03/31/10 – SERRV, one of the world’s premier fair trade organizations, is celebrating a milestone, growing from a small group of church relief workers helping refugees rebuild after World War II, into a $9 million fair trade network connecting thousands of artisans in 35 countries throughout the world with customers and supporters
across the United States.
SERRV is celebrating its 60th anniversary on April 22, 2010 (also Earth Day!), at its national administrative office in Madison, Wis., and will be reaffirming a positive and hopeful vision for the future throughout the year.
Over the last 60 years, SERRV has:
–
Helped more than 150 unique artisan and farmer groups, representing more than 100,000 individuals.
–
Marketed more than 10,000 different products.
–
Enriched the lives of more than 500,000 customers and volunteers who have been able to participate in fair trade through SERRV.
SERRV is a nonprofit fair trade and development organization with a mission to eradicate poverty by providing opportunity and support to artisans and farmers worldwide. Here are just of a couple of their life-changing stories:
–
SERRV helps artisans like Jhonson Augustin in Haiti, who transforms recycled steel barrels into intricate works of wall art. A few years ago, he was able to marry and begin to build a house with the earnings from his craft. After the January earthquake, SERRV supported Jhonson and other artisans with emergency relief and additional orders.
–
And Manju Thapa in Nepal, who creates handmade paper items from natural and recycled materials. A widow who raised four children on her own, she was able to send them all to school. She says her work has given her peace of mind, income and confidence.
As Sunil Chitrakar, director of SERRV’s partner Mahaguthi in Nepal, said, “Longer than many of our lives, SERRV has served humankind!…SERRV made history; becoming one of very few organizations who served more than five decades for the artisans and producers around the world. It started as an idealistic dream to help the poor and turned into Fair Trade.”
SERRV’s commitment to end global poverty has remained firm. Although the organization offers a robust market for handcrafts from more than 75 community-based organizations in 35 countries, increasingly SERRV has become a significant product design, training and capacity-building resource for artisans around the globe. For example, SERRV recently supplied sewing machines, looms and screen printing equipment
to textile artisans in Cambodia, and created a CD catalog for jewelry makers in Kenya to help them find additional markets for their work. This year, SERRV has provided assistance to Haitian metal workers and stone carvers, sending an initial $23,000 grant for rebuilding after the devastating earthquake earlier this year.
In 2009, SERRV won the inaugural award from the Fair Trade Federation for “Outstanding Service to the Fair Trade Community.”
For more information, please contact Jessica King at 1.608.251.3766 or jessicak@serrv.org. You can also learn more at www.serrv.org.
