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Woman at sewing school in Mozambique producing Grace Bag for sale in the United States.

BRENTWOOD, TENN. — Recently, when Tennessee physician David Vanderpool was on a mission trip to Mozambique with a medical team, something caught their eye.

A few of the women in the poverty-stricken South African country of 20 million were sporting beautifully handcrafted bags they had fashioned themselves.

Noting that these women – mothers of children who would probably not live past the age of five – could piece together scrap fabrics into a veritable work of art gave Vanderpool an idea. Why not contract with the women to make purses for sale in the United States, and return the profits to them? Soon, a business was born.

"The possibility to change lives through this economic package is very compelling," said Karen Joy Thomas, director of operations for Mobile Medical Disaster Relief (MMDR), a charity based in Brentwood, Tenn., established by Vanderpool. "We bought an initial group of purses, and we're developing the idea of adapting a piece of 'purse jewelry' that will tell the story of the women who make them."

Even though the initial shipment may be sold without the narrative, Thomas said the name of each woman who crafted the bag is sewn inside a pocket in the reversible purse.

Appropriately, the Mozambique-made merchandise is being called The Grace Bag, named after one of the children, Graciella, who will benefit from the profits of the bags. "Grace is also evocative of beauty, favor, mercy, favor with God, good will and virtue," noted Thomas.

The group of 77 women, all of whom have multiple children, live in northern Mozambique, an area where 60 percent of the children die before the age of five. The average life expectancy is 34 years. 

"We call them 'widows' but technically, they've all been abandoned in one way or another, with no means of support, no trade, and no education," explained Thomas. "They live on approximately one dollar a day."

The story of the new commerce began with another benevolent act of kindness. A woman named Margaret, a former abandoned wife and mother herself, traveled from New Zealand to Mozambique to open a sewing school, teach the women to sew, and provide them with materials. 

After the women learned to create the fashionable accessories, they had a problem. There was no market for the goods in their country. 

"We buy the purse at over 20 times the cost to make the purse, and then sell them here, with all the additional profit returning to be invested in the women," explained Thomas. "For example, the profit may be used to hire those same women to make clothes for the local orphanage. This reinvestment, on top of the initial price we paid for the purse, gives the women continual employment, and pride and self confidence in the role that they play in their community."

Why is a medical nonprofit venturing into microeconomics? "Helping people get healthy is one component of success," said Thomas. "If you are no longer sick, but can't eat or feed your child, the cycle continues. A steady income will provide nutrition, which effects long term health. This is not a hand out, but a hand up. We can help provide these two components that will free the people to make a better life for themselves."

The African women are surprised that American women are interested in buying a product they created, said Vanderpool, noting "It's amazing how profoundly the lives of these women can be changed by the sale of a purse that required so little effort on our part."

The Grace Bags will be available soon at two locations: via the website, www.mmdr.org, or by visiting Lave MD, Vanderpool's office in Maryland Farms.

To inquire about selling the purses in your store or office, or to purchase one for yourself, contact Thomas at karen@mmdr.org.

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