Amplifying Women Artisans in India and Kenya

Hey there,

I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to every and each of you who donated to us in the past months. 

Besides our monthly supporters, we have ran a crowdfunding campaign from December 2022 to January this year, aiming to secure fully the yearly expenses in terms of social impact we have in both countries. 

We got 92 donations during this campaign, and together we managed to raise 8868€ (after fees we received today 7828,24€) out of the 25000€ required to continue our work this year. Even though we didn’t raise all we needed, the funds will be extremely helpful for the continuation of our social programs this year, and without you, that wouldn’t be possible.

I know sometimes it’s hard to stay connected and motivated to help when there are so many different issues going on in the world at the same time. For that reason, it means a lot to us when you decide to take your time and your resources, to believe in the work we do.

What happens next?

The funds will be used to cover our centers rent, continue the mental health program, cover part of the school fees we require for the year 2023, and partially cover the monthly payments of the 10 women already working with us in both countries. As the situation is right now, we won't increase the number of women paid monthly as we planned, will have to reduce the food support only for extreme cases, and will continue to fundraise in order to cover the school fees for all the remaining 16 children in India and 24 in Kenya.

We will need to raise the remaining money throughout the year.

Currently we continuously look for funding opportunities in the government and through foundations, and we are hopeful that will happen this year. On the other hand, we have to keep on trying to secure what is needed through the ways we also already know: people. For that, in the upcoming months, we will be promoting our sponsorship option, where individuals (like you) can donate to us on a monthly basis, choosing the option you prefer to invest in (mental health programs, project development, administrative costs, education, food, and health support). 

Thanks for already being the first ones doing this! If you can also spread the word about your sponsorship and invite others to do the same, that will be extremely helful. At the moment we count on around 500€ monthly donations and we are aiming to reach 1000€ in the next 3 months. 

We are also looking for companies interested on donating to our organization, so if you are an entrepreneur and would like to know more about the initiatives we are aiming to fund via corporative donations, send me an email via carla@project-tres.org and I can give you further information.

Thanks for your contributions, for your hard work as a volunteer, and for your support as a friend spamming your network with our posts and campaigns. I know these are hard times but together, we will navigate through that once again, and I feel very grateful to have had you all this time (or just joining us now) along this journey.

A big hug,

Carla.

Hello dear supporter,

I hope you are healthy and safe wherever you are.

After 2,5 years of not going back to India, it was time to visit again. 

Hello dear supporter,

I hope you are healthy and safe wherever you are.

Today I'm here to share some updates with you. Last time here I mentioned the possibility of adding 3 women to the project in Kenya (2 mamas and one teenager), and up to now, we managed to include 2 of them (one mama and one teenager). The younger one is attending a boarding school fully sponsored by us (from the school fees to the money she needs for food), and the mama is a widow with 2 children. 

We are slowly shifting away from the monthly rent support we had going on since covid-19 started, and from the 7 women previously supported with rent, we have reduced this number to 3. 

A few days ago, unfortunately, one of our members in Kenya died. Her name was Mary, she was the mother of Peter (7) and Ian (4), and she was a valued member of our project and her community. The women are still very touched by that and we are working together with Hai Africa to make sure the kids are going to continue in Kabiria (the community we operate) and attend school since this was always Mary's dream. 

In India, we are preparing ourselves for a volunteering experience taking place in October this year, where some of our team members from all over the world will be there as well. The goal is to introduce computer classes to the women during this time, so they can achieve even more within the project and for other opportunities as well. 

Our mental health program continues to take place in both countries and we are working on the next production order, which should start this month. This month, we have completed covering the school fees required for this year, and we have supported the education of 14 children in India and of 3 teenagers in Kenya, summing 17 sponsorships. 

The women working in Project Tres mentioned while we ran a couple of interviews, that the project had a positive impact directly on their confidence and self-esteem, and their ability to provide for their family and children in very difficult times. They asked that I extend their thank you to each of you for supporting them with donations. 

I hope you understand the impact of your contribution to our work.

Thanks for trusting us and actively making part of a more equal world,

Carla.

Hello dear supporter,

I hope you are well and safe wherever you are.

The situation in the world right now is very disturbing, and when the whole situation started taking place in Ukraine, I was in Kenya, visiting our project, so I come today with some very good news.

We haven't visited the project in Kenya for the past 3 years, due to Covid-19. To go back after so long, and realize that everything we have believed and invested, focusing on autonomy and local leadership since day 1 had a huge sustained impact in the lives of the women in the project, their families, and community, was very rewarding.

Despite the difficulties, all the children have been attending school, some sponsored by us, but mostly by our partner Hai Africa, whose focus is investing in education.

The women working in Project Tres mentioned while we ran a couple of interviews, that the project had a positive impact directly in their confidence and self-esteem, and their ability to provide for their family and children in very difficult times. They asked that I extended their thank you to every and each of you supporting them with donations since the pandemic started. They wouldn't be able to eat, have a safe house, and get medical support if it wasn't for your contribution.

We will be most likely adding 3 members to our project in Kenya, 2 of them women and one teenager. The youngest went through very hard times in the past year and due to the nature of the events she went through, she will require our support and expertise in the field of violence and abuse against women. We will also be sponsoring her studies.

In both countries, our women have been working on some orders and are participating in the therapy program, which has also presented amazing results. In India, the women organized their own International Women's Day event with dance session, speeches, and awards for the members of our project. 100% of the funds required to organize the event were raised by them alone.

I hope you understand the impact of your contribution to our work.

I wish you a great week ahead, lots of peace and health.

Thanks for trusting us and actively making part of a more equal world for women.

Carla.