Artisans from USA

Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, Louisiana, works to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the homeless, human trafficking survivors, and those living in poverty.

They are a registered Christian Women’s Job Corps site of national WMU.

The artisans learned to create pottery as a part of the therapy provided at Baptist Friendship House. Now these women have turned their hobby into a skill they can use to rebuild their lives.

Begin Anew in south Nashville, a Christian Women’s Job Corps site, partnered with WorldCrafts to help refugees rebuild their lives. Begin Anew Refugee Artisan Group provides English as a second language classes, mentorships, Bible study, and handicrafts work for Burmese refugee women.

Christian Women's Job Corps of Madison County, Alabama, provides intensive courses that include Bible study and computer classes, completely free of charge. Each student is assigned a mentor, and each mentor is committed to a one-on-one relationship to help build the student's self-esteem, self-confidence and skills essential to success in life and work.

Through its partnership with WorldCrafts, women are able to earn an income making leather earrings with leather donated from Holtz Leather Company, a local, family-owned business that is committed to making an impact on the lives of people in their community.

Kristina came from a background of abuse and drugs. After crying out to God to save her in her early 20s, she started a new chapter in her life by joining the Christian Women’s Job Corps (CWJC) of Rusk County, Texas. Tutors helped Kristina complete her GED, allowing her to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. CWJC of Rusk County exists to give women like Kristina a chance to get back on their feet. Participants can receive instruction in basic job skills, GED and literacy tutoring, and English as a second language courses. They also have the opportunity to earn supplemental income by working in the small jewelry and crafts business at the site.

Graffiti 2 Works coaches adults to develop the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual skills necessary to achieve their best. Learning to sew and sell products gives these artisans jobs and builds their self-esteem.

As the artisans of Graffiti 2 Works sew together, they develop relationships with each other and with our Father.

Fleeing persecution in their native countries, such as Sudan, Bhutan, Burma, and Egypt, refugees often encounter new and threatening challenges upon arrival in the United States. Children are drawn into crime, parents are treated with disdain and overworked, and even the most basic tasks seem impossible. Refugee Beads provides hope, a sense of community, and needed income for refugees living in the Atlanta area.

Refugee Sewing Society in Clarkston, Georgia, teaches viable skills to vulnerable refugee women. The women receive payment for the products they sell, helping them earn a supplemental income. They have access to available resources including ESL and citizenship classes, which will allow them to adapt to their new home in America.

Sex trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry. Trafficked women feed a worldwide demand for sex slaves, prostitution, and pornography. Poverty and the fear of uncertain futures leave these women vulnerable to the lure of traffickers.

In the midst of this criminal world, The WellHouse fights human trafficking as it extends God’s grace and creates opportunities for restoration to exploited women. Here, trafficked victims enter a safe residential environment where they receive spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical support.