Incarcerated Women

Highlights:

Today I got a sneak peek of our embroidered jewelry order that we are collecting tomorrow and the work the women are doing is amazing! This might be one of the best rounds yet of our embroidered jewelry and we have a new group of women working on the order. The best part is that one of the new women approached me today and asked me if she could continue making jewelry for future orders because she likes it so much. That’s wonderful because part of our mission is creating work that the women like to do!

We also made earrings today! For today’s project, instead of sample, I brought loose ideas because I wanted the women to experiment with their own ideas. Something that we often see in the local market is that people replicate other people’s designs. Often the artisan stands have the same products over and over again. 

We, on the other hand, want to encourage the women to explore their own creativity and design ideas. An they are! Each woman approached the metal stamped earrings differently and their personalities as artists stood out. While some went complex with lots of patterns and pieces layered together, others went simple, clean, and minimal with inspiration words and phrases. 

Seeing the women step into themselves as artists and develop a unique style is inspiring. This is how they go beyond techniques to designers. And this is the first step to building a brand for their work. 

After the prison I had lunch with Gladys, who used to be incarcerated and was released in 2016. We had a great time catching up over lunch and she is doing well. The only hard things is that she also has osteoporosis (again the doctors think due to the prison conditions) and she broke her foot a few months ago. 

To get to her house requires walking down a big rocky hill. That means that while her foot was broken she was unable to work because she couldn’t walk. Instead, she stayed in bed for several months. Because of this she lost some of the momentum of her sewing business. Also, she told me that her hands are weak and hurting, which means it’s much harder for sew.

Not to fear, though! Gladys is a natural entrepreneur and has a new business going to Lima to buy used American clothing and then to the jungle to sell the clothes at a small markup. She just got back from one round of doing this and is going back next week to do it again. She says it’s going very well. 

To me, Gladys is the true definition of an entrepreneur. She’s always thinking of new ways to earn money and following through with her plans. 

Highlights:

This trip I’ve been getting to know one of the younger women in our class, Claudia. She’s been in our classes before but has been somewhat shy and not spoken much. Yesterday we had a long conversation about her impending release, which should be happening this month (we hope!).

Originally, she was supposed to leave last month, but there was a problem with her papers. Now, due to the problem, she is stressed about leaving and if something will go wrong again. Claudia is a single mother of a 6 years old daughter who is currently living with relatives. We spoke about how hard it is to be everything to a child, and not just being the primary financial earner, the primary disciplinarian or primary caregiver, but also being both mother and father.

Another thing that came up in our conversation was the importance of having a plan when leaving the prison. Claudia told me, “When you’re in here, you think about every moment outside. Why am I here? What did I do to get here? What can I do so I never come back? I’ve spent a lot of the past few years reflecting on what brought me here.”

She thinks that the reason some women return is that they don’t have a plan when their released- which makes it easy to fall back into drug trafficking. For Claudia, a plan is the most important thing she can leave with. Knowing what steps she needs to take to get to her ultimate goal is what motivates her. She told me, “My plans are going to work out. You’ll see.”

Today I also had lunch with one of the women who was released last year, after 13 years of incarceration, Marleni. She is doing so well! She’s living with her family and daughters, who are encouraging her to travel throughout Peru and rest while she’s away from Ayacucho. She doesn’t like being in the city because everywhere she goes, if people know she was incarcerated, they say, “Oh poor thing.” (and she is DEF not a poor thing).

But, she’s enjoying her trips with her family and alone, spending time with her daughters, and going out to the campo and listening to the rain.

She also told me that after her release she went to Lima for a full medical checkup. There she found out that she has osteoporosis and the doctors think it’s because of the diet and living conditions in the prison. She is now on a year long treatment plan, but still has pain in her joints and bones.

After she received her diagnosis, she called her friend, another women released from the prison, and told her to have a checkup. That woman went for a check up and also has osteoporosis, which explains why right after she was released she broke her arm and broke her foot a few months ago. While we always knew the prison had a negative impact on the women’s emotional and mental health, now we are seeing the impacts on their physical health.

Beyond her physical health (which is being treated), she’s doing fantastically and it was such a joy to spend the day with her!

Highlights:

This trip the women are learning metal stamped jewelry. Even though we have had metal stamping classes in the past, it’s the first time for most of the women. That means we’re back to basics with the metal stamping and the women are practicing the basic techniques. 

Today we made metal stamped bracelets with special words or phrases and designs! For their very first time the women did an amazing job practicing the techniques and had a blast designing their bracelets. And they loved the creative aspect of metal stamping which opens up so many creative possibilities. 

Today was one of many firsts! Our first metal stamping class and Board President, Virginie’s, first time visiting the prison and meeting the women. Here’s what she says about her experience in the prison:

“The prison is a place where they have put a lot of effort into, the special room that they have for creation and textile work. And of course, what was phenomenal for me was to meet all the women that I’ve heard stories about, meet them in person, and see clearly how some of them are really into it and help the others. That was really fantastic to witness.”

At the end of the day, as we waited to leave the prison, a few of the women spoke to us about wanting ongoing support after they leave the prison. One of the problems they are facing is that when they leave the prison, there is no work for them. They want to continue using the skills that they’ve learned in the prison and take those skills to the outside.

Specifically they need access to the materials, a place to work, and orders. Which is where you come in! When you purchase our products you’re not just supporting the organization, you’re supporting the women.  The women are paid upfront for their work and all the proceeds from the products go back to the women in the form of more orders. 

While the orders generate income for the women, they also create more orders, which means more women have the opportunity to work and it creates ongoing income for the women. If you haven’t checked out our online store, please shop and support the women!