The CEO and co-founder of Krochet Kids International took his hat off Monday in Pruis Hall to show students the tag inside that read “Carmen,” the name of the woman who personally crocheted the hat to provide for herself and her family.
Kohl Crecelius visited Ball State as part of the Excellence in Leadership Speaker Series to show students how a handful of close friends can grow a business that changes lives and empowers people to rise above poverty.
Krochet Kids International began as a group of high school friends selling their hand-made crocheted hats to raise money for their senior prom. Once the prom was over, however, the group seized an opportunity to change the lives of a group of women across the globe.
The nonprofit group, which was founded in 2007, sells hats and scarves crocheted by women from Northern Uganda and Peru. The proceeds from the products then make it back to the women, granting them independence and stability from a government on which they once depended.
“‘I felt like a baby waiting for mother’s milk,’” said Crecelius, quoting a Ugandan who had lived in an internally displaced people camp for 20 years. “’We want to work.’”
Crecelius credits this conversation for shifting his view on charity and led him to take an old hobby and turn it into a life-changing organization. Instead of simply giving impoverished people what they required, the organization works to teach the women how to budget money, start their own small businesses and take out small loans.
“If we don’t ask people what they want, how do we know how to help them?” Crecelius asked. “People need work and jobs. That’s what they’re asking from us — to be the masters of their own destiny.
Crocheting was not always at the top of the list for the group, however, and took some consideration before deciding to follow through. Thanks to a lesson from his older brother, Crecelius was able to teach his friends how to crochet in high school, which they eventually taught to 10 women in Northern Uganda.
“I think initially, my hesitation with it was looking at the severity of the issues that we were trying to deal with and how rudimentary something like crochet was,” Crecelius said. “Thinking about it more, how rudimentary it was — how simple it was — was what was beautiful about it. It didn’t take complex machinery or tools.”
Krochet Kids now employs more than 150 women in two countries and tries to promote sustainability and empowerment not only within the organization, but also across the U.S. and the world.
“We want to help people understand how products are made and the influence that production can have,” Crecelius said. “How we can give [a woman] the resources to realize [her dream] on her own.”
Crecelius encourages students to take their own expertise, and turn it into something greater — to take something they’re passionate about and apply it to the world. To do this, he asked students for two favors: to redefine their concept of charity and use their skills and gifts to make a difference now.
“Try what you want to do, talk to five other people and see if they’re interested in the same thing,” Crecelius said. “We need to be more conversational and have talks about what we want to do and how we want to help.”
For more information on Krochet Kids International and to view products, visit krochetkids.org.
