After being abducted by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) at the age of 13, Grace survived two years in the Northern Ugandan bush before she was able to escape. Today, Grace, among 22 other formerly abducted women, are employed as seamstresses by an organization known as Mend.
Since 1987, Kony’s army has abducted over 30,000 children, forcing them to become soldiers in his army or wives to his soldiers.
Grace, among thousands of other women, suffered the physical, emotional, and mental pain of being held captive by these men. Although the seamstresses were fortunate to escape, many were ostracized by friends and family upon return due to involvement with the rebels. In order to address these issues and work through traumatization, all of the women employed by Mend received three months of counseling and tailoring training through Invisible Children.
The Invisible Children is an organization that began in 2006 as an initiative to end the LRA conflict in Uganda. In addition to establishing numerous campaigns that rehabilitate and educate formerly abducted people, Invisible Children formed Mend as a social enterprise in 2009 in order to give women employment opportunities and create awareness around circumstances in Uganda.
As their Mother’s Day promotion, Mend seamstresses created beautiful limited edition clutches for women to receive on Mother’s Day. The clutches are a thoughtful gift for a mother that supports a mother in need.
In addition to clutches, MEND seamstresses, like Grace, also sew purses, handbags, and laptop sleeves all specifically designed by the Mend design team. Mend products range anywhere from $35 to $300. “It is an immense responsibility,” designer Juan-David Quinnones shared, “to make something that will last, add value to people’s lives, and tell an amazing story.” As Quinnones refers to, each bag shares a message from the woman who created it through a tag that has her picture and story on it.
When asked “Where did you get that great bag,” customers have the opportunity to share not only where their bag is from, but also who made it and why. Exchanges like these, thanks to Mend’s dedication, has transformed consumerism into a form of activism.
“One of our bottom lines is the growth of our seamstresses in all aspects of their lives,” professed Mend director Chris Sarette. In addition to the employment opportunity, Mend provides their seamstresses with a full-time social worker, literacy classes, and financial meetings to help the women grow holistically, for themselves and their families.
The Invisible Children Shop
– Heather Klosterman
Sources: Mend
Photo: MPc Magazine
Crisis in Rural Sudan
Conflicts over oil in Sudan, North Africa’s largest country, caused a series of price inflations that have greatly affected the population. As Sudan’s largest natural resource is oil, the country experienced years of turmoil and conflict with bordering countries over the rights to oil fields. The increase in the price of oil is further reflected in transportation, and the isolation gap between urban and more rural areas has grown. As a result of this isolation, rural areas are unable to access necessary resources and economic growth. These areas have experienced low human development and according to the World Bank Sudan ranks 171 out of 187 countries on the human development indicator. In order to better human development the country must focus more on social and economic factors, especially in these rural communities.
Sudan is mostly made up of rural areas, which are drastically affected by drought, famine and conflict. In particular, the region of Darfur has suffered considerably and is currently the poorest area of the country. In fact, the land in Sudan is unfit to farm because of unreliable rainfall and the area faces major drought. Due to these circumstances, more than half of the population of Sudan lives in poverty and isolation.
Sudan also faces inequality and underdevelopment for most people living in these areas. For instance, access to health services is scarce, leaving more than half of the population without access to health resources. Due to the lack of resources in the health sector the child mortality rate in Sudan is extremely high, with 111 child mortality deaths per 1,000 births. In addition to a high child mortality rate, more than half of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. Instead, these communities rely on rivers, wells, and lakes as their drinking source.
In addition to these factors, there is an extreme lack of education in Sudan, especially for young girls. Even if a young girl does have the option to attend school, she becomes at risk of rape and other forms of violence.
There is an obvious need for social and economic development in rural areas to increase Sudan’s overall human development. Children in rural communities must have equal opportunity for a safe education to improve these areas. Also, while there is a substantial focus on oil, the country should instead shift to agriculture so that proper farming practice can be promoted in rural communities. This would foster economic development and lessen the isolation gap that these rural areas currently face.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: The Guardian, Rural Poverty Portal
Photo: Energy Forecast
Bringing Clean Energy to Developing Countries
In 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched an initiative called Sustainable Energy for All. There are three primary objectives: (1) universal access to modern energy services, (2) doubling the rate of improvement in global energy efficiency and (3) doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The UN established these goals in the hopes of achieving worldwide sustainable energy access by 2030.
Three billion people currently lack access to affordable energy services for basic uses like cooking and heating. Another one billion people rely on erratic power grids. Sustainable Energy for All is an international effort to decrease the scope of this energy access issue. Introducing clean energy would reduce global emissions, improve the lives of the poor and support ongoing development goals. Additionally, embracing clean energy would help keep the average rise of global temperatures in check.
However, renewable energy has just recently become economically comparable to traditional fuels, and bringing clean energy services to rural and remote communities is a challenge. At the current rate of progress, the UN’s objectives under Sustainable Energy for All will likely not be achieved by the desired date. In fact, the International Energy Agency calculates that around 1 billion people will still not have access to electricity in 2030.
Energy inequality is especially significant for women and girls living in poor or secluded areas. Many risk their safety by spending hours a week collecting firewood far away from home. Conventional kerosene lamps and cooking fires contribute to a number of health issues, such as heart disease and breathing issues. To combat the problem, nations like the United States, China and Vietnam have proposed expanding electricity grids. However, the logistics of doing so would be difficult; it is especially expensive for rural communities with low populations.
Luckily, clean energy technologies are becoming more affordable, making them stronger contenders with conventional power sources. However, reaching universal access to energy services would cost $48 billion. Approximately $37 billion is already spent annually on kerosene and traditional cooking fuels, such as charcoal. On the other hand, the clean energy industry is maturing – now constituting $250 billion of the global economy.
A new wave of clean energy entrepreneurs has emerged as a result. SunFarmer, based in the United States, is one of several non-profit organizations that helps bring reliable and affordable solar electricity to hospitals and schools in remote developing areas. The market for solar-powered products (such as televisions, radios and even water pumps) is growing as well. As part of the Sustainable Energy for All campaign, the UN created the Energy Access Practitioner Network in 2011. The Network facilitates the delivery of energy services to developing countries and supports the implementation of new renewable technologies.
In order to fully integrate clean energy services into the developing world, government subsidies for charcoal and kerosene should first be eliminated or decreased. Additionally, tariffs on imports for clean energy products should be abolished; more than 30 countries currently impose taxes on imported products like solar lanterns and clean stoves. Once these policies are addressed, clean energy technologies could have a much better chance of reaching the developing world.
— Kristy Liao
Sources: Huffington Post, Nature, Sustainable Energy, UN Foundation
Photo: United Nations
Bolivia: A Minimum Wage Dilemma
In the wake of recent national economic gains, Bolivian President Evo Morales has promised that the nation’s minimum wage will increase by 10 percent. The move is a hotly debated one concerning Bolivian unions, and the employer federation has been embroiled in the debate for some time. The labor unions applaud it, saying it would equalize things between the “haves and have-nots,” while the Confederation of Private Entrepreneurs (CEPB) spurned it and contended that it would increase taxation. A BBC report also notes that President Morales is in an election year and may have had political reasons for siding with union wishes.
The same BBC piece also points out that “Bolivia’s gross domestic product tripled to $27 [billion] in 2012 since Mr. Morales took office in January 2006, according to World Bank figures.” Changes to the national Constitution and increasing the role of the state contributed to the gains, along with “high commodity prices and a prudent macroeconomic policy.” The World Bank also states that public debt dropped vastly, bolstering the banks in the process and alleviating national poverty to a great degree.
However, despite the gains nearly half of all Bolivians still live in poverty. The unpredictability of commodity pricing can affect and potentially reverse positive gains, so private industry must play a more substantial economic role. Bolivia’s informal economy, where a large portion of the population finds work, “results in lower productivity” according to the World Bank. Lagging infrastructure is also a deterrent to further and faster progress.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is projecting slower economic growth in Latin America in 2014. “Weak investment and subdued demand for the region’s exports held back activity in 2013… For 2015, the IMF projects a modest pickup, to 3 percent. The key risk is a sharper decline in commodity prices caused by weaker demand.” More specifically, growth in Bolivia “is projected to fall sharply in 2014, to about 2.75 percent from nearly 6 percent in 2013.”
President Morales may be trying to draw support from his political base with his pledge to increase the Bolivian minimum wage. In 2013, Morales was publicly inveighed when per diems paid to the families of Morales and his vice president were worth “more than twice the minimum monthly wage,” according to an AFP report. The money covered travel expenses when the families accompanied the leaders on official trips. Political rival Adrian Oliva likened the per diems to stealing and contended that Morales had abandoned his socialist roots.
The science behind hiking minimum wage rates is contentious to say the least, often crossing the proverbial bridge from impartial observation to political overtones. However, the work of UC Irvine economist David Neumark and William Wascher of the Federal Reserve Board can’t be easily disputed. A Forbes report said they “determined that 85 percent of the best research points to a loss of jobs following a minimum wage increase.” Empirically, the wage increases aimed at eliminating poverty also quash private sector employment and hiring; a study in the Journal of Human Resources posits that higher minimum wage can increase poverty.
What lies ahead for Bolivia and the rest of the Latin American region remains to be seen as outside economic forces control the commodity rates that are so woven into recent economic gains. In a race for political power and reelection, Bolivia’s Evo Morales has evidently chosen to adhere to the populist vision that won him initial favor, but at what cost?
Do large-scale informal economic gains qualify as a national victory when nearly half of all Bolivians are still considered poor? Does alienating the private sector through a push for more reforms mean greater prosperity and long-term economic growth and stabilization? What is clear is empirical evidence suggesting that minimum wage hikes do more harm than good, even in a strong commodities market. President Morales may be best served to explore other options that appeal not only to national unions and workers but to the firms who employ them, thereby increasing private investment and paving the proverbial road out of Bolivian poverty.
– Dave Smith
Sources: BBC, WorldBank, Free Malaysia Today, Global Post, Forbes
Photo: Interet General Info
Favelas in Rio
In Brazil, especially in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the wealthy tend to live closest to the sea. Favelas, or shantytowns, are slums in Brazil that are located farther away from the water on hills. They started out as an inexpensive housing option for returning Brazilian soldiers and freed African slaves in the 19th century. In Rio de Janeiro, a city of about six million people, approximately 20 percent live in favelas.
The urban phenomenon of favelas grew during the dictatorship of Gétulio Vargas, who pushed for greater industrialization within Brazil, which brought in more immigrants to Rio de Janeiro and therefore more occupants into the cheaper form of housing.
The 600 favelas in Rio de Janeiro today are mostly known for their high levels of poverty and crime, with numerous drug trafficking groups and street gangs operating within the various favelas that dot the hills of Rio de Janeiro. Favelas are also known for their relative lack of public services and government attention. Brazil is known to be one of the most unequal countries economically, with the top 10 percent of the population earning 50 percent of the national income and 8.5 percent of people living below the poverty line.
The location of favelas makes it difficult for the Brazilian government to provide proper public services, and as such makes it harder for the government to establish a positive presence in the favelas, which only furthers the cycle of violence as gangs are given more or less free reign.
This security issue within the favelas has been addressed by the introduction of a government program in 2008 that aimed to crack down on violence in the slums. Such programs are proving especially important ahead of the upcoming World Cup. The program installs permanent “police pacification units” (PPUs) throughout the favelas to deter crime and rid the favelas of the most serious gangs.
These PPUs are becoming a more widely accepted form of security control on behalf of the government. In Rio de Janeiro alone there are currently around 37 PPUs covering an area of about 1.5 million people, yet these PPUs have been criticized in Brazil for their severe tactics in dealing with local residents. Right now more than 24 policemen are facing charges for allegedly torturing a local resident of a favela.
More positive government policies have been successful in bringing 40 million Brazilians into the middle class over the last decade. Moreover, nationwide statistics indicate that 15.9 percent of Brazilians were impoverished in 2012, down from 18 percent in 2011. But Brazil is a land of contradictions, and despite this impressive decrease in poverty the South American nation remains the 12th most unequal nation in terms of income. Although Brazil should certainly be commended for its substantial decrease in poverty, policies should be implemented to ensure further social inclusion for those living on the margins.
– Jeff Meyer
Sources: IRIN News, G1, BBC News, NPR, BBC News
Photo: Blog Spot
Gender Inequality in Nepal’s Education System
Nepal’s education system has faced many problems since the mid 1800s. The first education system in Nepal was only available to elite families, and Nepali people did not have access to education until 100 years later in the 1950s. Current day education in Nepal is still in the developing stage and did not really start integrating the use of technology in the classroom until 2007.
One of the biggest problems in Nepal’s education system is female education. This issue has been neglected since the 1950s. In fact, there is an extreme inequality in the literacy rate between men and women. In Nepal, 71 percent of men can read and write, whereas only 44 percent of women can. This is a staggering inequality for women’s education and is a direct link to areas of poverty in Nepal.
Another issue in relation to women’s education is that parents do not have enough money to ensure their children have access to proper education. The issue of poverty is taking a toll on Nepal’s education system. The public school scores are very low; in 2013, 72 percent of students from those schools failed their exit exams. This leaves 335,912 public school students with no access to a future or hope in achieving their dreams. Furthermore, statistics provided by the Teach for Nepal foundation, which is aimed at giving these students access to educational resources, stated that 85 percent of first graders will drop out of the school system and 25 percent of the students left cannot count to double digits.
To illustrate the issues that Nepal’s public school systems face, the children need access to clean drinking water while they attend school as well as at home. Nepal faces extremely hot temperatures and school buildings are covered by a tin roof. This makes the thirsty children endure unbearable heat while attending school. This includes nurseries, kindergarten and lower grades as well. The lack of water and high temperatures result in the children having difficulty concentrating and comprehending the material at hand. Thus, this combined with child malnutrition in Nepal, children in public schools do not have an advantage to performing well and tend to fall behind or drop out of school.
Given these facts, Nepal’s school system is indeed fairly new and continuing to develop, but there is still limited access to public schools. This limited access is a result of isolation of women from continuing education which leads families into poverty. Also, Nepal’s social structure discourages people from pursuing teaching professions and is more geared towards STEM subjects like math, science and engineering. Once those problems are solved, Nepal can move forward with the developing public school system and continue to rise in human development as well.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: Global Issues
Photo: Travel to Teach
IKEA Improves Lives with Global Philanthropy
The IKEA Foundation’s 2013 annual report celebrates a year of exciting achievements and a growing commitment to global development.
Established in 2009, the IKEA Foundation is the philanthropic entity associated with IKEA, the popular Swedish home furnishings company. In the past year, the foundation has gained 12 new partners and donated 101 million euros to those partner organizations, contributing to the continued implementation of innovative children’s programs. With the support of a new Brazilian partner organization, the IKEA Foundation has also been able to reach children in South America for the first time. In addition, a number of partners have also started to develop emergency shelters for displaced refugees.
Compared to the total monetary donation in 2012 (82 million euros), the IKEA Foundation’s 2013 contribution saw a 21 percent overall increase in giving. IKEA’s Soft Toys for Education campaign raised 10.1 million euros and helped 11 million children. Moreover, the foundation’s projects throughout 2013 impacted children in 35 different countries.
The IKEA Foundation focuses on four areas of development: fighting child labor and promoting children’s rights, improving the lives of refugee children and families, empowering women and girls as well as disaster relief. The foundation also funds education projects for children and works to change current social attitudes towards child labor in developing communities. In 2013, the IKEA Foundation helped UNICEF and Save the Children fight child labor in India and Pakistan. By reaching out to farmers, families and other community leaders, the foundation hopes to raise awareness of the dangers that children face in the workplace – specifically, in the cotton, carpet and metalware industries. Additionally, the foundation’s new partnership with Care for Children is helping place orphans into supportive and loving families in Asia.
In conjunction with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the IKEA Foundation is working to develop safer and more durable emergency shelters for refugees. Innovative additions (such as solar lighting) are expected to increase the lifespan of current refugee camps. Last year, UNHCR began experimenting with the reworked shelters in Ethiopia, taking into account the feedback provided by refugee families living in the newly developed camps.
The IKEA Foundation continues to support KickStart, a partner organization that trains women in southern Africa to grow and sell crops, launch their own businesses and establish a reliable income. The foundation also expanded the number of scholarship opportunities for women and girls to get an education. Currently, the IKEA Foundation’s partnership with the Lila Poonawalla Foundation helps 1,900 poor Indian women pursue higher education in fields like engineering, agriculture and healthcare.
By giving cash grants to its partners, the IKEA Foundation strives to help families immediately after disasters and other conflicts. During the past year, partner organizations used IKEA’s grants to provide medical care to Syrian refugees. After Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, many partners brought emergency supplies to devastated communities. The IKEA Foundation itself has donated IKEA toys and products to around 1.2 million affected children around the world.
The IKEA Foundation has clearly expanded its goals and reached several new milestones in 2013, but CEO Per Heggenes believes that the foundation has more to offer. “The journey continues,” he wrote, “and we still have lots to accomplish.”
– Kristy Liao
Sources: IKEA Foundation
Photo: INiTs
Bolivia Raises Minimum Wage
Following recent labor union protests in Bolivia, demanding an increase in the minimum wage, President Evo Morales has acquiesced to their demands by increasing the Bolivian minimum wage 20 percent from 1,200 Bolivianos (around $175) to 1,488 Bolivianos (about $215). This increase in the minimum wage has come as a result of a small but concerted effort on behalf of the Bolivian Central Labor Union to agitate for change. Workers were concerned that their wages were not keeping up with inflation, which is currently sitting at 6.5 percent.
Morales explained the reason for the increase in the minimum wage is the economic growth Bolivia has experienced recently, which grew at a rate of 5.2 percent in 2012.
The leader of the Bolivian Central Labor Union, Juan Carlos Trujillo, stated that he asked Morales to recognize “the need and the obligation to create a salary structure which is based on the country’s growth and the recognition that the riches of Bolivia have to be shared between the haves and the have-nots in equal measure.”
Other groups were not so pleased with the announced rise in the minimum wage, saying that the move would simply result in workers paying more through taxes. Moreover, the move can also be seen as political maneuvering and as an attempt to curry favor amongst the workers in time for presidential elections in October, when Morales is going to run for a third term.
The original proposal by the government was for the minimum wage to be increased by 10 percent, until trade unions negotiated a higher rise. Analysts have noted that the increase in the minimum wage would not affect the majority of workers since most people earn above 1,400 Bolivianos (about $203.) The rise would affect house workers and trash men.
Morales himself was a notable leader in the cocalero trade union movement for indigenous coca growers prior to being elected president. Since being elected president in 2006, Morales has helped triple Bolivia’s gross domestic product to $27 billion.
– Jeff Meyer
Sources: La Razon, BBC, Bolivia Information Forum
Photo: Nation of Change
Israeli Entrepreneurs and Global Development
In recent years, Israel has often been dubbed “Startup Nation” – a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation. Tel Aviv is ranked the world’s second startup ecosystem behind California’s Silicon Valley, and Israeli entrepreneurs set up around 600 to 700 million new tech companies each year. These entrepreneurs are extraordinary when it comes to implementing creative ideas and raising early stage funding, contributing to Israel’s record of having the largest venture capital industry per capita in the world.
There are certainly explanations for the success of Israel’s startup scene; a well-educated entrepreneurial population, long work hours, strong funding and high employment for new startups can all be seen as contributing factors. But while Israeli citizens are doing an incredible job of setting up their companies, they have not yet established a history of building long-lasting ones. Instead, it is common for Israeli startups to sell out to larger firms after a few years. These larger firms are almost always foreign companies, who quickly acquire the startups and convert them into research and development centers.
Lately, however, the trend appears to be shifting. Israeli entrepreneurs are making efforts to build lasting, full-fledged businesses. Additionally, more Israeli companies are striving to go public in the United States. Around 70 companies listed on the NASDAQ are Israeli or affiliated with Israel in some way – the most out of any other country, with the exceptions of only the United States and China.
Israel is also looking to use its booming startup scene to contribute to global development. A Devex article noted that new companies should focus on pressing issues like poverty and child mortality, emphasizing the need to concentrate “not only on creating the next Waze to help people navigate around traffic, but also to find solutions for some of the world’s most pressing development challenges.”
Currently, 1.2 million people live in extreme poverty, and 19,000 children under the age of five die each day. Many of those deaths are preventable, and Israel’s track record of startup victories could be the answer. Recently, 70 young entrepreneurs, innovators and international development professionals met at the 2014 Israeli Designed International Development (ID2) to discuss entrepreneurship for global development. These 70 people are at the vanguard of social entrepreneurship – designing medical devices to fight cervical cancer, developing online platforms to address high unemployment in rural areas, providing a way for the poor to design and pursue their own community impact projects.
Helen Clark, the head of the United Nations Development Program, was reportedly “blown away” by the entrepreneurial strength of the ID2 participants. And ID2’s venue of choice – Israel – was well-chosen. Israeli entrepreneurs are already making great strides toward development challenges and social betterment. For example, the Chilean government successfully alerted millions of citizens to an approaching tsunami in early April with the help of eVigilo, an Israeli startup that serves as a mass notification and emergency communication platform. With its innovative spirit and entrepreneurial clout, Israel is capable of producing many more social enterprises like this. In time, “Startup Nation” could truly make its mark in global development.
– Kristy Liao
Sources: Devex, Forbes, Wharton, JNS
Photo: Baruch College
NGO Disappointed with 2015 House Budget Proposal
In its recently released April 2014 newsletter, Bread for the World voiced its “deep disappointment” for the 2015 fiscal year House budget proposal. This proposal, introduced by Representative Paul Ryan, makes deep cuts to programs that help poor and hungry people in the United States and abroad.
The budget proposal cuts over $5 trillion over 10 years and calls for many changes to low-income programs. These policy changes will kick an estimated four million people out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, program. The changes to SNAP are significant, as assistance will now come in the form of a federal block loan and will not be able to increase should need arise. Negative impacts also reach Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and low-income tax credits.
The House’s proposal also cuts the International Affairs budget by 11 percent. Decreases to the International Affairs budget are detrimental to the success of food aid and other humanitarian efforts and undermine U.S. ability to fight poverty in the world’s poorest countries. The proposal also moves the Millennium Challenge Corporation to the position of lead agency for foreign development assistance, diminishing USAID’s role in ending global hunger.
Although many agree that federal spending is out of control, David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World, believes that pulling funding for programs that support the most vulnerable is clearly a poor reallocation of resources. “Fiscal responsibility means not sacrificing our commitment to reducing hunger and poverty for the sake of reducing a deficit that vulnerable people did not create,” Beckmann states. “Lawmakers must stop violating the basic principle to protect ‘the least of these’ in budget decisions, which Congress has adhered to in all major budget agreements over the past 30 years.”
– Madisson Barnett
Sources: Bread for the World, Bipartisan Policy Center
Photo: PennLive
Mend: Restoring Hope One Stitch at a Time
After being abducted by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) at the age of 13, Grace survived two years in the Northern Ugandan bush before she was able to escape. Today, Grace, among 22 other formerly abducted women, are employed as seamstresses by an organization known as Mend.
Since 1987, Kony’s army has abducted over 30,000 children, forcing them to become soldiers in his army or wives to his soldiers.
Grace, among thousands of other women, suffered the physical, emotional, and mental pain of being held captive by these men. Although the seamstresses were fortunate to escape, many were ostracized by friends and family upon return due to involvement with the rebels. In order to address these issues and work through traumatization, all of the women employed by Mend received three months of counseling and tailoring training through Invisible Children.
The Invisible Children is an organization that began in 2006 as an initiative to end the LRA conflict in Uganda. In addition to establishing numerous campaigns that rehabilitate and educate formerly abducted people, Invisible Children formed Mend as a social enterprise in 2009 in order to give women employment opportunities and create awareness around circumstances in Uganda.
As their Mother’s Day promotion, Mend seamstresses created beautiful limited edition clutches for women to receive on Mother’s Day. The clutches are a thoughtful gift for a mother that supports a mother in need.
In addition to clutches, MEND seamstresses, like Grace, also sew purses, handbags, and laptop sleeves all specifically designed by the Mend design team. Mend products range anywhere from $35 to $300. “It is an immense responsibility,” designer Juan-David Quinnones shared, “to make something that will last, add value to people’s lives, and tell an amazing story.” As Quinnones refers to, each bag shares a message from the woman who created it through a tag that has her picture and story on it.
When asked “Where did you get that great bag,” customers have the opportunity to share not only where their bag is from, but also who made it and why. Exchanges like these, thanks to Mend’s dedication, has transformed consumerism into a form of activism.
“One of our bottom lines is the growth of our seamstresses in all aspects of their lives,” professed Mend director Chris Sarette. In addition to the employment opportunity, Mend provides their seamstresses with a full-time social worker, literacy classes, and financial meetings to help the women grow holistically, for themselves and their families.
The Invisible Children Shop
– Heather Klosterman
Sources: Mend
Photo: MPc Magazine