Sarah R

This elderly Filipina is married with six children, and has an eclectic resume. Desperate to finish high school, Sarah worked as a house helper so that she could afford her tuition.

Thanks to her hard work, teenage Sarah graduated—a rare accomplishment for impoverished youth in Southeast Asia.

After graduation, the young woman learned how to sew, a skill that eventually became her main occupation and that has helped her and her husband make ends meet ever since.

After several decades of working as a seamstress, Sarah was introduced to Work of Your Hand through her local church, where her son is pastor and partners with us to provide dignified work to impoverished families in his congregation.

For a time, Sarah led a group of artisans and helped sew large orders of recycled juice and coffee bag products, which we then sold in North America to provide her with a fair wage.

That wage helped Sarah save to buy a sewing machine, and that machine brought enough income to save more. Eventually, she opened a small convenience store, too!

Sarah no longer sews for Work of Your Hand, and we are excited to have been a stepping stone into greater, more stable employment. We wish Sarah all the best in her business ventures!

Thank you for partnering with artisans like Sarah, and for changing lives, one purchase at a time.

Sarah R