‘What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly’ Richard Bach
slumwear108 is dedicated to materialising possibility. Our actions are inspired by incredible individuals who demonstrate a desire to ‘rise above’ their experiences and create greater well being for themselves and others. We have come to witness the power of people who choose to step into their mastery, to believe in their gifts and share them. Santosh, a young adult who we met in one of Jaipur’s poorest slums is a shining example of a master-full individual.
At 2 years of age Santosh was ‘crippled’ by the effects of polio, she was orphaned and grew up with the responsibility for an aged grandmother. As a teenager, Santosh was given vocational training opportunities through the Ladli program delivered by I-India, when we met her through I-India she asked us for ideas in which she could extend her skills and income potential.
Tapping into our own mastery, Kath set about demonstrating to Santosh and the teachers at Ladli how to make fabric-covered beads.Within a month we were sent a beautiful box of ‘possibility’, gorgeous fabric covered beads made by Santosh and other youths from her slum community. As we promote social justice through social entrepreneurship we found many innovative ways in which to engage with our communities to get these beautiful beads to market.
As the income started to feed back into I-India’s programs, it was heart expanding to observe the changes taking place for all of us. By facilitating the ideas, skills and gifts of each other into products of possibility, our hope was to help create truly dignified living conditions. It was extraordinarily special to not only see the food, educational supplies, shelter, and medical care that could be provided through this joint effort, but the most valuable part was to witness the deepening of self worth for everybody involved. Above all, we experienced how a belief in one’s own mastery enabled transformation in the individual and their community.
What was especially moving was remembering that Santosh had asked for a ‘hand up, not a hand out’, over the months we were sent photos of Santosh receiving medical care, occupational therapy and a pair of quality running shoes! On a more recent trip to Jaipur, we stood still as Santosh walked to work with the help of her friend.
Engage with Mastery
We believe that possibility is limited by our expectations. More often than not, we condition ourselves to expect the worst. It would be easy to expect so little from humans who have endured so much physically, yet our work with these ‘masters’ have shown us we may not choose what happens to us in life but we can choose how we wish to respond to our experiences.
We love to extend the mindset of possibility we have witnessed in India, we share insights into how to masterfully respond to life, and warmly invite any opportunities to bring our slumwear108 fabric beads to you and your community through any of our engagements.
We are deeply grateful to all who support our restorative justice work through purposeful purchases of slumwear108.
Kath and Kim
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