| Country / Region: | India / Godavari River Delta |
|---|---|
| Project Summary: | Emmanuel Handicrafts is a Christian led organization that provides a holistic program for the women with: job skills training, medical help, and Bible studies and fellowship. |
Partner Overview
Emmanuel Handicrafts is located in one of the poorest areas in Ander Pradesh. It is subject to both environmental and social problems. Environmental problems include heavy rains, and flooding. There are many villages in this area that have no latrines or cement structures. Many villages have wells, but as they get closer to the Bay of Bengal, the water becomes un-potable due to large salt contents. These villages must pipe it in from a nearby town. Only three days a week the water is accessible. Families go to the pipe and collect their allotted 5 containers of water, knowing that they must make this last for two or three days.
Social problems for the poor in this area include issues due to the dowry system, which is very much a part of the culture in this area. Poor families do not have enough money for their daughter’s dowry, let alone two daughters. In India, it is shameful if a woman is not married. Therefore, the family must choose to allow their daughter to live with this shame, or to marry their daughter within the family. If they do this, then the dowry is very minimal, however birth defects are prevalent. In extremely poor towns, the effects of consanguine are especially evident, seen in birth defects, mental handicaps, and albinism.
Poverty also continues to prevail in this area. And yet, they have found a way to provide for themselves through the beautiful art of lace making. Many women have learned the art of lace making, brought in by Belgian and Irish missionaries. As their skill grew, they began to sell their lace at the local market. Due to cultural traditions, women were looked down on for working, and were often taken advantage of by the middle man.
The founder of Emmanuel Handicrafts was one of the women who made lace in the community. She learned that if the women banded together in the community, they could form a cooperative, thus eliminating the middle man, alleviating poverty, and encouraging community togetherness. Through this cooperative, women have the means of becoming self-sufficient. This is especially valuable to widows and unmarried women who are much more vulnerable to destitution.
Emmanuel Handicrafts cooperative helped to change the cultural perception of women. The past restrictions for women are diminishing, and husbands are no longer ashamed of their wives for making a product that they can sell. Emmanuel Handicrafts cooperative has had such a positive impact on the community that the women’s husbands proudly bring their lace to market. They’re happy that their wives also work to support the family. Widows and unmarried women are now self-supporting through Emmanuel Handicrafts.
Emmanuel Handicrafts currently works with 1,000 women in 30 different groups. Although not all of the women are widows, all of them need this job to support their families. Since every order matters, Emmanuel Handicrafts strives to be innovative and in touch with the international trends. Emmanuel Handicrafts cares about each artisan and knows their individual stories. If an artisan has an emergency, Emmanuel Handicrafts does all that it can to help. Emmanuel Handicrafts is sensitive to the needs of the community and is looking for more ways to bring hope to the poor in their area. Someday, they dream of having a community center with many different projects.
Bright Hope is privileged to be working with Emmanuel Handicrafts for the hope they bring to some of the poorest people in India. Your purchases of their beautiful craft help us to continue supporting Emmanuel Handicrafts as they reach out to their community.
