Dear friends,

Arunachalam!

Greetings from Tiruvannamalai!

As we come to the end of yet another year of pain, penalties, restriction, regulations, travel bans, closures, lockdown, masks, social distances, etc. it is hard to take stock and be grateful. It has been a difficult year, probably a year of losses. Many of you may have suffered the loss a dear or near one and so do I. It’s difficult for anyone to remain in hope and celebrate Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, who is the symbol of hope, hope to the poor, the side lined, the sick and afflicted. It’s this hope for a better tomorrow that keeps us going. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL, our friends.

During the past year , when we faced the second wave of the pandemic, thousands of people lost their lives or lives of their dear and near ones to the pandemic that refuses to relent even after two years of its surfacing. Life has become very difficult for many in the world and especially in countries like ours where the majority depends on the unorganized sector for their livelihood and upkeep. The poor in general and the children in particular have been facing the brunt of the lockdown and the restrictions. Thousands of children got totally excluded from the education system with no access to online education which in turn eliminated any hope of economic or social mobility in their lives. Organization like ours have been making an effort to ease the situation a little but definitely not enough.

As we draw near to the close of the year 2021, there are still reasons to be grateful, that many of us stood for our neighbors and families, closely watching over and protecting them, bringing joy in the lives of each other. Many of you have reached out to us with unprecedented generosity to make sure that we all , at Mangalam welfare society and premalya handicrafts, tide over this difficult time. You, our parents, kept enquiring about our well being, sent donation to compensate for the loss of work and made sure that our women members had enough work to earn a living, and that the women and widows supported by the Om Shanthi Widows of India Project. We are aware that you did these during a period when you were also struggling to remain afloat. Many of our buyers continue to look for ways and means to support us and that vindicates Fair Trade as THE way forward. A BIG THANK FOR YOU TO YOU, OUR PARTNERS AND FRIENDS. We remain extremely grateful to you for the same.

We are about to enter the new year 2022 with the fear of the pandemic still in the air. Indeed we are staring at difficult times ahead in keeping the organization and the livelihood of the women unscathed. We have so far continued to financially and materially support all who depends on us to tide over this crisis. We count on your continued support in the coming year as well. We shall together make an effort to make the lives of the poor, the women and the children a little better and the world a little less unequal.

Thank you for your continued support and LOVE. Please keep yourself safe. Wish you all a joyous Christmas and very peaceful New year 2022.

Thanking you all,
With best regards,
Manoharan
and from all at premalya handicrafts and Mangalam welfare society, and all the poor and destitute whom you have helped to support.