Amid the arid lands of Afghanistan, where hills and snowcapped mountains surround deserts and poppy fields, a cloud of war hovers over the terrain and all who inhabit it. But there are those who, with the help of WorldCrafts, are finding a measure of hope.
An artisan in Afghanistan, whose work is available through WorldCrafts, stitches together tiny glass beads to make a bracelet.WorldCrafts, a fair-trade nonprofit ministry of Woman’s Missionary Union, is helping families through a partnership with an artisan group comprised of women who make jewelry, mosaics and other items.
The artisan group of about a dozen women will sell their handmade products through WorldCrafts and use the proceeds to pay for health care and education.
“I am very happy that we will soon start a literacy class here,” Natalia*, one of the artisans, said.
Forced to drop out of school at age 10 because of an illness, Natalia is illiterate. She lives with her mother, sister, two brothers and her brothers’ wives and children. Her father died when she was 11, and she and her sisters were forbidden to marry until her brothers had brides. Natalia, now 28, is deemed too old to marry. But she finds freedom in her ability to work.
“It is very good for me to have my own money,” she said. “I can provide everything for myself without asking my brother. Now I can even help my brother, and I put my nephew in school.”
At the age of 15, Asha* also understands the constraints of financial oppression. The ninth-grader resides in her paternal grandfather’s home with her mother, father, three sisters, three uncles and her uncles’ wives. Between her health problems and her mother’s, Asha and her family often wondered if they would have enough money for medical treatments and school for Asha and her sisters.
But the young girl who dreams of becoming a geologist finds some solace in her job as an artisan with WorldCrafts.
For each of these women and other artisans, working for WorldCrafts has given them a glimpse of life outside continuous war and poverty as well as a chance for success.
WorldCrafts works with 70 different artisan groups in 38 countries and has expanded its product line to about 370 items.
*Names changed for security reasons.