Waldport church’s sale on Sunday helps women in Bangladesh

WALDPORT — Waldport Community Presbyterian Church is holding a sale Sunday of handmade goods from a Bangladesh nonprofit which supports women trying to leave the sex trade in that country.

The sale begins at 11:30 a.m. in the church’s fellowship hall, 485 N. Bay Street.

Robin Seyfert, a member of Chapel By the Sea Presbyterian Church in Lincoln City, helped organize the nonprofit years ago after living with a Bangladeshi family. That’s where she became acquainted with the quality of handmade products but also where girls and women were victims of the sex trade.

A nonprofit called Basha was formed as an avenue for women to build a future for themselves and their children by creating items to sell that showcase the country’s handicraft traditions. The name Basha comes from Bengali, “basha” meaning house and “asha” meaning hope.

The Waldport church provides a monthly donation to Basha, as well as an annual sale of Basha Boutique items. Chapel By the Sea Presbyterian makes an annual donation to Basha and hosts several sales throughout the year.

The Revs. Wendy and Mark Olson, pastors of Chapel By the Sea, traveled to Bangladesh in 2020 and saw first hand the work being done.

“From the first time I learned about Basha, I was hooked,” said Wendy Olson. “Basha does not just ease the burden of poverty and abuse, it opens the door to getting out of it. People’s lives are changed both for the artisans and their families. When a woman becomes a Basha employee, her future is changed and the future of her family for generations.”

To learn more about Basha, as well as how to become a “friend of Basha” or a retailer of Basha-made items, visit the web at www.bashaboutique.com