Month: May 2015

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw3t1l672VU]

Ruraq Maki will be celebrating our 4th Annual Auction and Fundraiser for women living in extreme poverty in need of work and skills training. Join us Friday, June 5th to Monday, June 15th for 10 days of bidding on over $6,000 worth of packages from San Francisco, Bay Area, and national businesses. Great getaway packages, massage and spa services, gift certificates to Bay Area restaurants, theaters, and stores, wine tasting packages, and more!

Looking toward a brighter future, our vision is to create a world where women are economically and socially independent. We believe that by providing quality income and skills training, we can help lead women to a better life. By bidding in the auction, you support our educational programs, which provide free workshops to over 100 women in Peru and Bolivia, setting them on the path towards financial independence. Your bid is an investment in women’s lives, an investment that keeps growing. With your help we can make a difference in the lives of low income women, setting them on the path to financial independence.

Get your first look at the auction catalogue. Categories include:
Art and Theatre
Food and Wine
Health, Beauty and Fitness
Home and Fashion
Travel and Entertainment

Online bidding will be via Ebay and you can pay online via PayPal and credit card, or pay via cash or check in person. All items can be shipped within the U.S. for a flat fee or picked up locally.

Online Bidding on eBay
Begins on Jun 5, 2015 at 8:00 PM
Ends on Jun 15, 2015 at 8:00 PM

Join us next Friday, June 5th to Monday, June 15th for 10 days of animated bidding via eBay. Getaway packages, fitness and spa services, art and theater, wine tasting packages, and more will be on offer from San Francisco, Bay Area, and national businesses. Worth over $6,000, guests will have a busy week trying to peruse the hundreds of items up for bid. Bookmark your favorite items from the auction catalogue.

The proceeds of the fundraiser will support the Yanamilla Prison Project and Manos Independientes, allowing us to broaden our educational programs. This year’s event will enable us to provide a week-long business development class in the prison, alongside a leather-working class, and an advanced jewelry-making class in Bolivia.

Please note, to bid in our auction you will need an Ebay account. Create a new Ebay account or reset your password.

“Last year I was overwhelmed by how many auction items I wanted to bid on! My favorite winning was an awesome gift certificate to yoga classes that I got for a fraction of the price. It makes me feel good that the money goes to these women in need and I got something I wanted too.” said Serena Lo, our volunteeer from last year who spent three months working on solicitations, item write ups, and creating the cohesive visual element to our catalogue.

The fundraiser in 2014 helped Ruraq Maki present 8 workshop series to women and teenage girls in Peru and Bolivia. We were able to conduct in-depth interviews with the women in the Yanamilla Prison, and develop a new line of products for them to sell, providing a much-needed income source. In the past, our auction has also helped us launch the leather working class, specialized jewelry making workshops, purchased specialized equipment for the women, and develop some of our best selling items.

Auction Catalogue
Date: Jun 5, 8:00 PM to Jun 15, 8:00 PM
Place: eBay.com

With Mother’s Day on the horizon, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a mother. In truth, I don’t know; I’m not one. But over the years I’ve watched the women we work with being mothers. I’ve seen them pour everything into their families and seen the central role, the foundational role, that their children play in their lives.

Watching them, I’ve come to understand that being a mother is hard. It is the hardest, most arduous job one will ever have. The task of raising children is relentless. There are constant needs, constant tears, constant expenses, and constant struggle, especially for those living in poverty. Saying the women work hard is an understatement – they are in a perpetual state of work. It is what they do – day in, day out – with the hope of giving their children a better life. 

Yet, in the midst of the constance of motherhood, they are joyful. How can it be that while a 3-year old wails into her skirt and a is baby strapped to her back and a 5-year old yanks her arm refusing the walk, that she still smiles? How are giggles entwined with hauling sacks of potatoes from the campo or embroidering 12 hours a day? How do they find time for happiness?

What I’ve learned from the women, and especially about motherhood, is that in the most difficult, the most grueling, the most exhausting tasks, there is a deep well of love that serves as the headwater to joy. Love for their children propels them through the muck, gives them the strength to carry on, and provides the energy to be happy. What a blessed thing it is – to hold a well of nourishment so deep that it is unshakeable.

Although cliche, I can think of no better way to put it – mothers are the superheroes of our time. Not because of their strength, their determination, or their unwavering abilities – for their love. A love that is the backbone of everything they do. Every beautiful, mundane, and transformative action that they put into the world.