I am so excited to host this giveaway today!  As we get closer to Christmas, I love sharing more “goodies that give” ideas with you!  This hits home to me, as I love and support the people of Ethiopia and have been to the area where Connected with Hope works [and I know their full time staff people there!]  This is an amazing opportuinty to support a family in Ethiopia AND look cute while doing it.  Read on to see how you could win.  [written by Ryanne]

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My family and I founded Connected in Hope following the adoption of my younger son, Joseph, from Ethiopia in 2009.  We completely fell in love with the country ( I know you know how easy that is!) and the wonderful people we met and wanted to, in some way, give back.  And, while we love adoption (of course!) we know that it is not the only answer and that poverty should never be the sole reason why birth mamas feel they must relinquish their children.

We truly believe that the key to sustainable change in places like Ethiopia comes through empowering women and educating kids.  We have a fair trade, social enterprise model offering income development programs in addition to a wide range of holistic services for the women and their families.  We partner with (and fully fund and support) the Former Women Fuel Wood Carriers Association, a group of 70 women artisans who were once fuel wood carriers and are now weaving beautiful scarves and baskets.

Our mission goes beyond charity, to the creation of a sustainable business model that honors and builds on the talent, commitment and creativity of our amazing weavers. Our goal is to provide access to international markets as well as the support, encouragement and training necessary for weavers to earn a sustainable, predictable and Fair Trade income.  The weavers are paid upfront for their products and100% of the profit from sales is reinvested in programs that benefit the women and their families.  For example, we operate a  daycare/preschool serving the children and grandchildren of our weavers as well as children from the  surrounding neighborhood.  We also offer capacity building programs for the women (leadership development, business training, literacy classes)  as well as basic health screenings for the women and children.

All of our scarves bear the name of the woman who made them and buyers are able to visit our site and read her story and see how their purchase is truly making a difference in her life.  They can even leave her a note of thanks or encouragement on the site too. 

Having Nebiat and Danica working on the ground day in and day out with the women is a wonderful bonus too. We are able to provide a level of transparency and connection that isn’t available in traditional buying situations.  We are able to share photos and updates with our buyers so that they can continue to follow “their” weavers progress long after the initial purchase was made.

“Empowering women and families in Ethiopia to rise above poverty through sustainable income development. Every Product Tells A Story. Every Purchase Brings Hope.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

giveaway: 1 scarf [of your choice]

coupon code: RUINED  (enter at check out for Free Shipping)

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I’ve got my eye on this one…