PANT, BAG, & TEE PARTNERS
The initial orders of CREABELI pants were manufactured by survivors of trafficking at New Life Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Residents of New Life Center receive residential housing, food, education, therapeutic services, life skills training, transportation, handicraft instruction, and the opportunity to work on handicraft projects. Since that initial order, New Life has sent many of their girls on to further their education, so we are working to partner with another center now, thrilled to see that dignified employment truly makes a difference.
Our tee shirts are manufactured and printed at Freeset by women who have been rescued from the brothels of Sonagachi, the largest red-light district in Calcutta. These women have been counseled, educated, trained, and are now employed by this partner in India.
Before we ever sold an item, the orders we placed with these organizations were providing dignified employment!
We partner with ABAN in Ghana, where our CREABELI drawstring bags are produced. ABAN stands for A Ban Against Neglect, and they work to end the cycle of poverty that so often brings women into a sex trafficking situation.
Our CREABELI crossbody bags are produced in Thailand by marginalized women and survivors of sex trafficking.
This story comes from one of our partners in Thailand:
“Fasai”*, a Lahu girl, comes from a broken family. Her father has never recognized her as his daughter and has never cared for her. Fasai’s mother separated from her father and then remarried. Fasai’s mother then rejected her and she was then taken in by her aunt and older sister. During that time, she was drugged and sexually abused by her uncle (her aunt’s husband) and became pregnant. However, due to having been drugged, she was unaware of the abuse and was shocked to discover that she was pregnant.
Fasai’s case was brought to the Chiang Mai Home for Children and Families. She had her baby there and then turned the child over to her mother to raise. After that, she was referred to the New Life Center Foundation. When she first arrived at the NLCF, Fasai cried almost every day from post-partum depression. She began to study in an accounting program and has been receiving counseling and attending rehabilitative activities, such as sewing classes. Now, she has adjusted well to life at the residence and even leads some activities. She is progressing well in her studies and is earning a very satisfactory grade point average. She also assists the residential staff to care for other victims who are newcomers to the NLCF community. She keeps in touch with her mother now, and visits with her baby whenever she can. In the future, she hopes to be an accountant.
(* A pseudonym is used to protect the confidentiality of the survivor.)
Not only will the production of our products provide dignified employment, but we also are committed to giving 20% of the profits from our CREABELI products. It can take several months to care for girls who are rescued and help them understand that they have been created in a precious and beautiful way. Only then can they understand that they, too, can create beautiful items and take pride in what they create. Our contributions will help finance that training period and more
