We are all back home in Virginia - glad to be home. The transition was sudden, from 100 degrees to 50 - but welcomed. Because we had so little internet while in South Sudan, we all agreed that we would each contribute at least one more post. I (Marg) agreed to write one on the sewing project. This will be more interesting to some than to others :)
I had lots of valuable advice concerning the sewing project before I left. It proved very beneficial. Abukloi Secondary School has 5 classes with around 35 per class. In order to fit everything in the time schedule, classes were combined so there were 3 sewing classes comprised of 70, 70 and 35. Fortunately, there was not 100% attendance so I had closer to 60 in a class rather than 70. Each day I had some vocabulary on the board and then taught a hands on sewing skill. I did those for 3 days. Then on days 4 and 5 I taught a much smaller group of 10 how to use a pattern and sew a wrap around skirt.
Day one we learned how to sew on a button. The first class went well with everybody getting to sew on 1 button. The second class was a bit more challenging because I didn't have enough buttons for every student. This meant I had to cut off the buttons sewn on the previous class and pull out the thread from the buttons, making them clean and ready for the next class. Fortunately, Mary was there to help me. They did a great job - with only 1 student needing to start over when her thread broke. They had those buttons sewn on tight!
The second day we learned how to measure - those donated tape measures from Chester UMC were great. The boys measured each others neck, arm, back, waist, and inseam. The girls measured each others bust, arm, back, waist, and skirt length. Then they wrote all the measurements on the board. I thought the exercise might be a bit boring, but they totally enjoyed doing this. Both the button sewing and the measuring were new practical skills for them and they could see the benefit.
The third day we made cloth tote bags. I had brought fabric from my "collection". (You probably have seen the bumper sticker: "The one with the most fabric wins". At one time in my life I was in the competition so I had quite a bit of fabric appropriate for this project.) I had cut the pieces before class so each group of 6-8 got 2 pieces - one for the bag and one for the handle. They loaded up their needles and got started with a running stitch, everyone got an opportunity to sew at least one side. The handles were turned inside out and then attached to the bags. I was quite impressed with the creativity of some and the effort of all.
After three days of this I knew there was no way I could teach that many people how to use a pattern and sew a skirt so I asked the teachers to select 1 male and 1 female student from each of the 5 classes - total of 10. They did and that is the group I worked with the last 2 days. Day 1 we learned about patterns. This was an easy pattern for a wrap around skirt. We measured one of the female students, selected a size and got started. Two plastic tables were brought in from the teachers' room allowing us a clean surface to work. Only one piece had to be cut out twice as the students got off the line and cut the piece too small.
Now the sewing machine... It, of course, was a treadle machine. I had been studying it for several days but could not figure out how to make it work - there was no belt. So we went to the market in search of a belt. Director Justin took us to the "textile" section of the market where men are making clothing on treadle machines. He introduced us to one of the tailors and he made us a belt. They simply take a long piece of selvage and twist it so tight it becomes a string. They then put it tightly around the wheels and tie it. When that wears out, no need for a rubber belt, just create another one using a piece of fabric selvage. Of course, it made so much sense. This man agreed to come to our school the next day to help get the machine working.
So the next day he was in the car and off we went to school. It took him more than an hour to get the machine running smoothly. We did not have any oil so he used parafin that is burned to heat water for tea for the teachers. These folks are resourceful!
Anyway, he got it going while I worked with the 10 students as they put together the skirt, using the running stitch they learned while making the tote bags. Two of our students have taken classes with "Save the Children" and already know how to make a pattern and use a machine. They will be extremely valuable. In addition, the tailor from the market has agreed to come back and teach the students more. I left patterns and fabric for 1 male and 1 female uniform. That is their goal - to make their own uniforms. The students are very excited about the sewing initiative. Everyone wants to be part of the "Pioneer Leaders of the Sewing Initiative". They were assured that all students who are interested will learn and that another 1-2 machines will be purchased. We just need to start small. At the assembly on Friday the skirt was shown to the whole school, modeled by one of our female students. A man from the local radio station was there to report on it. Another local leader was also present to witness this potential cottage industry. Currently, all schools wear uniforms and all uniforms come from Uganda. Our uniforms were ordered in the spring and have not yet arrived. Area schools would love to have local students make their uniforms so this project has the potential of becoming quite a cottage industry in South Sudan.
I had lots of valuable advice concerning the sewing project before I left. It proved very beneficial. Abukloi Secondary School has 5 classes with around 35 per class. In order to fit everything in the time schedule, classes were combined so there were 3 sewing classes comprised of 70, 70 and 35. Fortunately, there was not 100% attendance so I had closer to 60 in a class rather than 70. Each day I had some vocabulary on the board and then taught a hands on sewing skill. I did those for 3 days. Then on days 4 and 5 I taught a much smaller group of 10 how to use a pattern and sew a wrap around skirt.
Day one we learned how to sew on a button. The first class went well with everybody getting to sew on 1 button. The second class was a bit more challenging because I didn't have enough buttons for every student. This meant I had to cut off the buttons sewn on the previous class and pull out the thread from the buttons, making them clean and ready for the next class. Fortunately, Mary was there to help me. They did a great job - with only 1 student needing to start over when her thread broke. They had those buttons sewn on tight!
The second day we learned how to measure - those donated tape measures from Chester UMC were great. The boys measured each others neck, arm, back, waist, and inseam. The girls measured each others bust, arm, back, waist, and skirt length. Then they wrote all the measurements on the board. I thought the exercise might be a bit boring, but they totally enjoyed doing this. Both the button sewing and the measuring were new practical skills for them and they could see the benefit.
The third day we made cloth tote bags. I had brought fabric from my "collection". (You probably have seen the bumper sticker: "The one with the most fabric wins". At one time in my life I was in the competition so I had quite a bit of fabric appropriate for this project.) I had cut the pieces before class so each group of 6-8 got 2 pieces - one for the bag and one for the handle. They loaded up their needles and got started with a running stitch, everyone got an opportunity to sew at least one side. The handles were turned inside out and then attached to the bags. I was quite impressed with the creativity of some and the effort of all.
After three days of this I knew there was no way I could teach that many people how to use a pattern and sew a skirt so I asked the teachers to select 1 male and 1 female student from each of the 5 classes - total of 10. They did and that is the group I worked with the last 2 days. Day 1 we learned about patterns. This was an easy pattern for a wrap around skirt. We measured one of the female students, selected a size and got started. Two plastic tables were brought in from the teachers' room allowing us a clean surface to work. Only one piece had to be cut out twice as the students got off the line and cut the piece too small.
Now the sewing machine... It, of course, was a treadle machine. I had been studying it for several days but could not figure out how to make it work - there was no belt. So we went to the market in search of a belt. Director Justin took us to the "textile" section of the market where men are making clothing on treadle machines. He introduced us to one of the tailors and he made us a belt. They simply take a long piece of selvage and twist it so tight it becomes a string. They then put it tightly around the wheels and tie it. When that wears out, no need for a rubber belt, just create another one using a piece of fabric selvage. Of course, it made so much sense. This man agreed to come to our school the next day to help get the machine working.
So the next day he was in the car and off we went to school. It took him more than an hour to get the machine running smoothly. We did not have any oil so he used parafin that is burned to heat water for tea for the teachers. These folks are resourceful!
Anyway, he got it going while I worked with the 10 students as they put together the skirt, using the running stitch they learned while making the tote bags. Two of our students have taken classes with "Save the Children" and already know how to make a pattern and use a machine. They will be extremely valuable. In addition, the tailor from the market has agreed to come back and teach the students more. I left patterns and fabric for 1 male and 1 female uniform. That is their goal - to make their own uniforms. The students are very excited about the sewing initiative. Everyone wants to be part of the "Pioneer Leaders of the Sewing Initiative". They were assured that all students who are interested will learn and that another 1-2 machines will be purchased. We just need to start small. At the assembly on Friday the skirt was shown to the whole school, modeled by one of our female students. A man from the local radio station was there to report on it. Another local leader was also present to witness this potential cottage industry. Currently, all schools wear uniforms and all uniforms come from Uganda. Our uniforms were ordered in the spring and have not yet arrived. Area schools would love to have local students make their uniforms so this project has the potential of becoming quite a cottage industry in South Sudan.
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