Hi my name is Amie Mariana Sider and I am the Founder and Director of NationWares, a non-profit social enterprise designed to create employment solutions for the marginalized and vulnerable around the world, providing them with hope and opportunity to overcome poverty. Twenty-four years ago, I was born into poverty in a remote village in Guatemala.
I was adopted into a loving Canadian family when I was 6 months old. Understanding how fortunate I was, I grew up with a strong passion for helping marginalized and impoverished people. I developed NationWares three years ago as a project for my bachelors degree in International Development. Since then, I have been working to find sustainable and equitable employment solutions for marginalized, impoverished, and at-risk individuals around the world.
What produces does your non-profit offer?
NationWares provides both international products and services. Our product line features hand-made and fair trade jewelry items and accessories made in over 10 different countries. North American customers who purchase NationWares help us bring hope, opportunity, and sustainability to all product designers and artisans. Our service is to the people we support in developing nations. As NationWares product designers, all beneficiaries receive access to local and international marketplaces, allowing them to earn income that provides food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care for their families. Our programs equip people with exceptional needs, including those with disabilities (physical or developmental), extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS and other factors that often lead to marginalization. With NationWares’ support they find education, financial and vocational training, as well as access to support networks that will enhance their business as they experience dignity and equality.
What are some day to day challenges you face?
Working closely with products from 10 different countries can be difficult for us because we support over 1000 direct beneficiaries within those nations. That is why it’s important for us to have a proper tracking and inventory system to keep our hundreds of unique products accounted for, while managing where they came from and who made them. We were overjoyed to discover and start working with inFlow. It has greatly impacted the way we do online and live sales tracking with our customers. We can sort our products by country and designer, create reports, track our purchase orders to all 10 countries, watch and track top selling products, create product codes for our website, and have quick customer access and history. Since the nature of our work is so broad in location (from creation to sales), inFlow has helped us overcome a huge challenge by helping us stay organized and up-to-date with our designers, products and customers.
What advice could you give to other businesses?
My advice for other non-profits would be to always stay true to your dream. No matter how big or small your dream is, there are always other people that try to deter you from achieving what you set out to accomplish. Find like-minded people, groups, and companies that are willing to work with you to create solutions that will overcome obstacles and that will get you one step closer to fulfilling your dream and changing the future.
Thank you inFlow for helping us change lives around the world!
Anything else to add?
You can check out this inspirational video showcasing some of the people who make the products: NationWare’s Heart .
The story behind each and every piece of artwork that NationWares offers is simply unforgettable. If you are looking to give something different to your loved ones, this is a great idea and opportunity to help the less fortunate at the same time.
For more information check out the NationWares website, follow what they are up to on Twitter and enter in their contests on Facebook.
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