Women Who Hope: Lamia

'My name is Lamia. I am 12 years old and I read in Class 7. My father is a weaver at The Salvation Army's Others Production Centre in Jashore, and my mother is a housewife. She helps my father in preparing the weaving materials. My parents support me for my education. I wish to be a doctor in the future. I want to lighten my life with the support of my parents and The Salvation Army.'

Others is a Salvation Army initiative using fair trade principles to create jobs and contribute to empowerment and poverty alleviation.

Their products are carefully hand-crafted by artisans who are affiliated with The Salvation Army’s community work in Bangladesh and Kenya. Others artisans are engaged through relationships with local Salvation Army programs that focus on economic development in rural and urban settings. Examples include self-help groups focusing on women's empowerment and projects for rehabilitation of sex workers or trafficking victims. There are currently around 760 artisans in Bangladesh and Kenya who are involved in production for Others.

In work lies hope for a better future, a pathway to independence, and – not least – dignity and pride. Others is one of the ways in which the international Salvation Army today continues to create employment opportunities for people who would otherwise be at the back of the queue.