Sponsorship Opportunity: Muteteri & Mama Brian
We are continuing our sponsorship features (if you missed the first one, you can read it here but, spoiler alert - BOTH ladies featured last month are now FULLY SPONSORED!!). Both of the talented artisans you’ll meet below are currently unsponsored. When one of our employees is sponsored, it means a generous donor has agreed to make monthly donations in her honor. A sponsorship can be in any amount but a donation of $150 fully sponsors one woman. You can read more about sponsorship levels by clicking here. While sponsorship levels are set amounts, you may make a monthly donation of any amount and we will combine them to create full sponsorship for one woman.
It’s a beautiful way to support women in need.
For now, let us introduce you to two of our wonderful employees - Muteteri and Mama Brian.
Muteteri
Muteteri was born into a family of 12 children, but has lost six of her siblings. Her mother died when Muteteri was 8 years old and her father soon remarried a woman who mistreated the children. Neither Muteteri nor her siblings were able to attend school because her father refused to pay for school fees.
Since acquiring employment with Handspun Hope as a spinner, Muteteri says she has learned how to work cooperatively with others. She has bought a cow for her family and is an active participant in the optional savings cooperative available at Handspun Hope. She is planning to purchase land in the future.
Muteteri is currently unsponsored.
“I feel happy when I pray to God. I love to help my children study.”
Mama Brian
Mama Brian was orphaned at eight years old when she lost both parents to HIV/AIDS. She grew up in the home of her stepmother, but was marginalized by the family. She was always last to be fed or clothed. Mama Brian is married and has two children. She describes her life before working for Handspun Hope as hard. There was not enough food for her children and no hope for the future.
Now, like all employees, Mama Brian earns an above-fair-wage salary. She is a gifted needle-felter and creates stunning sculptures using the wool from our flock of sheep. Mama Brian is now able to provide her family with food and clothing. She has made multiple improvements to her home, including the installation of electricity and running water in her home. She says her hope is now abundant.
Mama Brian is currently unsponsored.
“I love to spend time with my children. I hope to by more land so I may increase food production at home.”
We want to be clear - we provide full salaries and benefits to every employee, regardless of whether or not they receive an honorary sponsorship.
Our hope, in offering this program, is that by knowing the stories behind the faces of the women working for Handspun Hope, you will be inspired to support them, whether that is through sponsorship or by sharing the incredible work they do with your friends and family. We hope their stories of perseverance and resilience will stir in you a desire to support the holistic, whole-woman healing that is taking place in Rwanda.
