Sewing in Liberia
2024 Sewing Workshop
A team from Illinois recently traveled to Liberia to lead a sewing workshop to teach the sewing of washable pads. The pad pattern, the Confidence and Comfort Pad (CCPad), was designed by team members. The small team consisted of three skilled sewists, a mechanic, and the program director of Dignity4Girls.
4 Regions Represented
Over a dozen women participated, representing 4 cities where Liberian Children's Ministries schools operate. These schools received past shipments of US sewn washable pads and witnessed how the pads blessed the girls by increasing attendance, grades and overall confidence. The newly trained Liberian sewing teams will sew washable pads for present and future school girls.
This workshop was a big step. The women had been preparing by taking sewing lessons for the past year. The US team was pleased to see the commitment of two regional school principals who recently built special sewing rooms for their new sewing teams. They also hope to offer sewing classes to high school students in the near future.
Sewing Machine Repair Training
While the sewing workshop was underway, the team mechanic was teaching how sewing machines work and how to repair them. These recently trained Liberian men will contribute to the sustainability of the sewing programs by making sure the sewists always have working machines. They were called to action several times during the workshop, reinforcing their importance in the new sewing programs.
2024 sewing workshop
Photo of women sewing in their new sewing room, built specifically for them. They are also hopeful that someday they can hold sewing classes here for high school students.
The Sewing Workshop team is about to board the Mision Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flight to the remote town of Zwedru.
Real-life training in fixing sewing machines overseen by mechanic, Russ.