Check it out!

NameandFace is looking for volunteers to support this not-for-profit organization! Here are few ways you can help out...

-Buying our products and featuring nameandface in your store

-Creating design ideas for products

-Writing articles that bring attention to NameandFace

-Surveying your local market to help us know what consumers are looking for

-Coordinating promotion for nameandface in your area

For more info, contact us at: nameandface@gmail.com

Also, check out our newly launched website at www.mynameandface.com!

Some Delhi news...

Below is an article by BBC News on the upcoming Commonwealth Games that will be held in Delhi. When driving around Delhi it is easy to see the changes being made to the city's infrastructure. But how are the people being affected?

India 'diverts funds for poor to pay for Delhi games'

By Chris Morris

BBC News, Delhi

More than 100,000 poor families have already been evicted, the report says. Tens of millions of dollars have been diverted in India from schemes to fight poverty and used to fund Delhi's Commonwealth Games, a report says.

The Housing and Land Rights Network pressure group says its report is based on official documents obtained under India's right to information act.

The group says there should be an independent inquiry into how this was allowed to happen.

Government officials in Delhi say they are looking into the allegations. 'Clear evidence'. This report is a damning indictment of the way the Commonwealth Games have been financed and planned by the central and state governments. It says tens of millions of dollars have been diverted from funds which are supposed to help raise underprivileged low caste communities out of poverty.

The report also says spending on the Games has spiralled out of control: expenditure on sports infrastructure alone is more than 2,000% of the initial projected budget.

In addition, more than 100,000 poor families have already been evicted due to projects connected with the Games, and up to 40,000 families are likely to be displaced before the Games begin in October, the document says.

The report's author, Miloon Kothari, a former UN human rights rapporteur, told the BBC that the evidence was clear.

The determination, he said, to portray Delhi as a world-class city and an international sports destination, had led the government to lose sight of its legal and moral commitments to its people.

The names and the faces!

We wish that everyone could personally meet the people that NameandFace works with! But, seeing as that is not possible, here are some photos and a couple of bios of a few of the people that work to make the NameandFace products. It is our great privilege to work with these people and see them have greater opportunities to improve their quality of living. We hope that as NameandFace grows, we will be able to employ many more people and see them and their families impacted.

After a successful factory visit and a few more trips to the markets, NameandFace is getting ready to launch some new products! The initial product, NameandFace laptop bags, have made their debut in Korea, with the first shipment of 15 bags reaching their destination (might not sound like much, but gotta start somewhere!). The new products include pencil cases, toiletry bags, and coin and hand purses. Samples are in the making…stay tuned!

Sardar Bazaar

20 Camels, 5 monkeys, 30 cows, and 22 drummers…all crammed into the narrow streets of Sardar Bazaar. Today’s mission was to find the extra materials we needed to take to the factory. We hunted for string, zippers, buttons, fabric, and more. Six hours later we arrived home exhausted but satisfied. Tomorrow we will go with all our purchases to the factory, which is always a great experience. The people who take our design ideas and create the NameandFace products all come from different backgrounds. Some are old, some are young, some Muslims, some Hindus but we are all a family. Many come from very poor areas in India and have heart-wrenching stories. But, we know that God calls beauty even from ashes and He delights in transforming lives.

Chapter One

We started this morning emptying the cupboard of meters and meters of different fabric (wondering at why we had actually bought some of it). Starting a business like NameandFace opens you up to a new world, a world where barrels of ribbon suddenly hold great promise and laptop bags become a frequent topic of conversation.

2010 marks the beginning of the NameandFace journey, a journey which will see lives altered as people meet God while they become equipped with skills that will better their lives. We have been inspired to start this journey by the beautiful people of Delhi – those we encounter sitting at street corners, driving auto-rickshaws, selling magazines, or sleeping under flyovers.

So, here’s to Delhi and all the stories to come!