The money from the shirts goes to three types of ministries:

1. Microfinance in India
2. Education and food for children in India
3. The children’s home in Mexico

Every month we figure out how much profit we have and send the money to these causes. It’s not always divided equally. For example, the children’s home is in the middle of building, and it’s critical they get enough funds to finish the job, so a couple times they’ve gotten a little extra. The children’s home is being manned by a family from the US who just moved down there last month. Their goal is to care for up to 15 abandoned children.

Here’s a recent report from them in Mexico:

On the way to their new home, they stopped at an orphanage. This is their daughter Genna holding a baby—looking forward to the time when their children’s home will be available to little ones like this.

“We are falling into a daily routine now. Tod (the dad) has
jumped right into the construction work on the Children’s
Home building. We must get the second story bricked
up and under roof before the June rains begin. The girls
are finding ways to help in the construction too! Kristi (the mom) is
in the process of trying to organize our living space as
much as possible without any cabinets. Katie is
giving the family formal Spanish lessons but each of us
is learning from our every day necessity as well. Our
two families are working out our schedules and
cooperating on various duties during the day and week.

Two of our greatest challenges now are dust and
dust. Try to imagine living in the middle of a construction
zone where it has not rained for two months. We only
have doors on the dorm rooms and the bathroom. The
dinning area and kitchen are open to the dust. One
blessing is that most the insects don’t show up until the
rainy season. Many of the extras for the first floor will
have to wait. All of the money left in the building fund
must be used for completing the shell of the second
floor. This is a race with the oncoming rainy season. The
second floor roof must be complete in 6 to 8 weeks to
beat the rain. If it is not done we will have a very leaky
first floor. The ability to win this race depends on money
and bodies. We have almost enough money left to
complete the job but it will be close. The budget only
includes enough to pay two workers. We have a youth
group from our Zanesville church coming for a week in
June and another young man will be here for the whole
month of June to help.”

Just thought you’d like a little look into what your shirt is doing.

In this village, a group we help support has started women’s Self-Help Groups (they call them SHGs).

Women in the culture and caste system of India are treated more like property than people. They are often under-nourished, under-educated, and abused. Many are driven to suicide. In May, I saw a notice in the Delhi newspaper that two women had recently killed themselves because of abuse from their husbands’ families.

At the SHG we visited, nearly 100 women gathered and sang a song they had learned from the leader. When I heard the translation, I began to get teary-eyed. They were singing, “See how strong we are! See how brave we are! See how productive we can be! See how beautiful we are!” What a change from the indoctrination of their culture. We then watched a woman teach the group how to make bar soap and laundry detergent to sell so they can feed their families.

“The persistence of hunger and abject poverty in India and other parts of the world is due in large measure to the subjugation, marginalization and disempowerment of women.” Quote from an excellent article about the suffering of women in India.

If you want to help start more women’s groups like the one I visited, send everyone you know a link to BusyShirts and encourage them to buy and wear their poverty fighting shirt!

“Please give me some poison,” the girl said. “It is better to die quickly than to starve to death.” The mother has changed her mind and is now allowing her to attend the program.

Photo of a family taken in Haridwar, India