And so I did. I acquired a small room on rent. One room (sleeping room, office, kitchen, laundry) all in one and the same tiny place. Like the others. Like everybody else. The toilets not too far, the tap not too distant. The queues for these survival necessities always long. Long, that is when and if the main water pipe functioned.

Soon I discovered the steel and determination of these women underneath their noble bearing. Poor but not disgruntled, busy with domestic chores but not complaining, many beaten by drunkard husbands but not broken, many nursing and nurturing children and always loved by them. “ALL” was a word I learnt soon and loved. What if I could also be, not just “SISTER” but “ALL” to them?

Three women, without even one sewing machine, high in determination, with a clear purpose, we began our first workshop. This was the BIRTH of CREATIVE HANDICRAFTS!! Gradually, very slowly others joined us and began to realize that self esteem and dignity also increased by small savings for the benefit of the family. Thus co-operatives of women were formed in different rooms and in other slums. From toys, we passed on to garments for women and articles for the home, including kurtas for men. Other women, skilled in cooking floated “ASLI FOOD” (box lunches for women and men working in offices and factories). Today we have hundreds of women working in 12 co-operatives and in their own homes. An accomplishment for women living in crowded slums, yet “QUEENS” for those who have eyes to see.

I am grateful to God for these 25 years of growth with all its blessings and its moments of pain. We have not been alone. The presence and enthusiasm of hundreds of women, the collaboration of NGOs like Manos Unidas, Pueblos Hermanos, Setem, Diseños para el Desarrollo, friends, Trustees, Fr. Sopeña who from the beginning encouraged us with his wisdom, the excellent staff lead by our competent Director – Mr. Johny Joseph, Volunteers, Well Wishers, my Sisters, Missionaries of Christ Jesus who have been my strength, and many others made our dream come true.

Don’t we have reasons enough to thank God for the “MIRACLES” worked out in these 25 years of Creative Handicrafts?