The Story of Julie Pura

Julie Pura lives in very humble circumstances in the Philippines.  She is a bag weaver and the mother of six children.  One of Julie's daughters had a bad skin allergy which required expensive medication.  Because of this, the family did not have enough money to buy both food and medication.  As Julie was not able to sell enough of her beautiful bags to help provide for their needs, she and her husband decided they had no choice but for Julie to leave the country and seek employment as a foreign domestic worker.  This is a path that is very common for desperate women in the Philippines.

Elevita found Julie just as she was about to apply for a passport.   It broke our hearts to think of her leaving her family.  We looked at all of her beautiful bags and chose three of our favorites, ordering just 30 of each as a start.  As is our practice, we paid her half the money as a down payment for her work.  With this money, Julie had enough not only for the bag supplies, but also money left over to cement the dirt floor of her hut.  MIRACULOUSLY, with the improved living conditions, her daughter's skin allergy disappeared.  This freed up the family income for food and other necessities.  Julie was even able to hire other needy women to help her finish the bags.  This is a great anecdote about how simply purchasing a few handicrafts can change the life of a family.