May 6, 2002
These hand-worked jewelry and boxes are part of the product line of WorldCrafts.
WMU's WorldCrafts parties provide
non-traditional support for missions
___By Susan Chaffin Goggins
___Woman's Missionary Union
___BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)--WorldCrafts, a ministry of national Woman's Missionary Union, reached a sales milestone in the 2001 fiscal year. For the first time since its 1996 startup, the non-profit ministry that markets handmade crafts from across the world broke even.
___Last year, 43,340 items were sold, a 135 percent increase over the previous year's sales.
AN INDIAN WOMAN works on a ring box in the tradition of zinc and silver Bidri art.
___WorldCrafts project manager Karen Flowers attributes the sales increase to the popularity of their main marketing tool, WorldCrafts parties. These parties are designed to be much like other home parties that feature Tupperware or Pampered Chef products. Hostesses purchase a party kit containing catalogs, a video, recipes, invitations, clip art and more.
___"About 80 percent of the hostesses choose to have their parties at a church," Flowers said. "They are very popular with Women on Mission groups, Girls in Action and Acteens." WMU began promoting the parties nationwide in the fall of 2000, and one year later in fall 2001 about 425 party kits were ordered.
___In this time of increased patriotism, "Buy American" is a popular plea. However, buying overseas with WorldCrafts is a great way to reach out to a lost world as a consumer, WMU officials say.
___WorldCrafts assists men and women living in poverty by providing income. These artisans are guaranteed a fair wage for their products.
___Sales of WorldCrafts elephants and turtles, for example, have made it possible for a church of 50 people and a school of about 80 children to sustain themselves, reported Scot McHaney, a Southern Baptist missionary to Luanda, Angola.
___In Thailand, the increased demand for WorldCrafts has allowed groups to add more workers. The new Thai Country Trim center in eastern Thailand provides sewing work for women like Nongklan, a single mother solely responsible for her two young children and two children from her husband's previous marriage and her sister's two children. Nongklan told missionary Lynn Kinnison that she was considering suicide before she learned about the crafts program.
___Now she is not only supporting her family, but she also has made a profession of faith in Christ.
___Besides providing income for those who desperately need it, WorldCrafts provides a legitimate reason for Baptist workers to remain in countries closed to traditional missionaries.
___The WorldCrafts catalog includes more than 130 items--from a popular Turkey shopping bag to Jordan olivewood Christmas ornaments.
___For more information about WorldCrafts, call (800) 968-7301 or visit www.wmu.org.
___
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