Jewelry Day

Jewelry day is very exciting at the women's program.  I think I mentioned before that many of the women have learned to make jewelry using recycled materials (magazines and paper) and have been selling the items as a way of making income.  As a result, many of the women no longer have to rely on working in the garbage dump to support themselves and their families.

On Thursdays the women bring their jewelry in to have it inventoried and put on display in the back room.  All the women (and those of us who work there) are very expected to see what is being brought in.  The women gather around each other admiring what each has done and marveling at how someone has used different color combinations of paper and beads, or impressed at the originality and uniqueness of some item that a woman has made for the first time.  They are quite encouraging of one another in their praise of each other's work.  

They do bring in some incredible pieces of jewelry/art and some of these women demonstrate an incredible gift for choosing colors and designing their jewelry.  The other day one woman brought in some rigs that she had made for the first time.  She only made two because it was a new venture for her.  These rings were absolutely amazing!  When I looked at them a I thought they were made of tiny wooden beads, but they wee in fact made from tiny beads which she had made from paper.  ¡Qué calidad!  They were incredible.  

If I had more disposable cash I would certainly be buying more of their jewelry.  Not only because of the quality and originality, but also because it would support the women in realizing their dreams to better their own lives and that of their children.  In fact, one of the pastors in Wilkes Barre has expressed an interest in our working towards selling the jewelry in PA.  We will work more on this once I am there.

Hasta Luego.