To Hope in a Handbag

Buyer's remorse. We've all had it. But now one entrepreneur is helping shoppers everywhere curb that regret. When you buy a purse online from Kristen Hendricks' Juxtaposie, you could be helping a woman out of a life of forced prostitution.

Hendricks recently began a program called Purse of Hope, targeted at building shelters and vocational centers for women and girls who were victims of human trafficking and forced prostitution. The company's goal is to rehabilitate 1,000 women worldwide over the next 5 years, beginning with a program in Uganda. Already the company has sent mentors to the cities of Kampala and Gulu to identify girls at risk and to find placement for them in future shelters. Until fundraising is complete, the company is using proceeds from purse sales to set up classes to teach basic literacy and "an income-generating skill, so [these females] do not have to rely on selling their bodies for survival," says Hendricks.

Twenty percent of online sales of Hendricks' handbags — which range in price from $49 to $89 — go towards funding Purse of Hope's mission. So far, the company has funded two trips, set up the initial stages of the vocational school and has provided school fees for girls coming out of trafficking or prostitution. Many of the purse handles also incorporate hand-rendered beads created by northern Ugandan refugees who were forced to flee their homes due to the country's 21-year civil war. As a result of the conflict between the government and rebel forces known as the Lord's Resistance Army, over one million people have fled their homes and 20,000 children have been caught up in the fight.

Hendricks, who has two young girls of her own, says she was inspired to do something after watching a documentary about a young Indian girl sold into sex slavery. "I simply do not know what is more fundamentally evil than selling the innocence of children," says Hendricks.

Photo courtesy of Purse of Hope