Bosfam; and a modest proposal

BOSFAM Homepage

I'm sure most of the regular readers of this blog are already aware of the existence of the BOSFAM weaving collective. If you are not aware of this group and its fine work, by all means check it out. It is a collective of war widows who have banded together to try and find a way to utitlize their weaving skills as a way to make a living. When you consider that the educational and literacy levels of many of these women is low, and that they mostly were homemakers who have no experience in the workplace, you can appreciate the long-term economic hardships they face, along with the emotional toll taken.

I have been in touch with the DC Office of AdvocacyNet in regards to their new 'Sponsor a Weaver" program. The program is simple--you donate $1,000.00 and you sponsor one of these women, who will use your money to support herself and purchase the supplies she needs (wool, etc.) in order to set herself up in business.

I think it's a great idea, but unfortunately a thousand dollars is more than I can afford. However, there is no reason why several people can't pool their resources and colletively sponsor one of these women.

I'm going to contact friends of mine to see if anyone would be interested in donating towards this cause. If anyone reading this would be interested in joining in, please email me. I haven't set anything up yet, like a PayPal, but if I get some interest I'll definately try to get the ball rolling.

I'll keep you all updated on any progress I do or don't make. Also, the weaver you sponsor makes a rug as a thank-you gift for the donor. I'm willing to entertain ideas for who would receive the rug, but my suggestion would be for the Embassy of Bosnian and Hercegovina. I have been there several times (it's only an hour from my house, give or take Northern Virginia traffic). To put it kindly, they haven't wasted too much of their nations resources on decorating the place. The rug would not only be a nice display of one of their nations indigenous crafts, it would also be a tangable show of support from a handful of concerned Westerners.

Think about it, and let me know.