooved to the music while they were pampered & watched each other get prettied up. We got platters of cookies for them to enjoy with plenty of of leftovers. I get teary just remembering the looks on their faces when they broke into applause after I told them the plan for the evening. It was like Christmas morning.

I asked my first "client" if she had any pain or spots that really needed attention. She told me her left arm is partly numb, partly painful...how long? One year. Ever seen a doctor? "When I get back to Philippines I will."

I had to use a very light touch through her arms & shoulders as everything seemed to hurt. I noticed her teeth were crying for a dentist and suffering from lack of care. Within minutes, she began to relax into the mat like butter in the sun. She didn't want to talk, it looked like she actually fell asleep...this was only a 15 minute massage...could she be that tired?

This precious lady ran away from her employer and found herself ensnared for 2 months in a brothel before getting to POLO where she was at least safe. If I were in her shoes, living with 200+ women and 3 bathrooms, I fear I would be upstairs staring at the wall. I know most of them ARE. We get to work with the brightest, most motivated women although the profits benefit everyone in the house. I do wonder what more we could do for the others...

My next two ladies seemed to want to talk while I worked their scalp, face, neck, shoulders & arm muscles. I loved getting to listen one-on-one about the 3 yr old daughter, the 7 yr old son...

Josie told me how she came on a contract to work in business as she has a college degree, but instead was placed as a house maid and has not been paid in the past 4 months. Her arms were small; she thinks they got smaller and weaker as she had to constantly lift heavy objects.

Rosita talked fast as I worked, pent up stories & concerns bubbled to the surface. After a few minutes, tears erupted as well. She wants to see her children when she gets back to the Philippines but then needs to try to work abroad again in a new place so she can provide for them. It sounded like her husband had been unfaithful but it was hard to understand. She told me she does not get enough to eat there, no fruit or vegetables except for beans. She was worried that when she does get to Manila, she will have no means of transportation to the island where she lives since she has not been paid and has no money. (I since determined there is assistance for the overseas workers once they arrive in Manila.) She asked me if I was a "born again Christian" and was happy to discover I shared her faith. When I finished her massage I asked if I could pray with her and she said "that is what I am waiting for."

Before we left I was able to make "bonus payments" to the ladies whose work I had sold this week, give feedback to our top rugmaker on her color schemes, make a fool of myself dancing with the girls to Jackson tunes, and introduce the reporter to the work being done. My faithful taxi driver, Kalai, was waiting patiently outside the locked gate to wisk me away from this world to my "other world" and I wonder, which is the real world?

(I also did a facebook photo album from this evening.)