A Devastating Loss & How You Can be the Hands & Feet of Jesus

Last night I got an email from Kristi Griem, the president of FreeSet, with devastating news.  Yesterday there was a UPS plane that crashed and both of the pilots lost their lives.  On that plane there were 13,000 FreeSet bags worth $150,000 that were destroyed.  Instead of focusing on the financial loss that this poses, Freeset USA is currently working on an exclusively designed t-shirt, in which the profits will benefit the two families of the pilots that lost their lives in the crash.

My heart and prayers go out to the families of those pilots and my heart also goes out to the women in India who work to make FreeSet bags.  The loss of these bags represents three months of work for 200 staff members. Why do I care so much about the loss of these bags? Because FreeSet is in business for freedom. Freedom from human trafficking.

“Freeset is a fair trade business and ministry that sells bags and t-shirts, made by women freed from human trafficking in Calcutta, India. The women are able to have a job with dignity, making products, instead of being the product. Every woman receives three times the wage they would receive in a regular job, learn to read and write, daycare for their children, have medical insurance and retirement benefits. Women were tricked, trapped, or traded and find themselves seemingly without a choice. Our goal is to change the economic scope of Sonagacchi, Calcutta’s largest red light district, to one of freedom, instead of the sex trade. Because Freeset is a fair trade business a simple ‘re order’ is not possible. The women are paid fair wages for their work and we are not a mass-producing, slave labor force.”

We want to help FreeSet recover the loss of these bags and support the women who are facing this devastating loss and any long-term impact it could have.  FreeSet was a sponsor of The Declare Conference, I know Kristi Griem personally and we are working together with Allume and Pure Charity to do everything we can to help FreeSet regain what was lost.

I believe that this is a perfect opportunity for us to be the church and give to those who have lack. In the words of Logan Wolfram “it would be phenomenal if we all partner to show the world what can happen when a bunch of mommas rally together to make the difference for a community. For freedom in India…for loving others….for being the hands and feet of Jesus.”

You can help by visiting the page Pure Charity set up and give whatever you can {every little bit helps}.  You can also share this with as many people as you can to spread the word to help meet the need.  Post it on Facebook, tweet about it, email your friends.  Let’s work together and we can make a difference.