Sex Trafficking Survivors Prove Their Metal

Made By Survivors...From their Facebook Page:

According to United States State Department data, an "estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children [are] trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 70 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The data also illustrates that the majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation." To me, the rapidly growing trade of women and girls, known as sex trafficking, is one of the most tragic and upsetting issues of our time. In India, a major destination country for trafficked women and girls, "As many as 200,000 Nepali girls, many under 14, have been sold into sexual slavery.

The Emancipation Network (T.E.N.) is a unique and powerful organization that is supported not only by donations, but also by the efforts of sexual slavery survivors themselves, who design and create unique fair trade jewelry, bags and gifts. 100% of profits are donated to survivors and shelters.

One of the training programs that not only teaches a trade, but develops self esteem and helps to provide income for the programs is their new Made By Survivors Pan/Indian Jewelry Design Program.

Their Beaded Jewelry Program is already a big success and this new Metalsmithing Program is being Developed and Run by Dianna Badalament. In the photo to the right you see Dianna teaching with the assistance of an Interpreter.

There is nothing quite like the enthusiasm of a person working "in the trenches"...so, in Dianna's own words:

"i'm the international jewelry program manager at MBS and plan and execute programs and train at jewelry facilities as well as report on progress and various situations. i also facilitate the flow of information and resources from the jewelry community to MBS as well as consult on all matters jewelry.

it is really a privilege to be able to call work that makes such an impact "my job". i truly enjoy training the survivors of human trafficking and sex slavery (a.k.a amazing girls). i've always wanted to do field work on an important issue and i feel so fortunate to be able to use the skills i've learned and pass them on to women to whom it can make a difference that affects the rest of their life.

i've always been involved in human rights groups and to able to meld all these different components from my life together and have this outcome, still makes me shake my head in disbelief at times. it is very difficult to do this work on a lot of levels including, the sacrifices that my family and I make and the psychological impact of the subject matter, to name a couple. however, when you are right in front of the survivors and you get a smile, or a hug, or see some kind of break through, either in your relationship with them or with their vocational work, it is undoubtedly life changing. to see someone so wronged and so abused still persevere and have hope for a good future, it really leaves you no other choice but to follow their stellar example."

This is Dianna with Soma...one of their first success stories is Soma Seal. Soma started out with the program as a translator but was recently promoted to jewelry trainer after proving she had the passion and the talent.

I don't have the space on this blog to share as many photos as I would like of this program...but as Jewelers, take a moment to go to the Made By Survivors Facebook Page and just look at the determined faces of these women as they learn. The women working on the floor, the young woman with her tongue clenched in the corner of her mouth as she concentrates...it brings smiles and tears.

If you have any last minute Holiday shopping to do - why not do it with Fair Trade Goods from the MBS Store...do good while giving great gifts!

Jewelry for Jewelers - Lee Marshall

I was reading a blog post from one of my favorite MetalSmith pals BZ - of Cosmos Moon. She talks about "Gifts for MetalSmiths" this being the season of giving. The first thing that came to mind was this wonderful post by my go-to Tool man - Lee Marshall of Knew Concepts - the designer of the Bonny Doon Hydraulic Press, Knew Concepts Saw, MicroFold Brake and multi award winning engineer.

Photos Include: Bracelet by Cynthia Eid using the MicroFold Brake; Microfold Brake; Knew Concepts Electric Saw; thrilled workshop attendee using the electric saw!

I Make Jewelry for Jewelers

by Lee Marshall

Who hasn't seen Tee shirts emblazoned with sayings such as "TOOL FOOL", bumper stickers with "I BRAKE FOR TOOLS"?

How many times have you as a jeweler, given an encircled

picture or catalog description of a tool or machine with the notation saying: "This is the one that I want for my anniversary, wedding, birthday, holiday, etc"?

Jewelers fall into a very special category of unique individuals. Those on the "outside" have a hard time coming up with gift ideas for them.

Flowers won't work with this crowd; candy leaves them cold, brandy isn't the answer, and diamonds...they would only use them to make something for someone else! No, the best way to show love or friendship to this group is to give them a tool.

These folks still cherish their very first good tool, and probably still use it every day. In my case, I still have tools given to me by my father over sixty years ago, and even though I don't use them much anymore, as our interests diverged, I still fondle them with reverence.

Good tools free creativity, while poor tools limit it. I have been making tools for jewelers and metalsmiths for more than twenty years, and for the longest time didn't recognize that my appreciation for tools and machinery was shared by others. This was brought home to me when I shipped a tool

to a customer and it happened to arrive on her birthday, along with a box of long-stemmed roses from her brother, and a package from her husband. As she related this story to me later, she confessed that she opened mine first. After all, the piece that she was working on needed the tool to finish it, and her husband would get to see her open his gift to her. Now, this is rationalization of the first order.

For the past 20 years, I have been trying to figure out how to describe to others what it is that I do. I realize now that I occupy a very small niche within the universe circumscribed by the field of jewelry. While some would say that I am an insignificant piece of the larger puzzle, I feel that I

participate in making objects of beauty.

That's good enough for me.

What I do is create jewelry for jewelers.