Teach Your Children Well

Inspire. Educate. Empower.
Three simple words in succession that have become the breath of life for MotherKind. MotherKind made its way into the world last year as a ripe opportunity arose to work with Patricia- a young woman living in Kampala creating beauty in rolled paper bead necklaces. I am sure most have by now become familiar with the concept that money is being raised to help alleviate the effect of poverty for the girls and women making these necklaces. What we seek to do is make it personal. Whether we tell of how Patricia has been fulfilling her dream of going to school through necklaces sales, or the number of other women we work with that are either overseas or here in Canada as a new immigrant or refugee, we reach out to women in our own communities by telling their stories and bringing them into reality- not just another set of statistics.
Our most current project is running a global awareness and diversity workshop for parents and their children in a predominantly white, rural area of Ontario. When telling an adult about injustice in the world, it can take time for them to be desensitized because of the influence of media. But when a child discovers that another girl who is the same age as them or one of their siblings cannot go to school or is engaged to a man that is the same age as their father or grandfather, it becomes personal in a completely different way. Children are our future, and we need to begin teaching them now to see the truth. The opportunity to combat poverty, injustice, prejudice and lies is to teach our children the truth and give them the knowledge and tools to fight these things as they grow up.
While we continue to seek new ways of bringing understanding and truth to more people, our social for-profit venture In Her Hands, draws on the valuable resource of the talented women we meet through MotherKind. We are working to create a network- marketing company selling fair-trade products through “home markets”. Since we began this company last year it has been imperative to us that while we only deal with people who will be empowered by the products we carry, they need to be priced reasonably so that the market is available to every woman. In turn, as we grow, we aim to provide business opportunities to women in our own communities that can be empowered by selling these products and helping their families with additional income.
Another important aspect of our business is that the artisans we work with don’t get lost in the shuffle and it becomes another product being sold where someone is “being helped”. When we bring the markets into peoples’ homes, we bring the stories of the women, their pictures and report the progress being made in their lives.
We have a long way to grow. We know we are still so tiny in this world on non-profits and social entrepreneurship. We have begun with our own money, working and growing as we are able, with big dreams of what is possible. We believe in the women that we are so privileged to work with, and that they are willing to share a part of their lives with us. The future is full of possibility, and we are open to embracing opportunity. While we know we are really just beginning, we know that even if we remain a small company the difference being made to just a few is worth the love and work that we can give.
www.inherhands.ca