"Recently, at one of the UK craft sessions, I asked one of the volunteers what her favourite craft activity was. Even if she had no intention of being particularly philosophical, her answer struck me as very profound. She explained that she liked the crafts where they reused materials that would normally be thrown away, such as turning pieces of broken china into mosaics.
Since then, I’ve been thinking about the beauty of this craft idea and it seems to me (with my great love of metaphors) to be a wonderful picture of the work that Craft Aid International does. People with disabilities are so often disregarded by society. Like broken pieces of china, they are often thought to be without potential and swept to the side. And I think this metaphor is applicable to everyone. Whoever we are, whatever our abilities, whatever our, race, gender, sexuality, culture, education etc., if we are truly honest with ourselves, we find that we are all broken.
But my hope and belief is that God’s love has the power to transform our fragile, imperfect, messy selves into something gloriously new and beautiful. And Craft Aid International’s history (which began with buckets of elephant dung!) gives us a wonderful glimpse of this reality, as people’s lives are being changed. Individuals are being empowered to realise their potential as a unique and beautiful part of their community."