The Lao Song people came from the hills of Laos more than 160 years ago. They retain their traditions and customs. Life is hard in the Lao Song village of Lamkajow, near Bangkok in Thailand. Networks of women rely on the income from handicrafts to feed their families.
Lao Song Crafts specialises in embroidery and is run by Wantana Thiaqhorm. She was the first girl from her village to be educated past primary school level. Wantana was sponsored by an American missionary couple who ran a handicrafts business in her village. Now she manages that business and oversees the Tearcraft order for handmade Christmas decorations – the largest order that Lao Song Handicrafts receives – from her home just outside Bangkok.
Running the business involves travelling to Bangkok to buy material for the products, and then driving to the villages at weekends to chat with the craftspeople and offer advice and support.
Wantana has built up orders from scratch, because American contacts dried up when the missionary couple left. ‘I began from zero. It was very hard. I’d never worked alone before, and my English was poor. But I prayed to God, and I kept going, knowing that Jesus was with me.’
Success means food on the table for her two children and for the families of the 150 women that work with her. On Sunday, she encourages the women to go to church with her, afterwards they sit together and talk through any problems – either with work or in their personal lives. Wantana says, ‘They trust me and I have to help them. I believe this is where God wants me to be.’
Hunna’s Story
For Hunna, making ends meet is a struggle because her husband lost his job through being an alcoholic. He has been to rehab and has not had a drink since, but job prospects remain limited.
She says of her work with Lao Song Handicrafts, ‘This is so important for me. The money helps the whole family.’ She likes to think of her decorations being used in Christmas festivities in the UK and Ireland. Hunna became a Christian a few years ago. ‘Jesus has changed my life. He makes me happy and I thank him that He has brought this work to me.’
To download a PowerPoint presentation (with script) illustrating the work of Lao Song Handicrafts please click here. (If you right-click your mouse when viewing the presentation and click "edit slides" the presentation script will appear at the bottom of the screen.)