How the purchase of this product
  helps your world!

Everything noted and photographed have not been scripted or planned.

Philippines October 20th 2009, I was really excited. With my wife flying in a 747 to her homeland in the Philippines. Wow! The trip of a lifetime.

So many people everywhere all the time, the people of the Philippines are absolutely wonderful, always smiling, always busy, always going somewhere. Spending a few days with them I quickly realized that they had no concept of time. “Don’t get me wrong, I knew it would be different but for them 3h30 AM,  13h00 PM or 20h00PM it didn’t matter. People were still out and about, horns were still to be heard at all hours of the day or night at a constant pace - and life went on.

Not expecting, this became my wake up call. It opened my eyes and provided a whole new outlook on how we in North America are truly blessed. “Yes, yes… I’ve travelled a lot, been in South America and the Caribbean and I’ve see poverty, a few people here and a few people there.” But nothing what I experienced in Asia, millions below the poverty line and still every one was happy with hardly a complaint.

I didn’t get it, could not figure it out. People were out keeping busy and looking for any possible angle to sell.

 

Here’s the story.

10 hrs in a bus to the province, then another jeep ride to the edge of a river, on to a ferry, and then a 6 hour walk to the village. All the roads were washed out from the typhoon.
Villagers all came to visit when they heard my wife was back from Canada, It must have been about 15 years she had been gone. Unfortunately from my wife’s perspective nothing changed. People were still peddling their goods by the road and – or using the barter system to make ends meet.

 

One thing that did catch our attention was the craft products they were making. Purses and jewelry, this was their new means of making their living. They worked the fields but they counted on selling a couple purses or pieces of jewelry each week to make life a little easier, this enabled them to buy items that we wouldn’t think twice about like toilet paper, bread, can goods or juices. These were considered a luxury.

A day or 2 goes by…

My wife, with a heart of Gold invited the village for a meal after church on a Sunday afternoon. She bought a pig, rice, vegetables and a few bottles of pop. Some of these villagers never even ate meat before. Their diet consisted of rice, vegetables, fruit and fish. They borrowed bowls from the village community hall and had themselves a feast. As for me this was unbearable, knowing what I had back in Canada. After sharing emotions and concerns with my wife I pledged that I would try to help change their circumstances. With some success, many discussions and careful planning we now purchase products from a huge part of a village and provide an income where otherwise poverty would continue to be a normal way of life.

 

What is so appreciated is the heart that goes into these wonderful pieces of art. Villagers who are so eager, they travel miles to fi¬nd the used plastic bags, they wash them thoroughly and assemble the purses with care and pride.

As for the jewelry this
is from paper,
crafting beads
one at a time
applying
beautiful
decoration,
creating
these beautiful
pieces where no two
are alike.

Unbelievable!

Basically that’s my story, but please don’t let it end there. Lets make a difference together – Let’s find a way to bring these products to everyone.

If you have marketing ideas, have a none profit program or save the world promotion You to can make a
difference by purchasing these
unique products. Create employment for a person in a third world nation, This provides for opportunity, a good education (children deserve an education) and simply a better life. Thank you for choosing IIKO Products where you get to change lives one product at a time.