The Next Chapter

The new workshop before renovation...

This week will be a busy but exciting time for me as I embark on life in a second Alli Wano workshop and start three new sewing classes.

...And after a fresh lick of paint by the landlord

I’ll be working alongside The Uganda Down’s Syndrome Association (TUDSA) to provide sewing classes to parents of children with Down’s.

I held a meeting for the mums (and one sister) recently to introduce myself and my passion and vision for the project. I explained that I have a sister with Down’s Syndrome and they were intrigued to see photos of us together in England. They seemed to really appreciate an outsider coming into their world who had an idea of the struggles and joys of this reality.

Adding some African trimmings

We will be having classes of 4-5 people every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until the end of November at least, and the syllabus will be slightly different from the pilot class with Suubi House. Monica and I will be teaching more traditional tailoring skills as well as introducing some new products such as upcycled/customised second hand clothes.

Excitingly, three of the graduates from the first class will also be coming to teach on the areas they have each specialised in. I hope this will be an encouragement to the new students as they see that they too could be teaching in just a few months time.

Elvis wouldn't get off the curtain
material we were trying to use!

While I was working with one of my ladies at her home this week, one of her friends, Shaida, popped in with her three year old son Elvis. He really is such a cutey but unfortunately cannot yet walk or talk. As Shaida can’t afford to take Elvis to a clinic for assessment I am going to support her to do this and hopefully organise some speech and physical therapy if appropriate.

Sewing and Harvesting

This week and next the ladies are learning to appliqué. It has been very interesting to see how they have dealt with learning a new technique as we have been working on Kindle cases for so many weeks now! Appliqué is quite different to any other skill we’ve been working on.

Margaret with her appliqued map of Uganda bag

Half the women, including Margaret (our kafulu, star/expert, who had some small sewing experience previous to joining Alli Wano) have picked up appliqué really easily and others have struggled. The idea is that we appliqué these cotton bags and get them to market as soon as we can because plastic shopping bags have recently been banned in Kampala. I wanted the ladies to pick up the skill quickly so we could start production. I’m keen for them to start earning money and so I started worrying:

• What if some of the ladies start to make money and others don’t?
• Will they resent the others?
• What if some just never get it?

But as I prayed about the situation I felt that God gave me a very clear answer:

John 4:35 “Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest.”

Through this verse I felt that God said to me:

• Some of the ladies are ready – let them go for it!
• Give others more time and they’ll get there
• It will motivate them to work hard if they see others getting money
• It’s not all about money (a point I’ll come back to in a second)

I also feel, although not directly from this scripture, that it would work well for each lady to have a specialism and therefore I’ve started to watch who is best at what, and who enjoys making which product.

It’s not all about money

As I observe the women at the workshop I realise that Alli Wano is so much more than a training school and business. Some of the ladies did not pick up the new technique straight away and that could be for many reasons – we’re all good at different things – but I realised the main reason was because they were having issues in their personal lives and so focusing on sewing was not their first priority.

One lady is having to move out of her marital home because of emotional abuse by her husband, one is waiting for her son to have a potentially life-changing operation this weekend, and another’s son is critically ill. And yet they keep coming. Coming to the workshop each week allows Arios, Oliver, Jane, Margaret, Catherine and Susan a space to vent frustrations from home, to share the ups and downs of life. That safe place is so much more important than whether or not they learn to sew. This is a space just for them, where they can be themselves and do something for them.

All the women would call themselves Christians of one denomination or another and now, as official training comes to an end I feel it’s time to invite them to go deeper on a spiritual level. So I’m devising a tailored (!) bible study for those who wish to come, to help them understand more of who Jesus is and more of His unconditional love for them.

As I step out in this new journey of faith if anyone has any resources they would recommend for women’s bible study/ministry please do let me know!

Alli Wano

My new project – Alli Wano

Anyone who knows me will know that I talk about Uganda A LOT - everything and anything can be linked back to Uganda in some way! Well now I've decided to go back to the place that has captured my heart all these years - The Pearl of Africa.

From my experiences in Uganda over the past eight years and following a month’s research trip to Kampala this summer, I believe that God is calling me to set up a project there called ‘Alli Wano’ (meaning ‘He is here’ in Luganda). The project will be a part of my uncle’s charity, Link International, which has numerous such enterprising projects already under its umbrella. 

Why?

My real passion in life is seeing children with disabilities and learning difficulties experiencing a good quality of life. Having worked for international children’s charity, Viva, in Kampala previously, I have witnessed many families who simply cannot afford to look after their children. Children with disabilities unfortunately tend to be last on the list when it comes to basic needs being met; in Uganda children with special needs are still largely thought to be the sign of a curse on a family and of little value.

How?

I will be working with contacts from a number of Kampala’s disabled children’s charities who advocate for the rights of children with special needs and work with parents to educate them about the value of all children. My aim is to come alongside and empower the parents of these children by teaching them sewing skills so they can sustainably support their families.

What?

By partnering with local seamstresses and translators, I will teach the trainees to make items such as kitenge (African fabric) bunting, cushion covers, tablet and phone covers and baby slings and we will sell the products in the tourist markets of Kampala. I also hope to hold specific training sessions on subjects such as managing money and skills for running a small business in the hope that ultimately the families could have their own sewing businesses.

When and Where?

I am moving to Kampala in January 2015 and have committed to living there for at least two years. My training centre will be set up in the compound of two married friends (Sarah and Godfrey) who also have a heart for children with special needs. Sarah and I are below.

And Finally...

This project has changed a lot since my initial vision for it and even in those few short months I have experienced heartache and turmoil as it has altered but it has never moved away from the focus of helping the parents of disabled children to help themselves and that's what I will continue to hold on to.