The Artisan Project
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Can your change really bring change?
In June 2017, I was in Quito Ecuador with Dunamis a ministry that works with young girls rescued from trafficking between the ages of 9-14. While there I learned that the government helps these young girls for 90 days. They take them to a shelter and the girls stay there until their 90 days are up. They are then taken back home.
The sad reality is that is where they were usually trafficked to begin with. Dunamis was building the Zoey House and it was not quite finished. The Zoey House was to be a home that would take the girls in after their 90 day stay with the government was up. Here they would receive counseling, trauma healing, and a safe place to heal in a God centered environment. They needed additional funds to complete this project. God was very clear, Marisa, tell their story. The Round it Up program was birthed from this trip. I told the story on social media and asked people to Round it Up. Our customers heard the stories and jumped in! They not only rounded it up but they added $5, $10, and $20 to their total purchase! We raised $5,000 and helped Dunamis complete the house.
In January 2018, God was very clear to me, Marisa, I need you to rescue a woman from trafficking. We launched our One Woman Campaign. For $4,440 a woman would be rescued from the Red Light District in Bangkok Thailand. Her salary and rent would be paid for a year, her children would receive a scholarship for school, and she would receive medical and dental benefits.
Our customers not only Rounded it Up but also wrote checks for this project!! We raised close to $40,000 and not only changed the course of 8 women's lives, we changed the trajectory of their children's lives.
In January 2019, I went to Bangkok Thailand to meet our ladies that we rescued, walked the Red Light District, and designed a new collection. God was very clear to me, Marisa, I need you to journey with these women.
The RESTORE Project was birthed. Their rent and salary would be paid, children would receive scholarships, the ladies would receive medical/dental benefits, and more trauma counseling, life skills and business training. Our community raised $12,000!
In January 2020 while sitting in DuHope's workshop in Kigali Rwanda, God spoke to my heart. Many of the artisans of DuHope still lived in the unsafe environment where they used to be sex workers. There was not enough jewelry work available to increase their income. What if the ladies received business training and an investment in their new business, how would their lives change? The Empowerment Project was born. We helped provide a way for the ladies to get better housing, business training and mentoring, and finally a capital investment in their new business. We rallied our community and was able to raise over $17,700!
These projects birthed a new idea. What if we were able to fund each and every God directed project? The Artisan Project was born. Customers would donate to a fund that has the ability to change lives around the world!
In 2021, we were able to:
- Reunite 3 women rescued from trafficking in India with their families
- Send $4,000 to our artisans in India for food and medical care while the country was being ravaged by the Delta variant
- Purchase 800 coffee seedlings for our coffee farmers in Haiti after the last earthquake
- Scholarship 10 of our artisans in Rwanda with literacy training.
So far in 2022, we have been able to:
- Purchase 7 sewing machines to finish a workshop in India
- Fully fund a generator for $11,200 in Haiti
Won't you join us in our next adventure, the Artisan Project. Your change can truly bring change. Just Round it Up!