Day 4: “I Can’t Believe I Did It”

Watch the live video blog above, or catch the highlights below!

An Early Goodbye

One of the women who has been in our programs for 8 years is getting released in July! We talked a bit about her release today and how she’s really excited to go to her home, in the North of Peru, and see her daughter who is now 8 years old.

As we chatted, we both got a bit emotional about this being the last trip that I’ll see her. She did promise to find me on Facebook but, still, the sense of having of known someone for such a long time and knowing that you won’t see them regularly any more is bittersweet.

Also, she reminded me that she has a photo of me holding her daughter when she was 6 months old and living in the prison! That reminder impacted me, because I realized how long and deep our relationship has become over the years.

“I Can’t Believe I Did It”

There’s a new woman in our programs, Erika, who is a riot! She has a very positive attitude about everything and is a light hearted jokester. Yesterday, she tried to learn the more difficult leather braiding technique and after 45 minutes (and several round of having to take everything apart) she gave up and went back to the easier braid.

However, all day, you could sense her disappointment and she even said she was surprised at herself because she’s usually very good at picking things like that up.

Today, she tried again. At first, she didn’t get it. But after 30 minutes she finally got the technique and was giddy with excitement about getting it! She kept saying, “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe I did it!”

This is a perfect example of a secondary part of our programs, which is learning how to learn and showing the women that they can trust themselves and their skills. This is crucial for the women when it comes to leadership building, self-esteem building, and trusting in a sense of what’s possible for the future.

Ripples of Impact

On the way home, Senor Alberto reminded me of something that I didn’t realize: One of the women from the leather sandal making class is now part of a small sandal making enterprise in the prison!

Senor Alberto said to me, “What I love about working with you is that even though the women don’t always sell what they learn to make, it expands their ideas of what’s possible and what they’re interested in.”

This woman was in our sandal making class in August, and now just 6 months later, her and group of women are making sandals. It’s a different technique, but the class opened up something for her about making and selling sandals. And while it wasn’t a linear path of take the class-> sell leather sandals, the ripple effect is something far more sustainable because it’s based on her desires and interests.

Day 3: Leading

Watch the live video blog above, or catch the highlight below!

Leather Class

We started our leather working class today. Senor Alberto and I met at the door right on time and it was smooth sailing getting through the door with our materials. We started the class with Senor Alberto explaining to the women that this class is about focusing on a single product, making it perfectly, and then being able to repeat the process without assistance so they can sell it in the local market.

Then the women started making the leather bracelets! Senor Alberto started the class by making a single bracelet and, after the women understood the steps, it was their turn to try it on their own with Senor Alberto’s help.

Halfway through the class more than half of the women left because Thursdays are appointment day for the women. This means that the women have appointments with their lawyers, social workers, and psychologist to get their documents in order.

At first I was disappointed about half the women leaving for appointments, but it turned out to be great because the women who stayed were able to advance on the project with the tools and attention they needed.

Later, as women came back from the appointments, the class became staggered so there were always enough tools to go around.

Stepping Up

One of the women who stayed was Lia and, as the women returned from their appointments, Lia stepped up as teacher’s assistant. She began explaining the steps to the women who were behind, gave them the measurements they needed, and helped them when they got stuck.

The best part about witnessing this was seeing how natural it was for Lia to step into the role. My hope is that when Lia leaves the prison in 4 months that she can lean into the confidence she’s felt as a leader in this class and bring that into other aspects of her life.

Day 2: What We Will Make

Today I met with our leather professor, Alberto, who showed us the projects that he’s going to teach the women. These projects are designed to help the women tap into the local market in Peru. This class is designed to help the women gain additional sales channels in their local economy.

The projects the women will be working on are two leather bracelets, each featuring a different braiding design and a key chain with braiding around the edges that has a snap for belt loops.

Watch the video to see examples of each product!

Day 1: Soaked

This trip we are experimenting with a live video blog on Facebook! You can watch the full video above or catch the highlights below!

Collaborations

This trip is our first trip collaborating with Maki, another organization working in the prison with in-country staff. Our agreement is that they will help us organize our paperwork for our programs and all their women will automatically be able to attend our workshops. Which is a win win for all! We get to help more women and we get the in-country support we need!

Role Models

We start our classes on Thursday and for our very first day of classes we’re going to have two special visitors- Doctor Castro, who is in charge of all of our paperwork and authorizations, and the prison Director.

They will be observing the class and taking photos of the classes to send to the head bosses of INPE (Peru’s national penitentiary system). When we were here in August we found out that there’s a group who is fighting to change regulations in the prisons so that NGOs and buyers can more easily connect with the interns.

They want to send pictures of our class to show INPE how beneficial NGO programs can be for the prisons in Peru. I’m totally okay with being a role model for this!

Leather Class

Starting on Thursday we’re starting a 6-day leather working class with the women! What makes this class extra special is that Alberto, our leather professor, designed this curriculum based on his own ideas about what would be beneficial to the women.

Alberto’s idea is that he wants the women to get to the point where they can independently produce a product that is sellable in the local market. His long-term goal is to order these items from the women and sell them in the markets, but to get there the women need to learn to produce a product perfectly.

Which is exactly what he’s teaching them this trip. They will focus on one product (a leather bracelet) and they’ll focus on first learning the techniques and then perfecting them.

On Being Released

One of the women who has been in our programs for many years is being released in several months. Today I asked her if she was excited about leaving and she said, “Yes and no. I’m scared.”

As we talked more she shared that she’s afraid of what it will be like after she leaves the prison. Her biggest fear is finding work and worrying about what she’ll do after she’s released.

But she’s also afraid of starting a whole new life after being incarcerated for 15 years. She stepping out into a world that she doesn’t know. And that’s scary.

I’m sharing this to acknowledge that the trauma of incarceration doesn’t end with incarceration itself, but spills over in life after the prison. It’s our hope at Ruraq Maki that we can be there for the women both while they are in prison and afterwards.

Day 7- What We Made

Today was my last day in the prison and it was quick! When I arrived, I met Alberto who had forgotten his glasses in the prison. Once inside, we split up and he went to the workshop area to look for his glasses and I went to the women’s cell block to pay them for the jewelry.

While I was in the cell block, the guard informed me that the women couldn’t find his glasses and that they were freaking out. For the women, the worst thing that someone can think of them is that they are thieves. They are always very careful with the materials and count everything before and after class.

I joined the women in the workshop and we took all the materials out of their bags and searched and searched for his glasses. Alberto noticed how worried and anxious the women had become and told them that it was okay. He didn’t want them to be upset or get in trouble with the guard. Of course, at this point everything had already escalated, and the women were going one by one asking everyone if they had seen the glasses.

And then the guard found the glasses! They were on our work table which had been brought inside the day before.

Everyone was relieved! But most of all the women. Alberto told me later that he had already accepted losing the glasses and just didn’t want to women to worry more. Fortunately, they were found, which I assumed would happen eventually. One thing I know about the women in our programs is that they don’t steal things from the workshops and work very hard to ensure all materials are accounted for.

In case you missed what we made this trip, here’s a review!

We started with mandala stamped pendants:

Manadla pendants

Manadla pendants

Moved on to stamped metal cuffs:

Stamped Metal Cuffs-4

Took it up a notch with riveted pendants:

Riveted Pendants-5

Then it was time for leather work! First sandals:

Leather Sandles_Done-2

Then leather and metal stamped jewelry:

Leather Stamped Cuff-3

Keep an eye out on our Facebook Page and online store- in September our metal stamped jewelry will be on sale!