Artisan Francia
Meet one of Work For Widows’s new artisans, Francia. Francia is a Haitian national that lives with her five children in a Batey on the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
A Batey was for years considered a company town where sugar workers lived. The local sugar industry is no longer competitive; therefore most of the people living there are no longer employed by the landowner but are forced to pay rent to live in these wretched slums.
Work For Widows met Francia and her children living in deplorable conditions with no hope for the future, often finding food from the waste of the hotels in the area where they live. Work For Widows provided food and clothing to Francia and her children and began to assist her in her daily life requirements.
During the first week of training, the Work For Widows team noticed that Francia was struggling to see the items she was learning to create. Through the simple purchase of a pair of glasses, Francia was able to continue with her training with ease.
Francia continues to thrive as she participates in the living wage training program, learning to make exquisite pieces of jewelry and accessories and her hand-made collections will soon be available on the website.
