LatinaLista — What’s the best thing to lift a person out of poverty? A job, of course.
Yet, what if that person has never received an education or training in any skill, and on top of that, they live in a country where they are either dependent on the government for all their needs or live a literal hand-to-mouth existence?
That was the situation that confronted three boyhood friends who wanted to help the impoverished women of Uganda. So the three shared with these women a skill they had learned in high school and which provided them a healthy amount of revenue — crocheting caps.
It was during their high school years when they were crocheting caps for family and friends, who liked to wear them skiing, that a local newspaper dubbed the trio the Krochet Kids. The name stuck and it’s what the three decided to use in 2008 when they created their non profit to help poor women in third-world countries rise out of poverty.
Today, Krochet Kids, International is teaching over 150 women in Uganda and Peru to crochet with plans to expand into even more countries. The current inventory of products are then sold in the United States with the revenue sent back to the women to be used for everything from starting a business to getting an education — but most of all, supplying them with a stable source of income.
The women are crocheting more than just caps these days. In addition to the caps, new products include infinity scarves, bowties, crocheted women’s headbands and new cap patterns.
But the best part of these product is that a tag is inserted in each one personally autographed by the woman who made it.
With the tagline, “Buy a hat. Change a life,” the organization adheres to a very simple philosophy exemplified by the three founders when asked how people can help:
Buy a hat. Learn the story of the lady who made it. Tell your friends. Love those around you.
