Background
Children in orphanages around the world spend their lives without the love and guidance of parents. There's only so much the staff can do for the hundreds of kids in each orphanage. Once the kids reach a certain age, usually between 12-18, they are forced out of the institutions and into the streets to fend for themselves. This is where Dream Prosperity comes in. Our pilot programs in Uganda and Kazakhstan work with orphans who have aged out of orphanages and provide them with training in artisan crafts indigenous to their respective regions. They are provided with skills such as sewing, measuring, cutting, purchasing, and quality control to create authentic products to be sold in online and brick-and-mortar boutiques and fair trade shops through the USA. Our fair trade initiative encompasses two goals: 100% of the profits are reinvested in the projects to ensure longevity and economic vitality of the fair trade brand as well as achieve full cost recovery from our operations; and our orphans-turned-business leaders will be given an opportunity to earn a steady income, receive educational training in the fundamentals of global trade and trends, provided with stable life-quality resources and tools, and training on creating a personal savings plan.
The Urgency of Our Projects
According to various reports, every day 38,493 orphans age out of the orphanage system. Essentially, every 2.2 seconds another orphan ages out of their orphanage with no family to go to and no place to call home.
In the former USSR, studies have shown that 10-15% of kids raised in orphanages and aged out commit suicide before they reach age 18. 60% of the girls become prostitutes and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals. Another study reported that of the 15,000 orphans aging out of state-run institutions every year, 10% committed suicide, 5,000 were unemployed, 6,000 were homeless, and 3,000 were in prison within three years.
The statistics are grim. Yet amazingly, children have an innate ability to dream and hope for a better future and we at Dream Prosperity want to help make dreams a reality and offer a few basic resources for them to prosper.
While we definitely recognize that all orphans need a loving heart aimed at them, those who age out of orphanages are the ones in most dire need of a helping hand. We are adopting the 'teach a person to fish' method where it's 'trade, not aid' that has longevity.
What Is Fair Trade
In a nutshell, fair trade provides fair prices, fair labor conditions, direct trade, democracy and transparency, community development, and environmental sustainability. Dream Prosperity takes it even further and offers hope and a sense of pride.