Final Days

This photo was taken just before the end of this year's workshop. Kitambaa and friends had a last photo taken before packing up the Round House, taking down the quilts, putting the supplies away for another year, and then attending to our own packing. We are bringing back a fair supply of fabric (surprise, surprise!), as well as beads and necklaces, batiks and baskets, and other treasures. Also 72 shirts made by the Bitengye Designers for the Victoria Children's Choir, and samples of all the other "new fashions" made this year. Many items have already been sold, or left as samples in a number of venues. In less than a week we will be home again, and all of this will be a wonderful memory. Thank you, once again, to all of you who have been a part of this project. We hope to see many of you in the coming months, to show you updated photos, and most importantly the items made by the Bitengye Designers, the sale of which has made such a terrific difference in their lives.

The Workshop Ends

So the workshop has come to an end. The participants have been presented with certificates, prizes have been given and we can't help feeling enormously proud of what each of the members of the Bitengye Designers has accomplished in the last 2 1/2 weeks. It was an emotional good-bye as they left for their homes - clearly the time they spend together here in Mbarara is a highlight of the year for them. It's a novelty for them to stay in accomodation with meals provided and to learn something new, and a welcome break to be able to leave their usual responsibilities behind them for awhile. The relationships between the women are stronger, and they certainly occupy a special place in our hearts. All twelve women are more committed than ever to their work, and having seen the changes a little income can make, are keen to continue the work they have begun. As for us, we are already beginning to plan for next year.

The Amazing Alice

Alice has completed her "African Thunderstorm" quilt and has moved onto another "new fashion". Her eagerness in learning new designs knows no bounds, so we have been teaching her patterns that she can teach the rest of the Bitengye Designers during the rest of the year, as they are able. She has agreed to continue as Coordinator of the group next year, which makes all of us extremely happy. And for our part, we have decided to spend a week just with Alice next year, so she can get some concentrated teaching time herself. She spends so much time in the workshop helping other students, help that she gives with patience and humour. When we interviewed her about her life, she acknowledged that she is responsible for 11 members of her family, including 6 siblings, 2 nieces, her mother and her auntie. She is the only one with work, and this is what fires her single-mindedness and her work ethic. "That's why I'm still single" she said, "I am responsible for so many." Getting married has had to be delayed many times." Alice is a gem of a person, and we couldn't ask for a more able Coordinator for the group.

Large Hut Wallhangings/Lap Quilts

Here's another design the ladies have been working on - large huts in a row, with rows of rail fence alternating. They've used flannelette instead of batting, backed them, and put on binding. The quilting itself has been kept to a minimum, as they don't have walking feet for their machines - so in-the-ditch quilting has been most appropriate. The women who were still having some difficulty continued to work on tablecloths while the more advanced worked on these. They're pleased with their efforts, and we just hope that both the tablecloths and the large wallhangings will sell well as home, as they're a much bigger investment of fabric and time than any previously made items.

Bitengye Tablerunners

Aren't these gorgeous tablerunners? Most have blue borders but some have green borders. Many have been completed and today we began packing them away in a tote ready to go home. Now that we're down to the last few days of the workshop, time is flying. And the ladies are sewing up a storm. I think it was 6:40 before they went home yesterday afternoon, and I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same tonight. Each time they complete an item and it has been checked for quality, they sign a paper with the date, the name of the item, and the amount they will be paid. On Friday the list will be added up for each individual, and pay packets distributed. Then they will buy new fabrics from some of their proceeds, with which to continue sewing once they're back home. Long hours, much laughter, and sheer determination are in evidence everywhere!

Athens, Maker of Necklaces

Athens is a young woman in secretarial school. Both parents died of AIDS in the late nineties, and left her and her siblings with very little. She thought she would be forced to sell the small plot of land they had in order to continue in school, but a Canadian sponsor has enabled her to continue with her education. She is as bright as can be, and helpful and keen to learn new things. She will start back to school very soon, and when I met her last month, she was making paper necklances to raise some of the funds she would need to buy her supplies. When I saw the necklaces I offered to buy as many as she could make before I left, and here she is, with over 30 necklaces. I bought them all from her and will sell them back in Canada. And Athens? Well she is thrilled that for the first time ever she will be able to return to school with all the supplies on the list, and also with some new clothing. "I will be so happy this time," she said. "Now the other students won't be able to laugh at me."

Dinah and Helena

I first met Dinah when I came to Uganda three years ago. She was employed part-time by Canada House at that time, and we struck up a friendship. We have been in touch since then, and at the end of last year, I gave her a sewing machine and arranged for her to have sewing lessonsa. She would like to have become one of the Bitengye Designers, but works for someone at the Eye Clinic in the mornings, so can't attend. And Helena is only six months old. So I have shown her how to make table napkins, and every Sunday she has been arriving with 40 more completed table napkins. The amount she earns with these effectively doubles her monthly income, and she hopes to save enough for her eldest son to complete Primary-7. But with eight children, it's hard to save any money at all. (The husband is no longer in the picture.) As for Helena, she is thriving, and happy to be wrapped on Dinah's back while she works. At least for now.