More of the Women and Their Stories

Yesterday - Saturday - was an incredible day.
We interviewed each of the women one at a time, so that, with their permission, we are able to share their pictures and stories with you. They were eager to talk to us, and you have already met two of them. This photo is os Tumushabe, who comes from the Lake Bunyoni area. Through the efforts of other Canadians, she learned to sew clothing some years ago. These are sold through the tourist camp on Bushara Island. She joined our project to learn of other hand-crafted items she could make. Tumushabe is 29, and has been on her own since 1999, raising three children aged 12, 10 and 8. She learned to sew because she has one leg shorter than the other, and subsequent hip pain, so can't earn her livelihood from agriculture. When I asked her if she had had polio, she laughed, and told me she didn't know, because she's never seen a doctor in her entire life. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to introduce you to more of the women, as this computer rarely lets me load more than one photo per post. Yesterday was a welcome exception!

I Did It!

Meet Rechael, proudly showing us her completed placemat. She has made slow but steady progress all week, and was delighted to be able to move on to working with African fabrics today. Rechael is 33 years old, and comes from Kikigati, in the south of the country on the border with Tanzania. She has 4 children, aged 13, 9, 7 and 2. She has been a widow since 2001 and first tested HIV positive in 2002. She is both a peer educator for people with HIV and Chairperson of one of the widows' groups in her area. Her only source of income at the moment is from growing crops, eating what she needs and selling the rest. She wants to see her children progress onto secondary school, but has no funds at the moment.






And this is Lydia, a photo taken on Wednesday, when she graduated from sewing straight lines on paper to working with the practice fabric. Lydia is also from Kikigati, Chairperson of another widows' group, and also a member of the Mothers' Union, where she teaches women how to care for their families and about sanitation. She is 51, and has been a widow since 1995. She birthed 9 children, of whom 7 are still alive. Four are still in school. Since her husband died, she has been head of the family, and has earned enough from working in the gardens (where she grows sorghum) to support them all, plus two grandchildren. Her main concern at the moment is how to come up with the extra funds for her eldest son to continue in the second year of his program in vocational school, where he is learning building skills. Thankfully there were sufficient funds in the Kitambaa scholarship fund to help him in the short term, and on Monday he will be back in school.

Practice, practice, practice

The first project the women have been working on is placemats. Before they begin working using the good African fabrics, they must each make a sample using practice fabrics, and only when Alice says it is OK, can they move on. Here Kamida (with Joan's help), is painstakingly removing all the topstitching, which she had done in grey. She will use thread to match the borders once this is done. The willingness of these women to work hard; to practice, practice, practice; and their patience in correcting an error when it occurs, is humbling. They already know that if the quality is good, I will buy the placemats and bring them back to Canada to sell, so they have much invested in making a "good quality" product. But yesterday was a very good day - they were all cheered by their progress, staying at their machines until 6:30, and singing in praise before they left for the day to go and have their supper.

Thursday at the Round House

It seems very strange to think that we have come to the end of our day - the ladies worked until 6:30 this evening, and have just left us and are walking up the hill to the community centre where they have supper. Meanwhile you are just getting up at home. They are terrifically keen, and hard working, and all are making progress. Today, however, we realized there are some who have never used a ruler before, others who have never used an iron, and none had used pins before. So in addition to Alice reviewing the threading of a sewing machine, as seen here, we spent much time on these basics. Alice is amazingly patient, and Joy and Perez both help with translation, and somehow between us, we are all learning. We were also joined by a new student today. Sheilla is the daughter of Generous, and while she has been taught tailoring, she is unable to leave home to work, as she is caregiver to her mother, whose husband died of AIDS in 1998, and who is now quite ill herself, despite access to treatment. We hope we will be able to teach her some things to make at home, as she already has a sewing machine.

Outdoor Instruction

The first three days of class, the women have been practicing sewing in a straight line, using graph paper as a guide. Once they perfect this, they move on to practicing with fabric. Here I am introducing them to strip-piecing. We have set up a table in the shade for marking and cutting. But besides making sure the sewing machines are in good working order, it has been important to attend to other issues. Four of the women were complaining of sore eyes. When they visited the Ruharo Eye Clinic, it turned out that three of them needed glasses. Still another woman had what sounded like a bladder infection that had been untreated for one month. She visited the Ruharo clinic and is now on antibiotics. And another came to us complaining of lower abdominal pain. She has been HIV positive since 2002 - her husband died in 2001. We will arrange for her to have a full physical examination before she returns to her village. Despite all these possible setbacks, they are keen and enthusiastic, working on their machines from 8:30 in the morning until 5:30 or later in the evening, with an hour break for lunch in the middle of the day.

First Day of Classes

On Monday, the first day of classes, 12 women arrived at Canada House. They are all widows, with the exception of Joy, who is our translator, and Alice, who is teaching the women how to use treadle sewing machines. Three women have had previous sewing experience, and here Mauda and Stella are examining one of the samples I brought with me to see how it is made. Meanwhile Lydia is practicing and practicing to get the rocking motion necessary to operate the machine. Yesterday we discovered that she has poor eyesight, and are taking her to the clinic to get her eyes tested (something she has never been able to afford).

Morning in Mbarara

This is the Round House, part of the Canada House compound used by ACTS staff, and it will be our home for the next three weeks. We wake to the cooing of the morning dove, and other birdsong. Looking over the hedge and toward the hills, the smoke of early morning fires can be seen. We have all we really need here - beds equipped with mosquito nets, a tiny kitchen with 2-burner hotplate, a couch and chair in which to read or receive the many visitors that drop by, and best of all, indoor plumbing. The shower is really only a trickle, but as long as the power is on, the water is warm not cold. Right next to us is a second round house, but this one is open to the air, and it will be where classes are held.