THE PIN PROJECT
We sat down with Hedvig Alexander of Far + Wide Collective, speaking about her latest initiative, The PIN PROJECT. Read into the committed efforts of her and her partners here, and join the efforts!
Over 65 million people have been forced from their homes by war and violence. These innocent people are stuck in indefinite limbo, without the freedom to work, play and live free. It’s a miserable existence that crushes aspiration and traps talent.
But what if one small object had the power to give back opportunity to those who have lost it? That is the objective of The Pin Project: to help displaced persons, returnees and refugees achieve long-term self-reliance through meaningful work.
By buying or gifting a Pin made by a refugee, displaced person or returnee, you will help create employment and income for a displaced generation to craft their own futures.
Why the Pin Project is Different
The sheer scale of the refugee crisis is daunting. People want to help, but often don’t know where to start. The Pin Project gives anyone a chance to do something positive and simple to help displaced persons, returnees and refugees today.
The Pin Project is also fundamentally different from donating to charity: you give refugees, displaced persons or returnees the chance to take control of their own futures through income-earning opportunities.
By buying a Pin you are not only providing makers with direct wages, you are also funding training and the purchase of tools and equipment required to generate long-term employment opportunities where they are desperately needed.
The Power of Work
Refugees should not be viewed as passive victims. By providing meaningful work we can unlock their potential, develop new skills, and help them forge a pathway to autonomy.
A prevailing phenomenon in all refugee camps is utter boredom. It isn’t that most refugees don’t want to work, it is that working is very rarely an option available for them. The Pin Project will reignite a sense of daily purpose and help restore structure and dignity to shattered lives.
The Power of Craft
The UN Refugee Agency believes that 1 in 3 viable jobs for refugees is in craft production. Craft production is a long-term driver of economic growth in developing economies. The skills that crafts training provides are lifelong, suitable for people of all genders, easily transferable from generation to generation, and have been found to have higher levels of job satisfaction than many other jobs available to displaced people.
Gifting a Pin this Holiday Season
As the season of giving and goodwill approaches, make a difference with your gifts this holiday season. After backing the campaign, we’ll send you a virtual card previewing the Pin and showing how it will make a difference, which you can then forward to the recipient(s) of your choosing.
