Second chance to become a greatartisan
Lastweekweheldtwo “creative” workshops withartisansfromthecommunities of San Francisco and Amazonas ontheMarañonRiverthatworkwiththegroupMinga Peru. Sincetheyhadalreadywovensomeverycoolornaments of colorfulbirds, wehandedoutphotos of a dozenactual species and askedthem to design new models of birdsfromthePeruvian Amazon. Duringthegathering, weinterviewedseveralartisanson video to learn more aboutthelives of ournewestpartners. While CACE is a secular organization, we are spirit-led and were movedbyFrancisca’sfaith and storyaboutaneventthat led to theformation of theartisanassociation in Amazonas.
“In truth, thingshappen to usbecausethe Lord givesus a second chance. LastJanuary 23 wasthe 10th anniversary of theday I almostdrowned. I wasgoing to Nautawithmyhusband, hisuncle,mylittledaughter and herdoll. Wewerecruisingup riverin our motor canoejustbeforedawnwithmyhusbanddrivingtheboat and myuncle in thebow. I wascombingmydaughter’shairwhenwefelt a blow. I thoughtitwasjusta branch in thewaterthatwhackedtheboat and didn’tpaymuchattention to it. Afterthesecond hit, thingshappenedveryfast.”
“I realized I was in thewater, grabbedformylittlegirl and huggedhertightly. At thatmoment I said to the Lord: “Lord, get me out of thiswaterwithmylittlegirlorsaveonlyherand do whatyouwantwith me”. I liftedmydaughter up and swamuntil I managed to reachthe shore. Fortunatelymyfeettouchedtheground and Iwasable to stand. I lookedformyhusband and sawhimleaningagainsttheoverturnedboat. Ithadapparently hit a submergedtrunkand flipped. Weheardmyhusband’sunclecallingouta short waydownriver. Thewaterhaddraggedhimdownbut he hadalsoended up onthe shore. Myhusbandwasable to savetheenginebytakingtheboat to shore as well. What I rememberwellisthatI didnotcryorscream at anymomento, and neitherdidmydaughter. Shewas a baby and stayedverycalm. Wewent back to thecommunity and toldpeoplewhathadhappenned.”
“Why do I rememberthatevent? Becauseafterit, seeingmychildrenand embracingthemcaused me to thinkmore aboutlife. Thatdawn I reflectedonhowfragilewe are. I thought of howmyfears and constantdoubtshadinhibited me and knewI had to change. Thislifethat can be finished in a secondhadgiven me a second chance.”
“So thisrealizationmotivated me to do manythingsincludingimprovemywork as anartisan. I used to be afraid of notbeingverygood so I didn’tcareenough to try. Butthen I convincedmyselfthat I shouldgetbetter. I becamethefirstmember of theassociation of artisans in ourcommunity of Amazonas and helpedbaptizeit"Palisangre" (thespanishwordforthebeautifuldark red Amazon “bloodwood”usedbymanyartisansforcarving).”
“Thatismystory. As I toldyou at thebeginning, I decided to changemylife ten yearsagobecause I wasfacedwithdeath. One of thechanges I havegivenmylifeismakinghandicrafts. I willnot be afraidordoubtmyabilityagain. If I donot do a jobwell, I willkeeptryinguntil I improve. Sincethatday I haveimprovedlittlebylittle and willkeepimproving. That’showlifeis.”
Thankyouforyoursupportforourprojectthathelpsussupportwonderfulartisanslike Francisca.