As the Charity Bank holds its first exhibition one of the Iraqi women who we have lent money to start work, said: "for the first time I feel like a worthwhile human being with my own identity"
Amidst great excitement, the Charity Market was launched, part of the Charity Bank for Small Businesses established by the Iraqi Charities Forum in collaboration with the Baghdad Charity to Protect the People from Pollution..
The celebration was held on Saturday August 7th 2010 in the Imam Hussein Charity Centre hall at the organisation’s headquarters in al-Graiaat, on the out-skirts of Baghdad
'
The ceremony opened with a reading from the Qur’an, followed by a speech in which the president of the Himayat al-Sukkan organisation praised the Iraqi Charities Forum for its ongoing and real support of aid projects, culminating with the founding of this Charity Market. The Market saw women from the region, who had each been provided with a sewing machine by ICF, produce items of clothing for 42 women, in what were the first fruits of the project.
Sheikh Khaz’al al-Darraji, a religious authority in the region, praised this initiative and the genuine gains it could achieve for the local people, working in accordance with the spirit of true Islamic belief, by calling for cooperation in righteousness, helping one another and spreading a culture of philanthropy.
.
A representative from the Iraqi Charities Forum followed this up with a speech in which he stressed that the true aim of the project stems from two basic facts. The first is that money earnt by women is more beneficial for their families than that earnt by men, because they spend it directly on their children first and on household necessities afterwards, while the men may have other priorities. This is the first real advantage for the family.
The second is that in this way a project advances the position of women and transforms their unexploited potential into an effective force, along with all the real benefits for society.
Once the speeches were over the inaugural ribbon was cut! In the the market, which occupies an area of 2,200m each seamstress had plenty of space to exhibit her goods on her own stall. The majority of the items were children’s clothes since these are the most popular.
After the opening ceremonies were finished, guests were given a tour of the market to find out more about the stalls. The guests made some purchases as they praised the level of organisation and the quality of both the display and craftsmanship.
After leaving the exhibition hall, 84 items of clothing were handed out to local orphans. Purchase of the clothes had been insured by ICF. The market will remain open until next Wednesday, August 11th before reopening for business in time for Eid al-Fitr. In the meantime new meals will have been prepared for sale during the Eid.
The initiative has been a source of honour and pride for the people of the region, particularly those who attended, some of whom recalled that this was the first Charity Market to be run in the region. Some of those we met praised the project and the great humanitarian significance it holds
Because the opening ceremony was of an official nature, and the majority of those attending were men from a conservative region, female attendance at the event was limited. Today is expected, however, to see women arriving for shopping, following an agreement with the organisation’s management to run an advertising campaign to promote the market and its products. Nevertheless, this will not prevent men from also buying products. One particular sheikh requested purchase security for 50 items of clothing to be distributed to orphans from the region. The vice-president of the Iraqi Charities Media Forum purchased 19 items of clothing at a higher-than-market price in order to promote the products before handing them over to the organisation’s administration for distribution to local orphans. A representative for ICF did the same.
.
The overall feeling towards the products was positive. None of the women we spoke to could stop praising the project owner for this initiative. One of the women told us: “this is the first time in my life that I feel I am a human being with my own identity and that I can be useful to society.”
We should mention here that the women were free to set the prices for their products, since the cloth used was off differing qualities, as was workmanship involved. The prices on the whole were reasonable taking into account the cost of imports covering the market which is well-known for its good prices.
'.
The next Charity Market is set to be even bigger and is due to be held in the same centre during the final week of Ramadan, coinciding with the start of Eid al-Fitr, and all the traditions this happy occasion brings with it such as buying new clothes, especially for children.
With regards,
Walid Abd al-Amir
8/8/2010
To find out more or to donate to the Charity Bank for Small Businesses CLICK HERE.
