Update on Fresh Women's conference in Western Australia
Wow! Another amazing weekend!! Saturday was FRESH the WA Women's conference, where 450 women from different denominations gathered at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church to fellowship and be discipled. Kerry Hilton, co-founder of Freeset spoke about God's heart for the poor and entwined his talk with stories of the women involved in the project in Kolkata. It was both heart wrenching and inspirational. The response was incredible with an offering of nearly $78,000 being received. When the announcement was made, there were shouts of praise from the women and some even shedding tears - one lady saying 'we have been part of a miracle'. .. you could see the blood drain from Kerry's face from schock - he was just speechless! It was so special to see God at work here in Australia and so many lives touched by the work of Freeset and Baptist World Aid Australia.
Thank you everyone for your generosity, many women in Kolkata will be blessed because of you, I can't wait to share their stories with you.
If you were blessed by the day or have something to share - post a comment on our facebook page
Praise God for this partnership! See you next September at Fresh 2011.
-Jules Parker
If you would like to make a donation to Freeset, click here.
Update on Embrace Women's conference in Victoria
What an amazing weekend! Embrace was a really encouraging time and so great to see God moving in Australia!
125 women from both the Baptist and Church of Christ communities attended over Friday night and Saturday. Everyone loved the Freeset bag they were given on arrival and over 200 more bags were purchased over the weekend. The story of Freeset and the women working there really touched the hearts of the women at the conference. Together they raised $12,500 through the offering! It really is amazing what can happen when women gather together!
- Jules Parker
Women's Conferences Support Freeset
The thought of women forced to work in the sex trade just to earn enough to maintain their families is one that most of us would rather not have to confront. Yet, on the streets of Kolkata (previously Culcutta), thousands of women join “the line” each day, hoping to make enough just to survive.
Freeset is a social enterprise which partners with women seeking to leave the sex trade in one of the red light districts in Kolkata. The business employs women from the sex trade, giving them training in making bags out of jute and long term employment opportunities. This work gives them the income they need to be able to support their families and break free from the sex trade and the cycles of poverty that bound them to it.
This year, through Baptist World Aid Australia, the Women’s Conferences, Embrace in Victoria and Fresh in Western Australia will be supporting the work of Freeset. The business is earning money from the bags it sells and this income covers its costs. However, the vast majority of the women working for Freeset have received no education or vocational training and by providing further training, the productivity of the business and the opportunities for the employees could be improved.
Baptist World Aid Australia’s funding goes towards a program that helps build the skills of the employees. The training program develops not only their technical skills, but also their leadership, team work, communication, conflict resolution and interpersonal skills. The training program is designed so that eventually the women themselves will become the trainers and newer workers will receive training from the more experienced women.
This training will help the women to grow their confidence, be a positive influence in their communities and also help the business to grow. As the business expands and increases productivity, the women will be able to earn higher wages and more work opportunities will be created for women trapped in the sex trade.
The Women’s Conferences in Victoria and Western Australia are using Freeset bags for all the participants of their conferences as part of their support this year. Kerry Hilton, the founder of Freeset, will be speaking at Fresh (taking place at Mt Pleasant Baptist Church, WA) on Saturday 18 September, and also at Mt Hawthorn Baptist Church at both the 8.30am and 10.30am services and at the 6pm service at Gosnells Baptist Church in WA on Sunday 19 September.
For more information about Freeset, and to see or order their products including customised conference bags visit www.freesetglobal.com.
If you would like to make a donation to Freeset, click here.
