Santa Claus Arrives at Lake Titicaca

Dear Friends:

Aligned with our mission and to reflect the spirit of giving during the holiday season, One World Projects and Charity USA teamed up again this year to support the Believe and Dream Foundation in Bolivia with generous donations. The Foundation was started by one of our in-country coordinators, Mariel Mercado Ramos, and hosts a variety of charitable projects including donating school supplies to children who live in prison with their incarcerated parents, a project to transform discarded plastic bottles into economic opportunities for disadvantaged artisans, and an ambitious undertaking to save the llama industry in Bolivia by providing training an market opportunities for llama ranchers.

Each year at Christmas time, members of the Ramos family and some of their friends make a long pilgimage from their homes in La Paz to handout toys and bags of food to children of economically-disadvantaged families who have never experienced the joy of receiving gifts at Christmas. This year, over 2000 toys and bags of food will be distributed to children in communities from Tiquina to Copacabana; many of which can only be reached by boat.

The well known quote of St. Francis of Assisi comes to mind, "...for it is in giving that we

receive..." If you were to see the smiles on the children's faces and the joy in their hearts then you must ask yourself, "who is doing the giving and who is doing the receiving?" It is impossible to separate the giver from the receiver.

Thank you for your support throughout 2008. It is your purchase that makes it possible for us to support Foundations like Believe and Dream and thousands of artisans and their families. Together we can create a spirit of giving that changes lives around the world.

The entire Team at One World Projects would like to wish you a blessed holiday season and New Year filled with peace, love and prosperity.

One World Projects on the Today Show

One World Projects pottery Ayacucho Peruvian piggy banks were mentioned on the Today Show on Monday, December 15th. The pottery piggy banks are baked in wood or gas-fired ovens to cure and are painted by hand. There are different styles and choose from and make a great holiday gift. Proceeds from the sales of these cute piggy banks help Peruvian artisans in small home-based workshops. To see these piggy banks go to: www.oneworldprojects.com.

Update on work in Afghanistan

It's been almost a year since we've added an update on our work in Afghanistan. This post is not the easiest to share-yet needs to be shared. A few weeks ago we received some very sad news. The DHL manager we were working with on handling artisan exports was shot and killed along with the other foreigner working at DHL by one of the guards, after he killed them, he killed himself. The weekend before, a South African/British woman was killed while walking on the street in Kabul.The reality of the danger in Afghanistan for the workers who just want to help others or who are striving to improve their lives hit hard. It also made it even more important for us to share the Afghan artisan beautifully hand-made items including jewelry, rugs, shawls and rugs. We will continue our efforts in Afghanistan and keep you updated. Please pray for all those in Afghanistan who are working so hard to improve their lives.