<h3>Transcript</h3>
Voice 1&nbsp;

Welcome to Spotlight. I&rsquo;m Christy VanArragon.

Voice 2&nbsp;

And I&rsquo;m Colin Lowther. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1&nbsp;

Life was not good for Lalita Kamble. She lived in a slum, a very poor area, in Mumbai, India. Her husband drank too much alcohol. And he beat her. But life got better. She started working with an organisation called Creative Handicrafts. She learned to make clothes and earned money from what she made. She is now independent. And her husband is getting help for his problems. Kamble told CNN,

Voice 3&nbsp;

&lsquo;I know now that I can take care of my two children. I know that I am strong. My husband no longer beats me because he knows that I will leave him. I am not afraid. There is courage in my heart now&rsquo;.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Creative Handicrafts has changed the life of Kamble and many other women. But how exactly has it brought hope to hundreds of poor women in Mumbai? Today&rsquo;s Spotlight is on Creative Handicrafts.

Voice 1&nbsp;

Creative Handicrafts began small. In 1984 Sister Isabel Martin visited India from Spain. She came to India to visit the slums of Mumbai. Mumbai&rsquo;s slums are very crowded. They cover only 6% of the city&rsquo;s land. But 55% of Mumbai&rsquo;s population live in this small area. During her visit, Sister Isabel met many women who suffered from poverty. Many of them also suffered violent beatings from their husbands. The women had low self respect. And they had little education and no jobs. Sister Isabel said,

Voice 4&nbsp;

&lsquo;I saw they were oppressed. They did not have control over their own lives. They were only supposed to obey their husband and look after the children.&rsquo;

Voice 2&nbsp;

Sister Isabel knew she wanted to help the women become independent. So, she decided to live with the women in the slums. Soon, she discovered the best way to help the women. It was to help them achieve economic freedom. Then, their husbands would respect them.&nbsp; More importantly, the women would begin to respect themselves.

Voice 1&nbsp;

Sister Isabel began by gathering a small group of women together. Two of them taught the other women to sew. They used cloth to make soft toys for children to play with. The women sold the toys and shared the profit. Then they began to make and sell clothes. At first there was only a small group of women working together. But gradually more and more women joined the group. The women who work for Creative Handicrafts are proud and independent. They make clothes from local material, with designs made by people in a local tribe.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Anjali Tapkire heard about Creative Handicrafts from people who lived near her. She decided to start working with the organisation. She saw that working there was different from working in other places.

Voice 5&nbsp;

&lsquo;Here I saw that the relationship was not one of master and servant.&rsquo;

Voice 1&nbsp;

Instead, the women at Creative Handicrafts work together for the interest of the whole group. There is not one business owner that makes all of the money. Instead, the women each receive money based on what they make and sell.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Over the years Sister Isabel and Creative Handicrafts have developed many other ways of helping women. They have provided day care, to take care of young children while their mothers work. They have started schools for older children. They help poor children pay for their education. And they have developed social work programmes like a saving and credit programme.

Voice 1&nbsp;

The Creative Handicrafts website tells many of the women&rsquo;s success stories. One story is about Pooja. Pooja had an unhappy time as a child. Her mother died when she was young. Her father married again. But his new wife treated Pooja like a slave. Later, Pooja married and hoped she would be happy. Her husband had a small job. But they were poor. Then he became sick and died. Pooja knew nothing about life outside of her little house. She did not know what to do.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Then she heard about Creative Handicrafts. And her life began to change. Creative Handicrafts helped to pay for her daughters&rsquo; education. The organisation also helped her to make her house larger so her daughters had a place to study. Creative Handicrafts provided Pooja with counselling. She was able to talk with others about her problems and emotions. For her, Creative Handicrafts was like a family.

Voice 1&nbsp;

Mahadevi Bonier also works at Creative Handicrafts. Because of her work, Bonier can now send her daughters to a good school. She explains how Creative Handicrafts has supported and changed her,

Voice 6&nbsp;

&lsquo;I feel this place is like my home, like a family. I used to be very frightened to go anywhere or to talk to anyone. But I have gained a lot of courage here. Today I can face anyone without fear.&rsquo;

Voice 2&nbsp;

Lalita Kamble agrees. She believes the women are so supportive because they share the same life experiences. She explained to CNN,

Voice 3&nbsp;

&lsquo;Even if you do not say anything, they understand. They read your body and your face. They understand because they have been in the same situation. They know. I have never experienced this level of support before. Finally I am not alone.&rsquo;

Voice 1&nbsp;

Today Creative Handicrafts operates 13 centres in Mumbai. And over 800 women and their families work with the organisation. The clothes that they make are sold in India, and other countries too. Stores in France, Spain, and Germany and the United Kingdom all sell the clothes made by the women from Creative Handicrafts.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Rudi Dalvai works in international trade. He buys clothes from Creative Handicrafts to sell in Italy. He likes the way that the organisation operates. In a short film about Creative Handicrafts, he said,

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&lsquo;They give the women the chance to become business people... What I like here, is that they give the women power.&rsquo;

Voice 1&nbsp;

Anjali Tapkire is now the President of Creative Handicrafts. She explains what makes the organisation so special,

Voice 5&nbsp;

&lsquo;If only a single person receives the profit there can be no social work. Here everyone is a member and we all receive the profit. Creative Handicrafts demonstrates that profit making and social work can co-exist.&rsquo;

Voice 2&nbsp;

The writer of this programme was Shelagh Godwin. The producer was Luke Haley. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this programme and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this programme again, and read it, on the internet at <a href="http://www.radioenglish.net">www.radioenglish.net</a>. This programme is called &lsquo;Creative Handicrafts: Hope for Women in Mumbai.&rsquo;

Voice 1&nbsp;

You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at <a href="mailto:radio@radioenglish.net">radio@radioenglish.net</a>. You can also find us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/spotlightradio">Facebook</a> - just search for spotlightradio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.



Question:
Are the clothes you buy made in your city?


