We're holding an evening of Peruvian Jewellery this Friday 18th September at St. Mark's Church, Leeds Road, Harrogate. It's a great opportunity to bring friends, hear a little bit about the exciting new project in Peru, treat yourself to some fabulous jewellery if you want to (prices from £3 - £35) and indulge in sumptuous Peruvian desserts, a glass of wine or a speciality coffee. Tickets are just £5 and include your refreshments. (Freshwater pearl and silver necklace, modelled by Linda, top right of the picture above, is just one example of the jewellery that will be on sale).
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Deeply, deeply saddened by the BBC film " Worst place in the World to be Disabled?" just aired on BBC3, about Ghana, where disabled people are routinely abandoned, chained up, tortured, and disabled children are killed by traditional witchdoctors for a fee, paid for by their parents. This could have been me as a child, or Rosie, under different circumstances. Fact is, it's happening ALL OVER the developing world, that's why I set up Craft Aid, that's why it's so important the... Neema Crafts model doesn't just stay in Tanzania but is passed on to many, many more places. Neema Crafts doesn't just give training and employment, hope and dignity; crucially it's also *radically* changed attitudes to disabled people for hundreds of miles around. People with disabilities are now recognised as being fully human, full of potential rather than refuse, which is how they were seen before. If you want to help us pass on this model in Peru, where disabled people are still massively stigmatised, please do something about it and help us. Thank you.
You can now donate via the MyDonate page, link below, which automatically collects the gift aid on your donations on our behalf. We've called the appeal Peru 140:1000 because if we can just find 1000 to donate £140 we'll potentially have enough to buy a suitable property and get started. If you can only give a small amount, that'll still make a big difference, so whatever you can manage please help us to do this. 'Stick by stick makes a bundle' they say in East Africa. It's true. The unimaginable is made possible if we all lend a hand. Thank you. I'm now safely back from Peru with some exciting news: Over the last few days I’ve been looking at properties there. The idea is to create a fully-fledged workshop, shop & café, all staffed by and for the benefit of disabled people !!!! Like Neema Crafts (in Tanzania), but a whole new enterprise in Peru!! In the space of two weeks it’s gone from being a vision to an actual plan, with properties viewed and budgets starting to take shape. The most ideal building I saw... is on the market for £140,000, so we have some serious fundraising to do and FAST. There’s so much need here, but so much potential. So come on folks, if we all work together I know we can do this. Watch this space for how to get involved. If you want to donate straight away please go to the donate page of the Craft Aid website or send me a message. Thank you so much for your support, encouragement, and your prayers – we’re gonna need stacks of all three! In other exciting news, I mentioned in my last post that we were off to look for potential outlets to sell our products in Arequipa. Well, we found one! (See first picture below left). The shop is really beautiful and -unlike many people we spoke to - the owner was more than happy to help a project that will benefit people with disabilities. We will still loose a cut of the sale price to the shop though, which is entirely fair to the owner, but it would be so much better if we had our own outlet, workshop and café in one place. Click on the pictures below for captions and more info. Essentially, the pictures show what the current building looks like, and what it could look like (red building) with a little imagination, hard work and TLC. ( And your help! ) With it's central courtyard, beautiful old architectural features and stunning views of Arequipa from the roof-top terrace, it would be the perfect location. There is even room for the church to have a permanent base here, which is very much needed as they currently rent a very unsuitable space and this is their project after all, their way of reaching out to meet the needs of the community. A beautiful place to work and to worship, with disabled people at the centre... at the heart. Please help us to make this vision a reality. As always, so much to write about but no time to sit still and write it. In the first week we’ve covered a huge amount of ground. I’ve learnt what the group can do and what they struggle with, then redesigned products to fit. It was a huge high point on Wednesday last week when I taught the new designs to the larger group with learning disabilities and they *all* took to it like ducks to water. I was so happy! Betsaida and I have scoured Areqipa’s maze-like streets for new suppliers and ever wider varieties of beads and fabrics. We’ve also been working hard on the less glamourous but essential side of running a social enterprise – accounts, invoices, order forms, materials record sheets… yesterday was gruelling but very productive, with everyone pitching in to help which was really encouraging. This morning we’re off to look for outlets to sell our products locally. We’ll be pounding the streets all day so - those of you who do – please pray for a fruitful day, thanks. So much more to say, but will have to wait for this evening. Lots of pics to come shortly too. Thanks for reading x Tuesday: The earth is a dazzlingly, *dazzlingly* beautiful place, full of awe and wonder. You only have to fly over a country like Peru for a few minutes to appreciate this. Range upon range of black mountains capped in white snow; speckled hills and ravines threaded through with silver rivers, studded with great blue lakes with aquamarine edges; vast blankets of soft cloud revealing dark oceans lapping at the feet of volcanic cliffs, gilded from above with the reddest-goldest fiery light imaginable. The final cadence to all this grandeur was the sight of El Misti and her two volcanic sisters, the three mountains that watch over the ‘white city’ of Arequipa, as we came in to land this morning. To describe Peru, and her people, is to realise that there are not enough synonyms for beautiful. Once you’re on the ground the similarity of the infrastructure and vegetation to our former home in Tanzania is striking. If it weren’t for the people, I would believe on first glance that I was back in East Africa without question. The hastily thrown-up concrete buildings are the same, the trees and flowers, even the style of bill-board advertising and the brands they’re brandishing. But, as you'd expect, the people are very different. I love their expressive warmth, their exuberance and their public displays of affection. I got up at 2am in the UK on Monday morning to start my journey, and got to bed at 26 hours later in Lima, with almost no sleep before, during or after. This morning I flew the final leg to Arequipa, arriving at lunch-time and then whisked from the airport straight to the church where the Neuvas Feuzas group were eagerly waiting. The cheers and shouts that erupted as I entered the room nearly knocked me over. It was so, so lovely to see everyone again. I was hugged and kissed to within an inch of my life and Richard (the aforementioned Karaoke King) even wept great theatrical tears when I said how good it was to return to my family in Peru. It was a wonderful reunion. I spent the afternoon with Betsaida, the project leader, and Carmen, her right-hand volunteer, un-picking how things had gone since I left in April and deciding what we need to cover whilst I’m here. It was encouraging to see how beautifully they were making the products we’d taught them last time. There were a few disappointments and challenges too, but nothing insurmountable. Our meeting confirmed how important it was for me to come back, and has given us a road-map for what we need to achieve before I leave again. There’s a lot to do, but time enough if we keep our hands to the plough and don’t lose sight of the horizon. Wednesday: Was strange to wake up to my silent flat alone. I missed my noisy family and the usual pre-school-day hubbub. The only CD I could find in the flat was 'Classic FM's Royal Wedding Selection" which thankfully turned out to be not nearly as bad as it sounded. The walk to the church cheered me with El Misti shining on the skyline above the haphazard rooftops. Have spent the day teaching Betsaida and Carmen new techniques and designing new prototype necklaces to teach the Neuvas Feuzas group tomorrow. Heading off now to the bead markets to buy materials and then off home to bead into the wee-hours finishing said samples for tomorrows teaching. Just arrived back after 3 days of travelling! Apologies for not updating this sooner but the second week was frenetically busy. The beading trainees have taken to the complex, bead-embroidered bracelets brilliantly, with the exception of Juan Jose who tried valiantly hard but didn’t have the fine grip needed to handle the tiniest beads. He’s great at the making the pearl and silver jewellery, which is easier to handle, and to give him more variety in his work I decided to try teaching him how to use a sewing machine – beginning with making fabulous bunting from the local stripy fabrics. He can’t use his feet on the pedal but can use it with his left hand whilst guiding the material through the machine with his right. Surprisingly easy with a bit of practice! He was extremely pleased with his new bit of kit. Juan and the other beaders will meet regularly at the church mid-week, bringing their work, getting paid for what they’ve created, receiving new materials and designs for the week to come. For people who would struggle to travel to work every day it’s a brilliant way of working ,as they still get regular social interaction with their fellow out-workers. On our last morning in Arequipa I set off early and raced around the city picking up last minute equipment and materials, delivered a final bead-work session with the team, taught Juan Jose how to use the sewing machine, explained to all the trainees about how the project will provide them with employment and talked Bethsaida ( the project leader ) through how to use the forms I had created for her (invoicing, stock control etc etc etc), all at break-neck speed, before saying hurried and emotional goodbyes. I arrived at our guest house with less than 3 minutes to pack before leaving for the airport – to find that Grace had already done 99% of it in my absence. I’m so proud of how she’s risen to every challenge on this intensive trip, she’s been truly amazing. The whole team have been absolutely brilliant. Retuning now to the UK I am keenly aware that the most difficult part of the work lies immediately ahead. Starting a social enterprise and giving people skills is one thing, making it a success in the long-term is quite another. What we need most are customers, in Peru and the UK, if we are to pay the people making the crafts a good wage so that they can support themselves and their families with dignity and pride. There’s still masses of work to do on marketing, further designs, financial management, fundraising to cover initial set up costs and equipment etc... the list is daunting, but not insurmountable. Thanks to the wonders of Skype I shall be able to support Bethsaida, her team and the new fledgling project every week over the next few months and years as it develops and grows. We also plan to send out a long-term volunteer, a design graduate, to work alongside Bethsaida for 12-18 months, hopefully from September if we can find the right person soon enough. That’s the job at the top of my long list as soon as I get home. Those of you who do, please pray we find the right person swiftly. We so want Juan, Maribel and their friends to be truly, transformatively blessed by this new project, but we can’t do it without the help of lots of people all doing their small bit to help. If you’d like to, you could donate towards equipment and materials, host a jewellery party or just buy some of the new Peruvian products. Together we can make this a massive blessing for all the 35+ people we trained, and many more disabled people to come. Today's the day that Juan Jose gets his new glasses, after over 5 years of waiting. Maribel, Vanessa & Rocio needed them too, and they'll be getting their's along with Juan today. They had a fantastic morning in town on Saturday, first at the opticians and then enjoying the sights in the central square together. It was one of the very few times they've ever been to the centre of the city and they had a fabulous time. Much more to say, but we're about to start a new day of craft training so I'll have to end here and continue this later.... thank you so much to everyone who's made it possible for us to be here. The training's gone really well today, although the time has flown by far too fast. We started with Juan José, Maribel, Rosa, Vanessa and her sister Rocio in the morning who are all learning highly skilled beadwork. The majority of these five fabulous young people (who have physical disabilities) rarely get to leave the house, sometimes being shut in for months at a time; so to be out two days in a row was a massive high for them. We were soon joined by the inimitable Pablo and his friends from the larger group (who have learning disabilities). They were keen to get stuck into card making with the Sizzix die cutting machines that we introduced them to yesterday. These brilliant machines make it super-easy for anyone to cut out paper, card and fabric with total precision, merely by turning a handle. They're perfect for people who might otherwise struggle to cut in straight line, let alone produce perfectly cut flowers, leaves, birds. etc. .... the possibilities are endless. Life for the majority of people in Peru, like any developing country, can be very tough. We passed a man in a suit selling sweets at a dangerously busy junction, another man trying to make a living selling nothing but shoelaces ... when ordinary Peruvians are struggling to make ends meet, you can imagine how hard it is if you have any sort of disability. They are absolutely at the bottom of the pile, the poorest of the poor in their society and the least supported. Even the most basic things in life are denied them. We discovered today for example, that Juan Jose (pictured above right) had been told 5 years ago that he needed glasses; but without the means to pay for them he never got them. He now struggles to see without lifting things to within a few centimetres of his face and his eyesight is getting worse. So, instead of training them tomorrow morning we're going to send all 5 beaders to the opticians. Craft Aid will pay for their eye tests and for their glasses too if they need them - which they were all massively excited about. (If anyone would like to make a donation to help with this, it'd be very much appreciated). This evening walking through town we met a man in a wheelchair selling biscuits. We watched, horrified, as he defended himself from an able-bodied man trying to steal some from him. I can only imagine how many times he has to fend off such attacks, working late into the night as he does just to make a few pence to live on. I dearly hope that one day the Craft Aid project here will be big enough to offer him employment, and the many other people we saw in a similar position begging on the streets of Arequipa tonight. 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! After a 5.30am start, 5 hours in a minibus, 3 epic flights, 2 non-stop days and one sleepless night on the go, we've finally arrived in the teeming city of Arequipa. We're all shattered but very happy to be here. En route we've flown over vast oceans, mountains, snowfields, forests, frozen lakes and desicated deserts each of which has stretched as far as the eye could see . It's been quite literally awe-inspiring. We stopped en route at a guest house in Lima between flights, the shambolic roof of which was populated with kittens, an unfeasibly fluffy angora rabbit and a pen full of enormous guinea pigs being fattened-up for the pot. Arriving in Arequipa we were surprised by a fabulous welcoming party from Neuvas Fuezas, one of the groups of adults with disabilities we're going to be training over the next couple of weeks. We were massively touched that they'd gone to so much trouble to celebrate our arrival. Finally settled in our guest house on the edge of the old part of the city, we unpacked the vast amount of craft equipment and materials we've brought with us and then got stuck into an evening of serious Uno-playing, before falling exhausted into bed. Busy day ahead tomorrow! |
Authors:Susie Hart MBE Archives
June 2019
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