This space isn't long enough to share all of Sol's personal story, so we've spoken with her at length and given our word to respect her privacy and not share some of the more painful parts of her past…

• Sol met her husband years ago when he was her neighbor, and together, they had her five children.
• -The first part of Sol's professional career was spent shadowing her mother to work as a laundry woman and helping out as needed. In fact, "laundry woman" was Sol's first real job.
• Her professional background includes activities like quality control (QC), which is why Sol leads our QC department at GIANNA. She's also worked in a garment factory, so she's quite familiar with reviewing products to ensure they are the perfect size, color, and quality!
• In her single-room home, Sol proudly shows us her daughter's medals, and as we're admiring, her daughter comes up the rickety stairs, beams a huge smile at us, and says, "Do you know Japanese? I'll say something." She then proceeds to introduce herself in Japanese, tells us a few details about herself, and asks how we're doing—all in Japanese. We astoundedly respond, "AWESOME!" ;)
• Sol's greatest joy is spending time with her children and talking about them!

Asking a woman about her dreams can be tricky business when she rarely thinks of herself! For Sol, she dreams of giving her children opportunities for a better life.

• Like many of our women artisans, Sol dreams about having her children finish the studies, which she says will equip them with the knowledge they need so they have a better life than she's had.
• She tears up when she tells us how proud she is of her children and how much she wants them to succeed and have opportunities she never had.
• Education. Education. Education. That's Sol's motto and her sole focus for her children: education. She only completed up to 6th grade, so she understands the value of an education and is making sure her children get one.

Sol truly appreciates the difference your purchase of fair trade products makes in her life and her community.

• As a woman who's had many difficult starts and stops in life, Sol is truly grateful for the opportunity for fair trade work and takes pride in her tasks inspecting products to ensure quality and consistency.
• Through the purchase of fair trade products that have funded workshops and other educational seminars, Sol has learned about business, micro and macroeconomics, and the basics for how to be an entrepreneur.
• Because she works with us, Sol no longer has to travel far each day from her home to work, but instead, she's able to work from her home or from the community center that's a short 5-minute walk away.