Why We Exist
The Problem
15% of people worldwide have a disability and 80% of them live in developing nations.
People with disabilities often face barriers such as discrimination in the workforce and can also be perceived as a burden on society with increased risks of poverty and social exclusion.
In developing nations, vocational training centers which are essential to providing people with disabilities with income generation, creative growth opportunities, and social networks are underfunded and under-resourced.
Despite the evident need, less than 1% of aid funding is targeted towards people with disabilities.
In addition, some disabilities in developing countries are also preventable. Neglected tropical diseases affect >1 billion of the world’s poorest persons. These parasitic and bacterial diseases cause malnutrition, disability, blindness, and even death, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
The Idea
Colorful Minds was ideated to empower people with disabilities and eliminate preventive diseases in developing countries around the world. Shachi Doshi, the founder of Colorful Minds, turned her experiences as a public health and social impact consultant into a strength-based social enterprise that develops creative workforce opportunities around the globe for artisans with disabilities. While working in India, she volunteered at a vocational training center for artisans with cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome. She saw artisans making beautiful products that they struggled to sell in their villages.. Shachi was inspired to bring these unique, handmade products to California where she found a local and online market for the artisans to sell their products creating a more sustainable revenue stream for themselves. Her simple idea of offering handmade gifts to shoppers in the US had an immediate and positive impact on the lives of the artisans with disabilities.
Our gifts at Colorful Minds increase workforce inclusivity, reduce health inequities, help transform lives, and enrich communities. Today, Colorful Minds serves thousands of people with disabilities and continues to expand across the globe. We hope that our gifts bring you joy and you are empowered by the choices you are making to support communities around the world. Together, we can build a better world, one gift and one donation at a time.