OVERVIEW
This project will be training people to become tailors. The aim is to train fifty students over the course of a year in a number of different sewing styles, until at the end of the year each student is a proficient all-round tailor, with the ability to either set up their own small business, or get a job in an industrial sewing business. A secondary aim of the program is to facilitate peace in a society recovering from two decades of civil unrest and ethnic conflict. By opening the school to all, different ethnic groups come together to learn and from there, trust one another. People can also find healing for the trauma inflicted by war. While 50 students and their extended family is only a small start towards healing and reconciliation, every step counts.
WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT IT
We are impressed with our implementer’s desire to not just teach sewing, but to use it as a platform to spread peace. We appreciate the focus on women who need to earn a better living, and we value the fact that there is a clear outcome for the students – different pathways into income generation and a better life.
BUDGET
This budget covers the cost of 20 pedal sewing machines, rent for the classroom, teachers, and security. The students will supply their own material and equipment as part of their contribution to learning.
THE NEED
The Democratic Republic of Congo is coming out of a difficult period of civil war, where a great deal of infrastructure was damaged or not maintained. Services are limited. The war itself was brutal, with rape being a common warfare tactic. The program is aimed at women who have been particularly impacted by the war, including those who suffer the stigma of rape, and those displaced by the war.
LIFE CHANGE
