Closer Family Ties

Burunji is one of the women supported by Carakana Program and here shares her story: "I am a mother of three boys and one girl and I come from Uganda. I am serving a life sentence at Lang’ata Women’s Prison. I have been in prison for 8 years now. Cross stitching has brought me and my daughter together because I can send her money for upkeep. I have also been able to bond with other women through the program regardless of nationality and tribe. With my first payment I bought a birthday cake for myself since I do not have many visitors."
Carakana supports marginalized women using the art of cross stitching. Women in prisons, people living with disabilities and those recovering from substance abuse generate an income by converting needle and a thread into a beautiful pattern. Cross-stitch is a form of sewing and a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which a stitch is made by crossing two threads in the form of an X. The stitches are of uniform size and appearance.Traditionally, cross-stitch was used to embellish items like household linens, tablecloths and dishcloths. In modern days, the patterns are stitched on pieces of fabric and hanged on walls for decoration framed or unframed.