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Handcrafting
Justice is a project of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd acting in
partnership with women working at income generating craft projects in
developing countries. We support and
assist them in their efforts to create employment for themselves in order to
provide for their families and therefore bettering their lives.
We partner with these women artisans by:
- Marketing the items they make
- Raising consciousness of the situations in which they live
- Creating opportunities for men and women in the United
States and
Canada to get involved
- Telling the stories of women
- Creating networks of justice and solidarity in search of
sustainable economic options for women
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Items for Sale
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Many families live in situations of desperate poverty throughout the world.
Frequently, it is women and children who suffer the most. A NGO (Non Governmental Organization) report from the
United Nations on the status of the girl child notes that in industrial as well
as developing countries many girls do not escape the consequences of gender
discrimination which often leads to early pregnancy, prostitution, homelessness
and sexual harassment. Through the small efforts of Handcrafting Justice, we, as Good Shepherd communities, are attempting to build an
international network to promote and support the efforts of women to better
their economic situation. By supporting women, we support their families and communities as well.
 In
Thailand, well known for the sex trade industry,
women in Good Shepherd programs are trained in sewing skills and given the means to generate an income
from the sale of their goods. Many
women at risk of becoming trapped in the sex trade find a means of economic
independence through Regina Center located in Nong Khai.
Through the Isan Weaving Project, many women in poor villages learn the
ancient craft of hand weaving, making exquisite matmee fabric that is then made
into various garments and bags.
In Paraguay, Good Shepherd Sisters began a project to support the work of very poor
craftswomen to sell their work without a middle person. A cooperative of Weavers
of Nanduti was established and now has fifty-two members.
Encouraging self-reliance, mutual aid and cooperative education, while
creating beautiful hand-woven goods, the women strive to better the living
conditions of all its members. Indigenous
women living in extreme poverty, having no land and living in huts,
are artisans of beautiful hand woven goods. They are also supported by this project through the sale of their goods.
Peruvian women have formed cooperatives as well in order to support each other in
creating handmade goods that can be sold. One such cooperative has established a rotating fund to provide credit to families.
Bethlehem Training Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
provides training and job opportunities for over 200 women. Day care services are provided on
site so that the women can take full
advantage of the services offered.
In Dong Thap, Vietnam, Good Shepherd Sisters run a training center to educate women
and teach them sewing skills. They produce various articles of clothing for which they are seeking markets. They have helped women to return to their villages through the purchase of sewing machines enabling them to earn money while working at home.
Otherwise, they would end up in rice fields as cheap labor. Markets are needed for their goods so that large companies that pay very little for their goods will not
exploit them.
Similar projects as these in the Philippines, India, Madagascar, Indonesia, Colombia, Haiti, Chile, and Mexico
are also sending us their goods.
We need your help.
Join us in support of these and many more women and men:
For more information about Handcrafting
Justice:
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National Office (N.Y.)
Sr. Maureen McGowan
Handcrafting Justice
Sisters of the Good Shepherd
82-31 Doncaster Place
Jamaica, NY 11432
Phone: (718)380-3270
1-800-813-8414
Fax: (718)591-9376
Email: hcj@handcraftingjustice.org
Boutique open most Tuesdays 1-4 pm.
Please call in advance.
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Long Island
Sr. M.Michael /Sr. M. Agnes
Dix Hills, NY 11746
Phone: (631)491-6850
Boutique open daily 1-4 pm.
(Near Exit 50 LIE - call for
directions)
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Massachusetts
Sr. Patricia
Hudson, MA 01749
Phone: (978)567-9889
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Los Angeles
Sr. Anne Kelly
2561 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
Phone: (323)737-6111
Call for Boutique hours.
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New Jersey
Sr. Joan Kopf
Wickatunk, NJ 07765
Phone (732)946-7877
Boutique open Tuesdays/Thursdays 3-5
pm.
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Maryland Maggie McCarty
Baltimore, MD 21227
Phone: (410)247-2770
National
Advocacy Center
504
Hexton Hill Road
Silver
Spring, MD 20904
Phone:
(301) 622-6838 call for hours of operation
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St. Paul/Minneapolis
Sr. Patricia Marie
5100 Hodgson Road
St Paul, MN 55126
Phone: (651)482-5248
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St Louis
Sr. Lourdes Langerfield/Sr. Charlotte
Kirst
7654 Natural Bridge Road
St. Louis. MO 63121
Phone: (314)381-3400
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THANK YOU FOR
YOUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT
If our village was of 1,000 people, there would
be....
564 Asians
210 Europeans
86 Africans
80 Latin Americans
60 North Americans
In this village of 1,000 people.....
500 of us would be hungry
60 people would control half of the income, leaving
940 of us to scramble for the other half.
The Global Women's Exchange and Sharing Fair
programs are efforts
to help raise the income and dignity of some of the 940.
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