For a number of years Rainbow Turtle has been supporting a small business in Mozambique run by Pedro Langa. Although making huge progress after years of civil war, Mozambique remains one of the poorest counties in Sub- Saharan Africa with high unemployment, low literacy and short life expectancy.
When we first met Pedro he was living a precarious existence in a tin hut with no regular means of income. He is a talented artist and we support him by developing his designs and products and providing markets for them. These include greetings cards made from recycled materials, hand painted clerical stoles and bespoke banners for organisations.
Rainbow Turtle recognises that in order to build up his business to a level where it is self-sustaining and able to expand to employ more people a greater level of support is required. The charity has pledged £1,500 for 3 years as grants to buy materials and to pay for basic living costs to allow more time to be spent on product development.
Pedro says "I am a Mozambican, I live in a country like any other country. The difference is that when we wake up, we never know if it will be dark or bright. Things change without warning, It is an unstable life, I fight hard to survive. The support from Rainbow Turtle has been helpful and working with them is a pleasure. There are things which I doubted I would achieve but today my son goes to school, I live in a proper house and they gave me a hand when I was sick and I should say thank you".
We receive support through the Friends of Rainbow Turtle programme and through donations to continue with this work - to develop a workshop, find new markets for products and create a sustainable business.
Familias Especiales (Special Families) is a Nicaraguan voluntary organisation based in Matagalpa which supports women and their families where there is a family member with a disability. Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Central America and there are few services for people with disabilities.We have been in partnership with Familias Especiales since 2007, initially selling their hand painted cards in our shop.
From 2008 - 2011 Rainbow Turtle pledged Familias Especiales a development grant of £1500 per year to support their arts and crafts programme for over 50 young people with a disability. The project uses recycled materials to produce cards, bags, packaging and piñatas which are mainly sold locally in Matagalpa. At Rainbow Turtle's request they also produce paper packaging trays for us in two sizes which we use for making gift packs of chocolate, sweets, jams etc. Recently they started making small crosses/bookmarks for us; these are proving popular for individuals, groups and special events, and are available via our online store.
This project makes a real difference to people's lives by offering income, development of social and work skills and educational opportunities as well as support to health and well being. It is organised and run by the mothers themselves.
We receive support through the Friends of Rainbow Turtle programme and through donations to continue helping to fund this creative arts and crafts programme at Familias Especiales from 2011 onwards.
