A story written by Meagan Ephraim de Rios.
“Women in Guatemala carry a great responsibility within the social dynamic of their family. While living in harsh conditions that oftentimes include no electricity and dirt floors, the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and daughters, women, work and sacrifice to maintain their households and families. I learned this on a personal level while living and serving at an organization called Mision El Faro in Guatemala for ten years and serving the local women. On a daily basis, I sat with women and listened to their stories while we created things together for them to sell and support their families.
With the presence of COVID and a lockdown of the country, the people in rural Guatemala became even more isolated with scarce resources and an uncertain tomorrow. On top of that, two hurricanes rocked the area in November 2020, devastating hundreds of families and stealing from them their homes and possessions.
I knew that even though I could not physically be there, I could still do something to help. I approached my sister-in-law Naomi, who is a talented graphic designer in Guatemala City, with the idea and she drew out the t-shirt design. The indigenous women featured are from four distinct areas of Guatemala according to their traditional outfits: El Estor, Coban, Livingston, and Santiago Atitlan. We both have a calling to serve and help the women in Guatemala through design and creativity and we were really blessed throughout the process of creating this shirt.
The funds raised from this campaign are executed by Mision El Faro to provide bags of food and medicine to families in need in the area of Izabal, Guatemala. Mision El Faro is a trusted beacon of light for the surrounding villages experiencing an escalated number of difficulties. Their light has shone throughout this quarantine by bringing families essential items.
Creating this shirt has sparked something in both myself and Naomi. We truly believe God has equipped us creatively in order to raise awareness and support for the women of Guatemala and women everywhere.”
At the time of writing this story, Clothed In Strength merch has raised over $2,000 for the women in rural Guatemala
“With the funds from the shirt, we were able to provide two villages with food. COVID is still raging in Guatemala and Mision El Faro continues to work tirelessly to provide the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the people. I created a Bonfire store so that the shirts will always be available with the money going down to continue the work in Guatemala. We have many more ideas for shirts and campaigns and we can’t wait to continue doing it through Bonfire. ALSO, we are so humbled that we received Bonfire’s Best Design for Empowering Women of 2020!”
