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Tote bags, made in Ghana, transform lives
by Women of the ELCA

5.29.2014
|
News

totebagsWhen you get a tote bag at registration, it’s much more than just a tote bag. It’s made with the “fabric of change” and it’s helped transform a woman’s life and clean up the environment too!

Tote bags for the Ninth Triennial Gathering are being made through A Ban Against Neglect (ABAN), a nonprofit that recycles used water bags in Ghana that serves young women, ages 17-23, by giving them a safe and dependable way to earn a living. Founded in 2008, ABAN now includes a preschool and health and education training for the young women.

When co-founder Rebecca Brandt met with Women of the ELCA staff this twenty-something had her own of many generations story. Becca Stevens, founder of Magdalene Thistle Farms and speaker at the Ninth Triennial Gathering, has mentored Brandt as ABAN was formed. One generation to another, changing lives.

ABAN was recently featured on the PBS Newshour. Read the story, “Inspired by a plastic bag’s potential, nonprofit trains mothers in Ghana.”

The women of ABAN create tote bags and many other products as well. They are sold online and in stores in the United States and Ghana. Good news for gathering participants: ABAN, who has its U.S. base in Chapel Hill, N.C., will be a vendor at the Ninth Triennial Gathering.

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