Opportunity, Not Sympathy - Bombolulu Jewelry Craft, Kenya

Opportunity, Not Sympathy
Bombolulu Jewelry Craft
Kenya
Produced by Natural Light Films

To see Ten Thousand Villages products handcrafted by Bombolulu Workshops, visit: http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/catalog/product.list.php?cart_artisan_id=21

Bombolulu believes that all people have value, talent and skill. Everyone can work and be productive, even those who are severely disabled. Esther Mwanyama, Bombolulu's Program Manager, says that artisans at Bombolulu are socially and economically empowered. "There is a personal success story behind every product". Bombolulu provides employment for 113 artisans who are blind or physically disabled.

Bombolulu was started in 1969 as a program to work with physically and mentally disabled people in and around the coastal city of Mombasa in Kenya. Generally, disabled people from poor families have no hope for work and self-sufficiency. Often, their families put them out on the street to beg so that they can at least contribute something to the cost of their upkeep.

Bombolulu also has a workshop that produces wheelchairs, walking canes, crutches and other devices that enable people to be more mobile and productive. Artisans in the video can be seen sitting in wheelchairs and using canes and crutches made at Bombolulu by disabled artisans. They truly have become productive and self-sufficient.

Bombolulu provides employment and numerous other benefits, including housing, medical aid and adult education, for adults who are blind or physically disabled and who would otherwise have virtually no chance of employment in the mainstream labor market. Bombolulu's campus includes housing units for artisans, artisan workshops, and a guesthouse to help generate income

An on-staff designer creates new jewelry lines, including both the trademark whimsical Bombolulu recycled materials jewelry and other design pieces. Mary Mutave, the head jewelry designer for Bombolulu, walks with a severe limp. Mary started with Bombolulu as a young girl and has proven to be a very talented designer. She says that working at Bombolulu has changed her life. Now she is self-sufficient and can help her family and children. She is very thankful for orders from Ten Thousand Villages.

"When the customer is wearing Bombolulu Products, it's not just a product from Africa. It is not just a product from Bombolulu. Let them know they have actually socially and economically empowered a person with a disability. They have given them hope. They have given them hope to go out into society and tell them 'yes we can'. Yeah. There is a success story behind that necklace, behind those earrings, bracelets and all the products that come from Bombolulu" Esther

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

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