Dear Friends,

As I sit down to jot these few lines to you, in this season that is traditionally one of celebration and thanksgiving, my memory takes me back to the 25 years that I spent at Creative Handicrafts.

It was on 16th September 1999 that I stepped into the lanes and by-lanes of Achanak Colony, where the “head office” of Creative Handicrafts then stood. It has been a long journey, a very long journey during which I was a witness to all the ups and downs of this organization. I was a part and parcel of the struggles and tussles of the organization to remain relevant and in the reckoning as well as to become an organization that can continue to grow and sustain itself.

So this letter of mine is to say a “Big Thank you” to you all for supporting Creative Handicrafts and me for the past 25 years.

Today, after 25 years with this organization, what brings a smile of contentment on my face are the children of our women who have transformed themselves in every way right in front of my eyes. I have been a close witness to their growth, from home to school to colleges to universities and to married life. I have seen them build careers and become successful in both professional and in personal lives. I have seen them easing the lives of their mothers taking them along from the corrugated shanties to decent apartments. This is very satisfying as Creative Handicrafts has definitely played a pivotal role in shaping the lives of the children and Sr. Isabel is remembered gratefully for her foresightedness in sowing the seed of an enterprise like this.

The past years have been years of growth, success and happiness amidst every day challenges.

We grew exponentially in exports turnover, made our presence in the domestic market, started education program for children, trained more women and added them to our family, added infrastructure and moved from difficult working conditions to state of the art offices and production centers. We have always ended the years on a positive in terms of finance, members, number of staff members and turnover in sales. However, the past year has been a very difficult and challenging one due to the after effects of covid that rattled many small and medium enterprises. One of our buyers has gone into liquidation owing us a huge amount of money and a couple of others have reduced their buying significantly bringing our turnover down by 30% and taking our bottom line to negative, pretty deep, for the first time in the history of Creative Handicrafts.

This definitely makes us anxious about the future and more challenged to re-engineer the organization and its operation back to its good days. We shall overcome this too..

You have been a part and a strong partner in all that we have achieved over the years.

We thank you for believing in us and for your rock solid support and we continue to bank on you, our partners and supporters, for the years to come. Your continued support shall lead many more to live a life of dignity.

If you would like to support us in our efforts please visit the link https://fundacionisabelmartin.es/donar/ and follow the instructions. It will be easier for you to make a donation to this account as you will benefit from tax exemptions and the same will be consolidated and passed on to us. Please mention that the donation is for Creative Handicrafts. Further, you may share this letter with your friends and well wishers.

Merry Christmas, Happy holidays and wish you a very peaceful New Year 2025.

Thank you,

Yours Sincerely,

Johny Joseph

For all at Creative Handicrafts