This week, we profile Freeset one of the projects Geoff, Raymond and Terry visited while they were in Asia. As a church, we have several links to Freeset. Kerry and Annie Hilton from New Zealand established Freeset eight years ago. Kerry is Raymond’s cousin’s wife’s cousin. Rachel Ballentyne’s friend and her husband co-ordinated marketing for Freeset for several years and Sue Stewart sells Freeset bags.
Ten years ago, Kerry and Annie moved to Kolkata to live and work among the poor. They arrived, agreed to rent a flat in the day time, and then found out they had chosen to live in the middle of the red light district of Kolkata. So they decided they were called to work amongst prostitutes. Two years later they set up a business, making jute bags, with 20 prostitutes who they had befriended and wanted to be free. The business is crucial as the women need alternative income to be free to leave the trade. Over the last eight years, 150 women have been made free, word has spread and 50 more women want to join if the business can grow to support them. However, the business has been impacted by the recession and is not in a position to support new workers at the moment. The business is just expanding into t-shirts.
Geoff, Raymond and Terry were all very moved by our visit. We heard Kerry and Annie’s story, saw the women laughing at their sewing machines as Kerry showed us around and teased them as their ‘big brother’, and listened to one woman share her story with us.
We can help Freeset by
- praying
- thinking of people we know in business who might be interested in purchasing jute bags or t-shirts
- support the Freeset trust which helps the women by funding
- training in life skills
- the nursery
- financial services, such as, budgeting and repayments
- a proposed health clinic and school for the community.
For more information you can visit http://www.freesetglobal.com/
