{Giveaway} Trades of Hope

A local friend of mine is working to make a difference and I wanted to give her a chance to share hope with you. Meet Becky Lile. She's a wife, mother of two, college professor, and Trades of Hope compassion entrepreneur. And, hey, she's giving you a chance to win a beautiful accessory ...  


Hope. What a beautiful word. A beautiful concept. A necessary concept. People thrive on the ability to hope and see something positive in the future. I look around my little corner of the world, and even in my very worst moments and lowest times, I see hope. Opportunity. A future.

And one of the amazing things about hope is that we have the ability to give it to others. This idea has been on my mind a lot lately. A sweet friend of mine has been living in India, Thailand, and Burma for the last few months, and her Facebook posts about working with orphans, moms, widows, addicts, and more have been both challenging and encouraging. She is telling them about God’s great love for them, and through that many are experiencing new life and new hope. She also is helping in many practical ways, and through that many have new hope. Lives are being changed. I love that she is there, and I would love to visit her and join her for a while, but that’s not my season or my calling or my job right now.

A few months ago, I heard about a company called Trades of Hope, and immediately I was drawn to the vision. Trades of Hope is a missional business that partners with artisan groups in several countries to sell handmade, fair-trade items made by women who are coming out of desperate situations.

The women make beautiful items, and Trades of Hope helps market those items so that the women have a sustainable business and stable work environment. These are women who are now able to support themselves and their children, avoid prostitution and sex trafficking, overcome gender bias, live on sustainable wages, and have hope.

These women are not in poverty because they lack abilities, but because they lack opportunity. They do not want charity; they need an opportunity. And beautiful scarves, jewelry, bowls, and handbags are part of the solution.

Every purchase through Trades of Hope gives women the opportunity to get clean water and medical care, to send their children to school and put food on the table, and it gives them a second chance at life!

The artisans are women in Uganda who can send their kids to school and pay for their HIV medical care by making bracelets; victims of acid attacks in Cambodia who learn a trade of crocheting and knitting while gaining dignity and healing; Haitian women who are keeping their babies instead of giving them to an orphanage because they’re making beauty out of cereal boxes; even girls in California, rescued from sex trafficking in our own country, who are learning they are cherished and redeemed while making recycled glass necklaces.

In a time when we hear so many tales of heartbreak, suffering, pain, and persecution, it is a blessing to know we CAN do something to make a difference … and to help provide hope. As you begin shopping for family and friends for Christmas, birthdays, or other events, please consider giving a gift that gives twice.

{Orders from Trades of Hope usually arrive within 5-10 days, but if you're Christmas shopping you should keep in mind orders may take a bit longer to arrive in December.}

I invite you to take a look around my site, view the accessories, and read the artisan profiles. You are welcome to host a party with a purpose or purchase a fair-trade product and make a difference for positive change in the world – one accessory at a time. And if you want to become even more involved, contact me about becoming a compassion entrepreneur.

I’d love for you to see these gorgeous, life-changing items in person. At least one of you will! One reader will win this aqua scarf made by women in Nepal.

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and has an unemployment rate of more than 40%. Many girls are lured into the sex trade to survive. Every year approximately 10,000 girls from ages 9 to 16 are sold, stolen, or forced into brothels. The young women making these scarves have been given an opportunity to earn a fair wage by making handcrafts. They can make a living with dignity and are being trained to own their own businesses. Now that is a pretty powerful scarf!

If you’d like to win this beautiful scarf, use the Rafflecopter entry form below. A winner will be randomly chosen Saturday, Oct. 26.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UPDATED! Congratulations to Alecia from There's Something Different for winning this lovely scarf! Thanks to everyone for reading, participating and sharing. And thanks to Becky for posting this giveaway here! ________
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