Deck the Halls With Holiday Decor That Does Good! – (Read Time: 3 min.)
Empowering Families Out of Poverty
Deck the Halls With Holiday Décor That Does Good! Our ethically made metal Christmas decor is handcrafted in India by a community of Artisans who specialize in metal crafting and shares our common mission to empower women and families out of poverty. In keeping with this mission, 20% of our Artisan partners are men whose income helps them provide better futures for their families and communities.
Anwar is one of our Artisan partners who crafts our many of our metal holiday designs. He shares how empowering male Artisans makes a direct impact on empowering women and families out of poverty,
Suddenly the Head of His Family
“We are two brothers and two sisters. I am the eldest and at an early age of 20, I lost my parents and the entire family burden fell on my shoulders.” – Anwar
As the oldest brother, Anwar suddenly became responsible for fulfilling both of his parent’s roles, including providing food, shelter, clothing, and education for himself, his younger brother, and his two sisters. As a twenty-year-old young man, Anwar even accepted all parental and financial responsibilities for his sisters’ future weddings.
In India, where poverty and lack of job opportunities often lead to the exploitation of vulnerable workers in dangerous sweatshops, he was faced with trying to find a job that could support four people.
Mentored by His Artisan Uncle
Seeing Anwar’s new responsibilities, his uncle began to teach him how to apply finishes to metal artwork. As Anwar grew in his crafting knowledge and skills, he was eventually encouraged to build his own workshop at home, so he could earn more income and spend more time with his family.
Skilled in every step of metal crafting – from cutting, heating, and hammering metal shapes by hand to applying decorative finishes – his work as a metal Artisan empowered Anwar to raise, care, and provide for his brother and two sisters – including two traditional Indian weddings!
Now Supporting His Own Family
Now married, Anwar continues to use his Artisan skills to build a future for his new family. He is proud to follow in the footsteps of his uncle and father, who were both skilled at crafting metal ornaments, lanterns, and art.
Every purchase of our Christmas metal decor from India makes a direct impact on Artisans like Anwar. Every time you empower one Artisan out of poverty, your impact extends into countless families – bringing hope to entire communities!
Anwar’s Amazing Story During 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown in India
During the 2020 COVID-19 crisis in India, the Artisan leaders in Anwar’s community shared this amazing story about Anwar!
“Anwar has a workshop at his home in Moradabad and he works there with other Artisans. His area was regularly on and off lockdown, even after India’s lockdown was lifted. So, he arranged food for his Artisans and arranged for them to stay at his workshop so they would not face the risk of being closed down. He worked with them regularly to complete their order.
Then there was the issue of how he could send the products to our Artisan community for shipping while his area was under lockdown for many days during the month at regular intervals. So, he joined the Civil Defense, did the training during the lockdown, and with the Civil Defense pass, he could travel. This is how he brought the Artisans’ products to our main Artisan community by car.
At the beginning of lockdown, he even helped our Artisan Community with his pass send documents and computers to the office staff at their homes.” – Artisan Leaders in India
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