A Party with Sole – One World Market and Sole Hope

 

To celebrate World Fair Trade Day on May 11th, we are throwing a party – a party with SOLE!

One World Market is teaming up with Sole Hope, an amazing organization changing lives in Uganda, to host a Cutting Party. Not familiar with a Sole Hope Cutting Party? Here to tell you all about it and a bit more about what Sole Hope it working to accomplish, is one of our amazing Volunteers and Certified Fair Trade Warrior Diana!

Take it away Diana:

Last month, I had the pleasure of staying at the Sole Hope guesthouse in Jinja, Uganda. While there, I was able to talk to the interns and staff and learn more about the incredible work Sole Hope is doing in Uganda.

The guesthouse is just part of the Sole Hope story, which began when Asher Collie saw a video (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajdVs3s2k3U) about the jigger problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Jiggers (NOT the chiggers we know here in the South) are small parasitic sand fleas that burrow into skin and lay eggs, causing painful wounds in infected people. Jiggers often find their way into the bare feet of children and adults in Uganda, making it difficult and painful to walk, play, or go to work or school. Jiggers can also cause infections like gangrene and tetanus, which can be fatal if left untreated.

Image: Sole Hope

Inspired by what she saw, Asher, her husband Drü, and their three children, moved from Asheville, NC to Jinja to become a part of the solution. Now, everyday in Uganda, big green vans emblazoned with the Sole Hope logo drive to villages to perform foot-washing clinics, where staff and volunteers work to wash villagers’ feet and remove jiggers.

Image: Sole Hope Instagram/Gary Chapman

The worst cases of jiggers are taken to the Outreach House in Jinja. Here, they receive needed medical care, plus education about jigger prevention. As a teacher, I love the education piece of the Sole Hope mission. Simply removing jiggers and washing feet is a short-term solution. Teaching people how to prevent jiggers is a long-term solution.

Image: Sole Hope Instagram

When kiddos and adults leave the Sole Hope outreach house, they get a brand new pair of shoes to protect their feet from jiggers. This is where WE come in! The shoes that each person receives are made from recycled jeans! Volunteers around the world cut and donate old jeans to be made into shoes to empower people in Uganda to live a healthier life! PLUS, the shoes are handmade by fairly paid Ugandans in a factory on the Sole Hope campus in Jinja! The #fairtradewarrior in me loves that part of the Sole Hope mission! Simply giving a kid a pair of shoes is a short-term solution. Giving people sustainable and fairly paid jobs is a long-term solution.

Image: Sole Hope Instagram/Kayla Cervenka

So, we hope you’ll join us this Saturday, World Fair Trade Day, to be a part of the long-term solution! Bring some old jeans to One World Market’s first-ever Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party! You’ll be supporting a great organization and empowering some pretty amazing people in Uganda!

Image: Sole Hope Instagram/Mary McLeod

Artisan Spotlight: Meet Achiro Paska

Meet Achiro Paska, an artisan in Uganda, and a member of the Ember Arts Artisan Group.

Nearly all of the women we partner with through Ember Arts are mothers, and part of the privilege of working with them is the opportunity to see their children grow throughout the years. The women of Ember frequently have babies and toddlers teetering through their office, and during training sessions, older children stop buy regularly to deliver messages from home and watch their mothers at work.

Achiro Paska's two youngest daughters, Emily and Evelin, have been staples at the Ember Arts office over the last few years, and she was happy to be asked to show them off and speak more about their lives.

When prompted to share her favorite part about being a mother, Paska couldn't choose; from pregnancy to teenagers, so far, she's loved it all. With six children from ages 14 months to 14 years,  she has certainly seen motherhood from many different angles. While she admits to getting annoyed when her children are quarreling with each other, most days she is happy to see them playing well together. They even have a favorite game that she couldn't quite explain through her laughter, apparently it's so funny that even the thought of it makes her giggle. 

Paska herself was left with relatives at the age of three, and grew up without a mother. She is determined to live her life differently, no matter what sort of trials she faces. Her advice to other mothers is "Love your children, whatever you are facing, and educate them. If you educate and love them it is good, because they are the future."

She is most proud of her children when they do well in school, and working to earn money for their school fees is her greatest concern. Her dream is that they will all finish their educations and never have to struggle the way she did growing up. 

We are thrilled to be partnering alongside hard-working mothers like Paska, and so grateful for the support of all the women- mothers and otherwise- that help make those dreams a reality.

Happy Mother's Day and thank you for supporting Fair Trade!

Meet Gladies – An Ember Arts Artisan

Want to know a no-fail technique to a Happy Monday morning?

Read an inspiring story about a woman achieving her goals. Even better, how about goals that have been achieved because you helped support!

That is just what we did today, as we read about Gladies, one of our partners in Uganda, and how purchases of her Fair Trade jewelry are helping her make her dreams a reality.

Gladies has been been working with Ember Arts for the last five years. She is affectionately refered to as ‘Special Teams’ because she’s smart, dependable, and can get just about anything done. Recently she made a big step towards her dreams by starting her own small business.

Gladies fled from her family home in Amuru, an area in northern Uganda, about a decade ago during the civil war. When she first arrived in the Acholi Quarters community of Uganda’s capital city it was only a collection of mud huts around a stone quarry, where men, women, and children could do hard labor for about $1 per day. That’s what Gladies did to pull her family through.

And now Gladies is using her earnings from Ember Arts to expand her earning potential, too.

These days Acholi Quarters is looking a lot better, and so is Gladies’ family. She has three children, and she’s paying for all of them to attend good local schools, an expensive feat in Uganda’s capital.

And now Gladies is using her earnings from Ember Arts to expand her earning potential, too. She recently traveled back to Amuru and bought a rice milling machine, and rented a place in a big trading center to collect, mill, and sell rice. Farmers come for miles around to sell their harvest to her.

She partnered with her brother in the business, so now his family is benefiting, too. And they have big plans for the future.

Gladies and her brother plan to put up their own commercial building in the trading center, a place where they can process and store not just rice, but other crops, too. Building, she says, will start in December.

Like most of our partners in Uganda, Gladies wants to eventually move back to her family home. With the money she’s earned and skills she’s learned as an Ember partner, she’s well on her way to accomplishing that dream.

We are so excited to support Gladies, and the 27 other women in her artisan group! Stop by the store and see their beautiful jewelry today!

Content and Photos provided by Ember Arts

Sseko Sandals–Sharing a Ugandan Woman’s Dream

It’s safe to say, that One World Market staff and volunteers have completely fallen in LOVE with Sseko sandals!

And what’s not to love? It’s a sandal that can be completely customized! From changing the strap color to how you tie the straps, you can really make these sandals a reflection of your own personal style.

But what really made our staff fall in love, were the stories of the artisans that Sseko sandals support.

Sseko employs recent secondary school graduates for the nine month gap between secondary education and college, to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. 

These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Sseko has graduated three classes of these superstar women, which is something to celebrate!

 

Adding to that celebration, the fact that EVERY woman who has graduated from Sseko is currently pursuing her college degree.

In addition to their university-bound team, Sseko also employs a full-time team of women from all walks of life. 

By creating an environment of dignity, honor, creativity and dedication, Sseko Designs provides the opportunity for women in East Africa to end the cycle of poverty and create a more equitable society.

Sseko sandals give us the opportunity to help support those women. The smiling faces featured above, and so many more.

We get to tell those women that we believe in them. We believe in education for everyone. We want them to succeed.

We do that by buying their beautifully constructed, handmade leather sandals.

With every flourish of our straps. With every tie, and knot, and bow, We are sharing their dream. We are supporting access to education around the world. We don’t just give money in exchange for goods, in exchange for sandals. We give hope. We give success. We give change.

And you know, that is so much bigger. And stronger. And more important, than a pair of sandals.

But…we also really LOVE the sandals! Which makes supporting these amazing Ugandan woman all the easier!

Summer Love – Fair Trade Fashion

Is it just me, or does Memorial Day feel like the kick off to summer?

The pool at the Durham YMCA opened, and temperatures are finally hitting the 80s. Duke students have graduated, and other schools will be letting out soon. And one thing is for sure, it is OFFICIALLY sandal weather!

In honor of summer, we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite summer Fair Trade accessories. And since we just mentioned sandals, let’s start with:

Our beloved Sseko Sandals! If you’ve been in One World Market lately, then you have seen OWM staffers April, Katie, and Brandy rockin’ their Ssekos.

Handmade in Uganda, each sandal and strap provide an income for a young Ugandan woman on her way to college! We love that you can change the strap and design of your sandal easily, but even more, we LOVE that they support higher education for women in Uganda!

They were even featured in this month’s issue of Vogue:

Fair Trade High Fashion!

In fact, our Executive Director April was wearing her Sseko sandals with the blue and white strap today. To finish off her outfit:

One of our new GORGEOUS handmade bags from Brazil! Handwoven from grass, we love the pop of yellow. (Pairs perfectly with the Ssekos!)

Another combo we’re loving is brass and white:

These roll-on bracelets were made in Nepal, and the earrings were made in Northern India, but they were really made for each other! Perfect for a summer outfit, on your way to a show at DPAC and dinner outside at Geer Street. Nothing says SUMMER more than crisp white accessories.

But even darker color combinations can be adapted for summer. Like our new earrings and necklaces from Guatemala:

Even though it’s navy with brown, we feel more like it’s ocean with sand! Paired with a white tee shirt and jeans, it’s a great summer look!

However, the necklace comes in a variety of bright, summery colors…

Good luck choosing a favorite – we can’t!

What about you?

Do you have a new Fair Trade Accessory that is brightening up your summer wardrobe? Share it with us!