Well, it’s been a while since I’ve last written anything on my blog. Good thing I’m not a farmer; gardens and crops die from neglect. Do blogs?! Don’t answer ….. :/
Just as farmers rotate their crops, so we are rotating the type of aid we are taking to Haiti. First it was seeds, then tote bags, now dresses! And boy howdy, do I mean dresses. Over 1,000 dresses, ranging in size 3 to 12, were made from simple patterns. Many women worked hard to sew up this bumper crop in less than one year’s time. The dresses will be handed out on our next trip to Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien, Feb. 11-25, 2012.
Ladies are still sewing up tote bags, too. Nearly 60 gorgeous bags, combined with another 60 store bought totes, will be added to the shipment. Along with brand new undies for the wee kiddos, shoes, over 770 handmade wooden cars, and nearly 50 impeccable silk ties to be handed out to the local preachers. Preachers still dress up to preach the Word in Haiti – many in three piece suits with ties, even during the heat and humidity of summer. And we whine when our churches are too drafty or hot…, puh-leaze!
Perhaps the coolest part about this trip, besides all the new faces that are going, are the 21 refurbished hand-crank Singer sewing machines. Oooh, there’s a story behind this! The long and short of it is, this time the trip will focus on teaching 21 Haitian women how to sew on these machines. At the end of the week-long class, they will be given the machines and $200 cash to start their own businesses.
The sewing machines are the old treadle type you may have seen in your grandmother’s home. Since the entire assembly (machine, treadle, and cabinet) would be much too heavy and costly to ship down, the machines were refurbished. Now, instead of being operated by foot / treadle power, they have been retrofitted with a hand crank.
Stay tuned for updates from our trip!
