One of the most beautiful parts of my Love Is Project journey is the incredible relationships I’ve built over the years. Real relationships with people in different parts of the world who I respect and LOVE. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought all sorts of unprecedented challenges, but it’s also brought a lot of possibilities.
In a small village called Juala, there are women artisans taking care of their families under an immense amount of pressure due to the pandemic restrictions. During a conversation with our on-the-ground artisan partners, I learned that basic items would help them to thrive during this difficult time.
So in August 2020, we donated the following supplies to them:
- 6 sewing machines
- 3 mixers
- 1 fridge
- 1 washing machine
- 1 bicycle
- 1 adaptive tricycle
- Food donations + kitchen utensils
The sewing machines and bicycles serve as essential tools to help these women continue to generate income.
While these supplies have been a HUGE help to our artisans, we still want to do more.
Traditionally, women in the village are not allowed to go to school. Gender dynamics within India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, are a big hurdle. We take care to partner with locals from different NGOs, mom and pop cottage industries, and social enterprises to ensure we support them, first and foremost. We’re never there to tell them how to handle their situation, but ask how we can SUPPORT them in their situation.
So, our team has been in talks with the village leaders to consider getting our women artisans a tutor through a local NGO to teach them literacy and financial literacy. Because if the women in their community are better educated, they’ll become more financially successful, therefore helping the village to thrive. In addition to getting them future tutoring support, we plan to help the village get solar electricity in 2021.
Your financial support will benefit the livelihoods of our artisan partners as well as their village community in wildly impactful ways.
DONATE NOW
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Also, before you go—be sure to check out our India bracelet collection.
XOXO,