Rama

ARTISAN#: 01

Rama is a twenty-one year old woman who is a proud fair trade artisan working with One Thread Fair Trade. She lives in a small two room house with her parents and two sisters. At her young age, Rama is the sole financial supporter of her family. Both of her parents are unable to work as her mother is suffering from a heart disease and her father from kidney problems. She recently lost her older sister who was murdered by her husband in a bout of domestic violence. Her second sister was also badly tortured by her husband and is physically unable to work due to her injuries. Rama was pulled out of school at Grade 10 as the rural community and her family did not see the value in the continued education of a girl.

Through the tailoring programs offered by Vijay Foundation Trust and One Thread Fair Trade, Rama has become a highly skilled tailor and uses her skills to financially support her family. With the fair wages she earns, Rama was able to move her family out of their tiny one room house to a larger two room house. She is an inspirational young woman who believes in the value of hard work and hope. She said that at one point, in her village, everyone used to look down upon her simply because she was female. Now, she commands respect amongst the villagers and has helped to slowly change the long-standing mentality that a girl child is incapable and useless. She is proud of herself and so are we.

FUN FACT: Rama has a sweet tooth and loves eating Indian sweets