Gender Equality India Project #54964

Equipping Women Artisans to Lead in India and Keny

by Project Tres

Equipping Women Artisans to Lead in India and Keny

Project Report | Nov 9, 2022
Our impact in India and Kenya - October 2022

By Carla Maria de Souza | Founder and Managing Director

The women in Goa having a meeting in our center

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.

I spent almost a month with our team there, alongside some of our team members from all over the world. We used this time to share everything we went through in the past years, which we didn't really have the chance to talk about while we were away.

This time was also crucial to prove how much the work we have been doing for over 6 years, works and makes a difference. I always believed we could create something completely self-managed by the women in India and Kenya, focusing on the least interference possible from outside, leaving us with time to focus on getting more financial support for our work through sales and donations, as well as structure our organization in Germany. To go back and see that indeed what I believed together with our team was happening, was very rewarding.

The women are feeling proud, and confident, and they see that what they do makes a difference in the world. They see themselves more and more as leaders, and they exercise their voices and wishes on a daily basis within our organization. We had for the first time, a team of 10 volunteers in partnership with Karibu, a volunteering agency from Brazil. They all worked closely with us to bring some new programs to life, as well as share useful knowledge and learn back from the women.

The main projects we had going during this time, were:

* Starting our computer classes with them - introducing them to computers, internet searches, spreadsheets, and emails. Some of them are performing management work in our organization, and to shift from paper to digital is going to be a big step to make our work more effective;

* The volunteers ran workshops on the subjects of - first aid (how to react in health emergencies), hospitality (since many of them work with tourism in Goa), introduction to finances (investment, loans, basic money management), massage and self-care (for others and themselves), menstruation and sexuality, and we still did a beach clean up <3

The time with the volunteers from Karibu was beautiful and the women loved every moment, especially when they received certificates for the great work they did. The team of volunteers also supported us deeply by buying many of our products and donating to our work.

As the program got to an end, I continued there working with them on developing some new products, and getting our production ready to go (I brought a lot of things back to Germany, so if you want to buy something for us, now is the time), we discussed the future of our work and the fact that we want to have more women joining us soon, and we finally had our picnic, something they have been asking for in a while, and since covid-19 started, we never managed to make it a reality.

It was nourishing and inspiring, and I come back from there with my heart full of love and energy to continue our work, always searching for the best partners to amplify what we do, thankful to every and each of you out there donating, buying and volunteering with us, and sure that soon is going to be time for us to thrive again after those years of caution and uncertainty.

If you know someone looking for a serious organization to support, or looking for good Christmas gift ideas, remember to spread the word about us!

With love and so much gratitude for your trust and support,

Carla.

Carla and Rupa

Ladies at Project Tres center - October 2022

Ladies and volunteers at Project Tres Center

Our team + kids during picnic in Goa - October 22

Muskan learning how to do her work on the computer

Kids in the center during the weekend painting

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Jul 13, 2022
Our impact in India and Kenya - June and July 22

By Carla Maria de Souza | Founder

Jane, Mwanaidd and Juliette working in Kenya

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.

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Mar 22, 2022
Project Tres | Amplifying Our Impact

By Carla Maria de Souza | Founder

Our group in Kenya

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.

Aisha and Juliette producing our soapstone pieces

Millicent

Celebrating International Women's Day in India

Rupa and Farida

Sneha

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