Tag Archive for: International Day of the Girl

A Great-Grand Daughter’s Tribute

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Guest Post by: Geethi

The following is an excerpt from an essay written by Surayia’s great-grand daughter, Geethi.  

Happy International Day of the Girl!

At the end of the alley, a tiny one-room house stands its own ground among smoke-spewing garment factories that tower over it. If you look out of any of its blackened windows, you don’t see the sky; only monstrous buildings with flickering lights and the hum of a million sewing machines running all day and night. From this house, Chiya Nanu created tapestries that changed the lives of hundreds of underprivileged women in Bangladesh. Her silk tapestries hang in museums and private collections around the world, and were even presented as state gifts.

The time I have spent with her has been precious and inspiring. As I remember the countless stories she has shared with me – such as the one about how her name “Surayia” turning to “Chiya” when my grandmother couldn’t pronounce it as a child, or part of her childhood spent in a seemingly utopian West Bengal village called Bankura – I feel more connected to Chiya Nanu’s tapestries and oil paintings hanging in our home. Today, not only do I know where I am headed, but more importantly, why.

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Give Together to Celebrate Women and Girls

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Posted by:  Cathy and Len

Surayia and women of "Arshi."

Countdown to filming!   Help us to complete the final three days of film shooting in Bangladesh for the inspiring Threads story.

Women artisans, once destitute young mothers, have supported their families over the past twenty-five years, stitch by stitch, by creating exquisite embroidered tapestries depicting social and historical stories of their time. Crossing rivers during floods, riding for hours in rusted buses over muddy roads, these women came together to learn their craft and to work.

Just as each stitch has made a difference in their lives, so every donation you make – small or large – will help us complete the film that celebrates their many accomplishments.

These women are going beyond embroidering visionary art together. They are

  • educating their children,
  • purchasing land,
  • continuing to teach others to make their own livelihoods,
  • and keeping their traditions alive.

Against many odds, they are taking their lives into their own hands and creating a better future for the next generation.

We need your help to raise a total of $3,400  for 3 final days of shooting to complete this phase of the documentary.

We already raised $1400 in one week to celebrate International Day of the Girl on October 11th — and donations are still coming in!    Thank you SO much!  We want to start the shoot at the end of October and we still need to raise $2000.

Make a tax deductible donation to Threads through International Documentary Association now http://documentary.org/fsp/3732 — $20, $50, $100, whatever you can afford (trust us, each donation makes a difference!) — and celebrate women and girls by helping bring voice to the stories of these amazing women of Bangladesh and inspiring countless other women and girls around the world.

Read more about the amazing story of the women in Bangladesh at https://kanthathreads.com

It would be great if you would share the story with your friends, too.

Thank you!

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