Tell us a bit about yourselves:

Mark: I have played the piano since I was 6 years old and did a BA in Jazz at Middlesex University, yes you can do a degree in Jazz. I love the outdoors, hiking is one of my great joys which is awesome in the Peak District, not so good in Enfield! I have been on the staff at Jubilee Church London for the last 4 years. During my time there I feel I have grown a huge amount in my faith and walk with God and am more and more persuaded of his good plan for my life and my call to walk in simple obedience to him.

Lydia: I am 26 years old, brought up in the south of England. Art has been my favourite subject throughout education and I did a BA in Jewellery and Accessories at Middlesex University graduating in 2012. I have always been more drawn to oversized sculptural jewellery than the mainstream glitzy jewellery. I know I’m called to use my artistic talents to show God’s love and compassion to others. 

How did you find out about Craft Aid International? And what led to your decision to work in Ecuador?

Mark: I’ll let Lydia handle this one….

Lydia: In the work placement year of my Jewellery degree I volunteered for a few months at Neema Crafts Centre in Tanzania, having visited the project the previous summer on a 3 week mission trip with Soap Box. Volunteering at Neema is the closest I’ve ever got to doing a dream job so, having worked for Costa Coffee for the last 5 years, I decided it was time for a change. I longed to use my creative gifts again but I have always known I want to use them for more than just myself. 

I contacted Susie and found out about the Peru project and the possible project in Ecuador, which needed someone willing to go out and set it up. With this being a voluntary overseas position, Mark and I thought and prayed long and hard about it and we finally decided that this was such a wonderful opportunity that we couldn’t miss. We strongly feel called by God to this project as he has given us the skills and gifts for such a work, although we’re still really praying to learn Spanish quicker!

What will you be doing? How long will you be going for?

Mark: In a nut shell, we will be setting up a craft-based social enterprise employing people with physical disabilities and providing them with training and a living wage. People with physical disabilities in South America are often unemployed, undervalued and on the fringes of society. This project will aim to enable and empower physical disabled people and demonstrate their worth to the community and themselves.

My role will be very fluid, doing basically what ever needs to be done on that day. I’ll look after our social media stuff, finances and record-keeping and any general handiwork that needs doing. I’m semi proficient with a drill but I do have an unfortunate tendency to stick sharp blades into my hands so Lydia might be doing some first aid! As I am not the arty one I will leave Lydia to explain what we’ll actually be producing….

Lydia: As Mark said it will be a craft-based project and we will hopefully start by producing our own handmade paper, as all the resources needed will be available and it is a great product to get started with. We will also look to produce things like earrings, bracelets and other small jewellery items and a lot will depend on what is available in the local area. It’s an interesting prospect to have to design craft products based on the resources available and on the abilities of the employees who will be making them and I’m really excited about this challenge. We have committed to 1 year but by the time we’re settled and the project has started I can see us staying for 18 months at least!

What are you looking forward to over the next year or so?

Mark: I’m looking forward to so many aspects but my main thing is that I can’t wait to see Lydia out there, in her element, and all the amazing things I know God is going to do though her and the project. I’m also very excited to travel to a new place (never been to South America before) meet lots of new people and see all the incredible scenery and wildlife that Ecuador has to offer. 

Lydia: I’m really looking forward to travelling to a new place, experiencing a new culture and of course eating new food! I’m so excited to be submersed in creative thinking again and to use creative work to help transform the lives of those who we are working with and I’m delighted to be able to do this with Mark. I know this year is going to be full of many ups and downs and plenty of challenges but I’m so looking forward to seeing how God will work in those situations, bringing us out the other side better and stronger for the experience. ​

If you would like to support the valuable work of Mark and Lydia, you can donate here. Thank you!
​

Natasha first came to our craft sessions as a participant, but she now volunteers for us and sometimes writes articles about our work too. Here's a snippet from her latest piece of writing. Keep an eye out for this article in Harrogate newspapers! 

"I cannot believe that in 2016 people with any form of disability are made to feel worthless and face discrimination on a daily basis. With the Olympics and Paralympics still fresh in our minds, we should now hope that people with all forms of disability, whether it's mental, physical, or emotional, get recognised with their own rights, and are given the recognition they all deserve, whether they are famous or not.

My name is Natasha, I have epilepsy and a form of dyslexia. On the outside, I look like an everyday person. Alas, I sometimes have problems fitting into society. I have been known to get strange looks when I show the conductor my bus pass. Some get really big eyes when I say, “Oh mine is a Disabled pass....” "But what is wrong with you?”, they all think. “You don't look disabled.”

I am a very creative, people person, who loves to make things, help others to learn new skills and make craft goods. Not having all the skills, space, or equipment myself, I am honoured to be able to volunteer for Craft Aid International. It's one of the only places I feel accepted.

At the beginning of the craft classes, everyone bustles around, helping to unload the car, and set up the equipment. Then we have a brief meeting about what we are making today, and if needed, we’re given instructions on how to make the items. Then once all the participants have arrived, the fun begins! And we get to choose one of up to four different crafts. We make greetings cards, flower brooches, mosaics, jewellery, marbled paper and more. At the moment, we are making Christmas goods!

We will also have lots of different wools, and with the help of our friendly volunteers, you will have a chance to make your very own funky Pom-Pom. All we ask is a small donation, and for you to remember us, and tell all your friends about us! We look, forward to seeing you there to share in our excitement!" ​​​ ​

You can read the full article here.

At today's Harrogate workshop, I asked some of the people on my table to describe Thursday afternoon craft sessions in three words. They struggled to stop at three. As I was feeling lenient, I thought I would let them expand a little!

They all said that friendship was an important part of CAI craft workshops. "It's an opportunity to meet people from different walks of life" says Sara.

"Every week is different. You never know what you will be doing that week". "Spontaneous" was another word they used! Craft sessions are exciting and different, as well as calming and therapeutic. One lady explained how the sessions are clever, beacause you don't just learn how to make crafts, but the workshops also encourage personal growth. "It's an opportunity to learn patience and kindness."

They are illuminating, because you learn new crafts, but you also learn about different people with different stories and different abilities." Several agreed that if you ever come feeling sad, you always meet people at the craft session whose outlook on life is so positive, even though they have faced huge difficulties and struggles. "It puts in things in perspective." 

Natasha originally came to our craft sessions as a participant (see her last blog post about the craft sessions), but she now volunteers with us too and does a brilliant job. Here she writes about her experience and all the skills she’s learnt:
 
“I now not only help out at craft class, but also help at different talks, and craft stalls, where we get the opportunity to show the world the wonderful work done by Craft Aid International. We get to meet people and spread the word about CAI’s work. We write down what is sold, so that we know what products the consumer likes to buy,

I love the craft sessions too, and have now learned to always go with an open mind. I never think I know how to make everything, because I’m always amazed by all the new and exciting crafts we learn every week. So far I have learnt how to do tie-dying, how to make jewellery, felt flower accessories and paper-beads.

Some of my most enjoyable times have been working closely with the other disabled participants, giving them one to one help and support when needed. Or just, being there for them. All the smiles, laughter and joy warms my heart. The pride that you both feel when you see the finished item is priceless. I would love to bottle it all, and give it as a present to the families of the participants. I would love them to see the participants’ work. I think it would be really rewarding for them, in every way imaginable.”

Ella writes: After a whirlwind of a time in Peru, we arrived back in the UK a week ago. We returned to Lima for a day after leaving Arequipa to find a few more specific beads for the jewellery prototypes (such as the one in the photo above) that Ellie, Susie and Fiona had designed during the week. In Lima, we visited a silver jewellery shop, where the lady serving us asked Susie where her bracelet was from. It was one of the bracelets we had made in Arequipa with the group of people with learning disabilities. It was really encouraging to hear that there could be a market for such a product in Peru, especially from someone who is in the jewellery business herself. 

Since coming back to the UK, we've been working on a new Craft Aid film about the project in Peru, so keep a look out for this on our website (coming soon to a computer screen near you!) Whilst we were away, the craft sessions in Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds continued as usual, and some of our volunteers held an Easter stall, selling some of the crafts made in our sessions (I hear that fluffy chicks and chocolate were a feature.)

There is lots coming up for Craft Aid over the next few months, including an exhibition at a Christian youth event and our Summer Ball. (Head over to the events page and book your tickets!) Preparations are now getting underway!

Ella writes: Yesterday was a very productive day! Ellie and Fiona, our new design volunteers, sorted out some things for their stay here (they will soon be appearing on our meet the team page!) and Ellie also taught one of the differently-able artisans how to make a new earring design, which she picked up extremely quickly! We found out how she and her sister, another one of the differently-able artisans, had been getting on with the new bracelets over the weekend, and they had already produced twenty high quality bracelets in one afternoon!

I had the chance to interview her, as well as the two ladies who run the group for people with disabilities at the church. There is so much I could write about here, but time is a little limited, as we are about to head off to the church again. The thing that struck me most was actually quite a small detail, but I think it speaks clearly of the joy that Craft Aid's work brings. One of the ladies told me that the differently-able workers are so happy to now be earning some money, which allows them to contribute to family life. One of the participants bought the turkey for the Christmas dinner for the first time ever this year!

Later in the afternoon, we bought a few materials for the session today and briefly visited the shop where some of our products are sold. I finished the day with a hot chocolate Peruvian-style; this involved cream and vanilla ice cream!

Now off to meet the group of people with learning disabilities at the church to make some paper beads!

Ella writes:

​This month has been a busy one as usual, with craft-training sessions for volunteers, preparation for a trip to Peru, our Back-to-the-Blitz fundraising party, as well as plenty of other things to keep us occupied. Not that we really need to be ‘kept occupied’ in the Craft Aid office - I don’t think we will ever run out of things to do!
 
At our craft-training sessions this month, Susie taught the volunteers how to do screen-printing; everyone enjoyed getting stuck in:

And if you look closely at the photo on the right, you will see that yet again glitter is involved in this craft activity. #Glitterforever! Craft Aid's new tagline perhaps?

Susie has also been introducing some new beautiful card designs to be made in our UK therapeutic craft sessions. For the tea-drinkers (so most of the British population I imagine), we now have a very cute tea-cup design. Keep an eye out for this one, as these cards may get snapped up rather quickly…
 
One of the highlights of the month was our Back-to-the-Blitz party in aid of our project in Peru. 

There was lots of fantastic dressing up (including some great fake moustaches and victory roll hair-styles), a photo booth with some funky props, plenty of bacon baps and chocolate cake, as well as an absolutely awesome 14-piece Jazz band (The NightFlyers), who volunteered to play throughout the evening, so we could all dance the night away! They played a mixture of old and new tunes, all in a typically 1940’s Big Band-style. A huge thank you to them for generously giving up their time to join us and give us an incredible night!

Take a look at some more photos of the event over in our gallery to get a better idea of the highly vintagey atmosphere! ​We are still in the process of working out the financial income from the evening, but we have definitely raised a really good amount towards our work in Peru, so thank you to everyone who came and supported us. We’re sending a volunteer design-graduate to Arequipa very soon, which will help the project to progress further, but more about that exciting news in another post.
 
And so for now, cheerio! (The 1940’s effect still hasn’t worn off quite yet…)

Ella writes:

"​It’s Friday morning, and I’m on my way to a CAI craft session hosted by a traditional Anglican church. To the eye of the outsider, it might appear to be a sleepy one, but my experience of Friday morning craft sessions proves this to be far from the truth. If I arrive feeling a little sleepy myself (my usual state on a Friday morning), I certainly don’t stay that way for long. Within the first few minutes of my arrival, one of the volunteers is urging us to set up the crafts and get going. Even before all the participants arrive, everyone is already busy at work, cutting and sewing and glittering. (If you haven’t already picked up on this, glitter is a key feature of Craft Aid International’s work!)
 
A morning of sewing, chatting, and tea and biscuits (tea-breaks are another important ingredient of CAI community life!) might have the air of the mundane about it and the women who volunteer on Friday mornings might seem like ordinary ladies of the older generation, but every week that I come, I am impressed by this extraordinary group of women. As I sit listening to their chatterings, I can’t help thinking that there are so many stories here just waiting to be told. The wannabe novelist in me is itching to use all this raw material!
 
Anyway, I won’t be writing a novel quite yet, but I thought I’d just share a tiny snippet of some of the conversations I’ve had with these fun, sparky, determined ladies, who always seem to bubble with enthusiasm. They are an important part of Craft Aid’s story; they are both a blessing to us and a reminder of the blessing that Craft Aid International is to so many people. These Friday morning craft sessions not only benefit the participants with disabilities, but they have had a surprising impact on the volunteers involved, and the whole of the church.
 
One volunteer tells me that she always looks forward to Friday mornings. “It’s so friendly. Everyone’s welcome and there’s always laughter. I’ve always done craft, but I’m not good at motivating myself at home. Here I’m given something to do, so I don’t have to think about it.” As she describes some of the beautiful and impressive-sounding creations that she has made at home in the past, I get the feeling that I’m talking to a talented artist. The simple joy that she takes in helping others with sewing and glittering is humbling. Craft Aid is so blessed to have skilled, artistic people serving as part of the team. However, even those who aren’t naturally creative enjoy getting stuck in. “I’m not crafty to be honest, I was just going to make the tea”, admits one lady, “but I’ve been involved with the craft for two years now.” Another volunteer tells me how she misses the sessions over the summer.
 
These fun Friday mornings led some of the volunteers to embark on an adventure on the other side of the world (read Susie’s blog-posts from April for more info). Five of the ladies, all in their sixties and seventies, visited Craft Aid’s new project in Peru, where they trained the employees with disabilities to make different craft products. There were many keen supporters from the church who didn’t go on the trip, who nevertheless helped with the fundraising, waved goodbye to the volunteers early in the morning and supported them all the way. Those who went really enjoyed their time in Peru. “It was fun, emotional and exhausting. We had to have a get-up-and go attitude.” Another lady explained how it changed her perspective, “When I came back, things that mattered before I went didn’t matter any more. I realise what’s important now.”
 
The vicar of the church says that the craft sessions, as well as the Peru trip, have helped the church become more dynamic and have been an important part of their journey as a congregation. The work of CAI has had a “profound effect. It has given us a another way of being a more outward-looking community.”
 
I will end my little storytime here, but I am sure that there are many more fascinating tales to tell. I remember one volunteer telling us that when she was a child, she and other children were encouraged to collect conkers for the war effort. Little did she know at the time that these conkers were used to manufacture explosives. Whilst CAI clearly doesn’t want to be explosive in this kind of way, I can’t help thinking that this story is a good metaphor for the lives of those involved with CAI. Just like a little conker, an ordinary Friday morning can lead to much bigger things. And I don’t just mean exciting trips to Peru, but everything that these volunteers enable to happen. These women are all part of the explosive effect of CAI, which is changing lives around the world, one precious person at a time."
 
 

After a day of orientating the team around Arequipa and collecting final bits of equipment and materials yesterday, we finally welcomed our first trainees today, who arrived with great excitement. We started with the physically disabled group in the morning, who're learning beadwork; and added the larger group of folk with learning disabilities in the afternoon who learnt how to make cards using die-cutting machines and local fabrics. Everyone was really keen to learn and we were really surprised at how quickly they all picked up the new skills. Within a few days they'll be experts! Despite our lack of Spanish, the warmth of the welcome and the affectionate enthusiasm of all the participants meant we were able to start building really lovely relationships with all the trainees very quickly.  There was a fab surprise for us at the end of the day; we were all enthusiastically entertained by Richard the Karaoke King and Laura (above) who performed a local dance for us all. We were even presented with hand-made chocolates which they'd made especially for us. It's been an extraordinary day, especially for the Leeds volunteers who've never experienced anything like it before. Grace - our youngest team member at 13, has been a total star and has made a lot of new friends, as have we all! ​