Seeing Beautiful
Peace of Thread: Seeing Beautiful
Sometimes it seems like we are surrounded by ugliness. Every time we turn on our phones, TVs, or tablets we are bombarded by news of hate and anger. Violence and disaster. Grief and despair. Unfortunately, no one has a better understanding of the world’s ugliness than refugees. They live at the center of the conflict, poverty, and natural disasters that mar our screens. And when they come to countries like the United States for refuge, they are demonized as villains or pitied as victims.
At Peace of Thread, a non-profit based in Clarkston, Georgia (with a branch starting in Chattanooga, TN) we don’t see refugee women as either villains or victims. We see them as the beautiful individuals they are. That’s why our mission is to empower refugee women to become economically independent through the making and selling of artisan purses.
When a refugee woman earns her own income (an experience she may never have had before) by selling something she made with her own hands, she can see the beauty of her own talent and her own unique story. As she gains more skills, she also gains more confidence. Her face shines. One of our seamstresses who came to the U.S. in 2003 is now training other seamstresses by herself. In 2016, she told a local reporter, “When I came here, I was scared. Now I am strong.” That is the statement of a beautiful woman.
Beauty is not just found in handbags and bank accounts. It’s also found in the friendships built across different countries and cultures. Peace of Thread brings women from the East together with women from the West. American women work alongside the refugees, designing purses while the seamstresses work on their machines. We visit each other in our homes and have cultural exchanges. Such friendships have their challenges, but the bonds forged are particularly strong.
For example, when one of our seamstresses was in the hospital with pneumonia, her American friends prayed for her and anointed her with oil. She woke up and squeezed our CEO’s hand. Sometimes we can see beauty just by being together through the hard times.
These strong cross-cultural friendships have educational as well as emotional value. Women from places like Iraq or Myanmar learn a lot of English when they spend time with American women. Their new language skills enable them to share their stories and express their new-found confidence in their own words. Now people who listen to our seamstresses can hear the beauty in their words as well as see the beauty in the smiles on their faces.
If you come to our headquarters in Clarkston, you’ll see masses of fabric piled on shelves and scattered across tables. Many days, it looks like a mess. But our artisans turn this mess into gorgeous purses, wallets, baby bags, glasses cases, and other accessories. In the same way, Peace of Thread makes beauty out of chaos. Each of our unique products is designed from the inside-out because true beauty is found on the inside first. When you buy a Peace of Thread Product, you are sustaining a partnership, not just a charity. Together, we can make the world just a little bit more beautiful.