From One Mother to Another by Mary Placek
Working to support a family is a privilege and a burden that is part of the human experience. Regardless of age, education, nationality, or culture, there are practical needs that must be met every day. Providing food, clothing, shelter, education, and values to my children is one of the greatest joys of my life, but also the hardest work I have ever done.
Almost 11 years ago, I became a mother for the first time. In the years since, I have been blessed every day with a support system that allowed me to go to work to provide for my family. In some households, this support system is provided by a stay-at-home parent. In others, it is a network of family members or a community. Still others find it in a nursery, daycare, or school. While many of these systems feel priceless, the costs are real. Whether in money, time, patience, expertise, logistics, or transportation, everyone pays it differently.
Around the same time I was learning how to be a working mother, I heard about Basha. I learned that they provided employment for victims of human trafficking in Bangladesh. In their previous lives, these women had been exploited, objectified, and rejected by their loved ones and their culture. Until Basha, the only employment option that could provide for themselves and their families cost them their sense of dignity, self-worth, and place in society.
When women first encounter Basha, they receive professional training (as an artisan making traditional and beautiful textiles), early literacy education, and a sense of stability. They also receive the promise of a new life, new hope, and the understanding that they have inherent value and purpose that no person or previous experience can take away. As employees, they receive ongoing support and training, to help them navigate the many stresses of career, coworkers, life, health, family. Each lesson, each conversation, each item made with their own hands reenforces that they are more than the collection of their previous traumas and builds on a foundation (or a ‘house’) of hope.
What I didn’t realize 10 years ago was the long-term impact this would have, not only on the artisans, but also their children. Every day a woman comes to work at Basha, her children are welcomed into Basha’s daycare, a place that fosters play, nourishes bodies, and inspires a love of learning. When children are old enough to start school, they do so with skills that allow them to thrive, ensuring continued hope and promise for their future. Basha has seen many children through a journey that begins in daycare and ends at university (an unimaginable possibility in their previous situation).
As a physician, I am lucky to feel a sense of value and purpose in my career, and I see the fruits of my labor every day. But I can only do this because I know that in my absence, my children are safe and cared for. At the end of a long day at work, I cherish the time in the evening when I read with my children, often with the comfort of our Basha blanket wrapped around us. During this time, it is also a comfort knowing this blanket provided similar experiences to women and children living on the other side of the globe.
As a mother, I am also blessed with a sense of value and purpose, and I see the fruits of my labor every day. But I can only do this because I have been given the resources to provide the care they need.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to support the work of Basha, which provides others with the same value, purpose, resources, and care. This Mother’s Day, as we cherish and honor those who have supported us, consider supporting the work of Basha in any of the following ways:
– Purchase a Mother’s Day gift from one of Basha’s retailers or from our Etsy shop.
– Donate in honor of a mom here.