Dear Friends,
We are coming to the end of another year. It is a season of celebration, thanks giving and hope. Most of us have a reason to celebrate as we have been able to leave behind the fear and pain of the pandemic. We do have a reason to be grateful as well, to a lot of people and organizations who have been our solace and support during this year. It is because of their support that we remained in the reckoning. We continue to live and engage because of the hope for a better tomorrow, a better health and finally, better lives for all, especially the ones who are not so fortunate. For me Christmas is this symbol of hope, hope for the poor, the marginalised, the sick and the afflicted. It is this hope for a better tomorrow that keeps us going. Merry Christmas to you all, our friends.
As in the past, it is time for me to take stock of things at Creative Handicrafts and share with you a brief glimpse into the lives of all associated with this beautiful organization. Post the pandemic, our women producers have been extremely busy fulfilling a number of pending orders. Our buyers did make an effort to compensate the loss we suffered during the pandemic. This meant a lot of work and better income for the women producers which brought smiles and cheers in their lives. The spouses of many of our women producers did suffer job losses besides the pain and loss that they suffered in the family due to the pandemic. Our women producers have been the sole income earners in their families and they continue to remain grateful to Creative Handicrafts and all its partners, both buyers and supporters.
I would like to draw your attention to the children who have returned to school and universities after a long time and have been fairing well. I continue to maintain the view that it takes a generation or two to effect a major change in the lives of the poor. That major change, social and economic, happens when their children graduate, are employed and happily take the load of the family off the shoulders of their mothers to their own shoulders. It gives us immense pride to see children who started off schooling in front of us are now graduating, taking up jobs that are changing their lives and are busy upgrading their and their parents’ lives. Our supporters have stood like a wall behind us in our efforts to assist the education of the children with sponsorship and scholarships. All these continue to propel us to do more and to reach out to more. Yes, it is not yet the time to rest but to do more. Thank you all, I am witnessing real change.
As I pen these lines, I am a little worried as well, seeing the economic scenario that our countries are faced with. We see no sign of any de-escalation of the fear of an impending all out war and its consequences. The sky rocketing inflation rates around the world has been depleting the purchasing power of the middle class and that is directly affecting our fair trade organizations. We do see a reduction in the orders for the year 2023. Our producer women depend on export orders and we hope, situation will improve soon.
We are about to enter the new year 2023. We count on your continued support in the coming year as well. We shall together make an effort to make the lives of the poor, the women and the children a little better and the world a little less unequal.
Thank you for your continued support and love.
Wish you all a Joyous Christmas and a very peaceful New Year 2023.
Thank you,
Yours Sincerely,
Johny Joseph
For all at Creative Handicrafts
