DREAMS FROM LIMA
Carmen Page- Team Florida, T1, Q1
Growing up in Lima, Peru, Carmen Page witnessed the poverty in her country first hand.Every time she went to a restaurant, she would see a line of hungry children pressing their faces against the window while she dined.She also saw that women were not valued in the society.Often times they worked long hours and received very little compensation, only $2 per day, while male counterparts earned more money and worked less hours.Most women felt useless and had low self-esteem because they are unable to provide for their children.Witnessing those types of incidents inspired Carmen to make a difference in the lives of the women and children in Peru.
After two years of hard work, her dream is now being realized through the non-profit organization she created, called One-By-One.The mission of One-By-One is to bring economic prosperity to impoverished communities, by supporting women to become self-sustaining, micro-entrepreneurs so they can create a better life for themselves and their children.
How does One-By-One work?The organization provides all the resources to support these women in creating a successful and sustainable business.
In the past two years, Carmen and her team trained a group of women in Peru to build their own companies from scratch.They researched which type of business would be most feasible, determined the product type to sell, researched the market places in which to sell the product, and secured raw materials. Currently, they are in the process of renovating a building for the manufacturing operations, securing GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards) certification, and much more.Her team is also creating additional services for these women to improve their self-esteem such as personal growth seminars, nutritional guidance, financial advice, and more.
With One-By-One’s help, these women will have a safe environment to design and manufacture beautifully hand-crafted 100% certified organic baby clothing.The next steps for these women are to market and sell the products they produce.However, even before these women have sold a single item, they already are living their dream.They know that they are acknowledged in their community, their work is appreciated, and that they have been given a chance to create a better life.
In the past two years, Carmen has learned so much from her participation in Landmark Education’s Team Management and Leadership Program (TMLP). She attributes much of One-By-One’s success to Brandy Baldwin, a Team 2 TMLP participant who coached Carmen during the project’s second year. Carmen registered to be a part of TMLP to complete the project with structures, technology for building teams and teamwork, and help from fellow TMLP team members.Her dreams are fulfilled by sharing in dreams realized by the numerous women that One-By-One helped – and will continue to help for years to come.
“I used to think that one person could not do much to make a difference, but now I believe that we do matter, our voice matters.One person can make a difference in other people’s lives.We can be a contribution and make the world a better place.”- Carmen Page.
If you would like to find out more about One-By-One or contribute to the organization, please visit http://onebyone4life.org.
Written by Minling Chuang
Ilene McCrae’s Game in the World has brought about a new family tradition; producing homemade canned goods, involving all family members in the process. With tomatoes, peaches, applesauce, jellies, chili sauce and lots more items, the family cans and even trades them at Christmas time.