Category Archives: Sewing Partners

bicycles, Peace Corps, Sewing Partners

Twenty-Five Years of Collections in Vermont

By Alan Schultz
Fall 2023 Newsletter

Twenty-five years ago, a young boy infatuated with mountain biking was reading Dirt Rag magazine and saw an article about how mountain bikes could help health care workers access remote villages in the developing world, enabling them to help more patients quickly and efficiently. His mother had lived in South Africa as a child and traveled to El Salvador throughout her life. He saw a common ground and showed her the piece. Joanne, the mother in question, sat with the thought for a year and found Pedals for Progress and reached out at just the right time.

As fate would have it, Dorsey Hogg, who had served in the Peace Corps in Botswana, had also reached out to Pedals for Progress after hearing about the organization through the Long Island Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Dorsey wanted to take a shot at running a collection. The problem was the three hundred miles between Vermont and P4P-HQ in New Jersey.

Dave Schweidenback ended up introducing Joanne and Dorsey to each other and the two Vermonters decided to join forces and take on the crazy idea of running a collection in their home state. A bit skeptical, only just finding his stride with his new non-profit, Dave was on board only if the new team would take responsibility for getting the bicycles down to New Jersey.

The two seasoned travelers view time and distance differently than most people and saw this obstacle as a mere speedbump. Through friends, family, significant others, and neighbors they assembled a small team with the common bond of spending time outside of the United States and a desire to continue to help those less fortunate. Some of the first to join included, Matt, who had also served in Botswana, Bob and Paula in Kenya, and Paul in rural Chile; the team tackled the distance between VT and NJ with ease.

First VT collection at Burlington High School, September 1999. Left to right first row: Bob Thompson, Brian Thompson, Matt Hogg, Dorsey Hogg, Unknown, Joanne Headlamp, Paul Demers. Back row: Stephan Demers.

The group came together as the Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (GMRPCV) and held their first collection in 1999 at Burlington High School. The team collected a staggering 138 bikes for their very first collection! With a 26-foot U-Haul rented and ready to go, Matt drove the bicycles to New Jersey with Dorsey following in her car to give him a ride back to Vermont.

Satisfied with their efforts and a job well done, the team decided to do it again! The second year they collected 83 bikes, with Dorsey and Matt making the trip. Year three, after another 114 bikes, Paul took a shot at driving the truck down and then took a train back up to Vermont. Lightning striking three times in a row, they knew they were onto something grand, but the long drives became expensive and tiresome.

During year four, partnering with the Williston/Essex Rotary Club, the distance between VT and NJ suddenly closed. The Rotary Club had a member who handled shipping for IBM. Diligently working her magic, she found someone at FedEx to agree to ship containers at no cost on a space-available basis. The local FedEx office in Vermont has been stalwart in their support ever since, through numerous changes in branch managers and leadership. Just over twenty years later, it has developed into a tradition that has lifted the burden of logistics, while helping hundreds of people every year along the way.

Inside Mary’s barn where refurbish machines are stored during the year

With this key factor in place that offered sustainability to the project, the GMRPCV in Vermont steadily picked up the pace and grew its collection efforts year after year. They have built partnerships with local bike shops participating in bike swaps, held auxiliary collections in smaller areas to maximize their collection efforts, recruited local recycling agencies that provide important financial support, local rotary clubs, student groups, and solid waste groups that all pitch in when they can. The core team has also donated their own time and efforts to fundraising, refurbishing machines, and getting the word out about their collections and our cause through televised news appearances. It goes without saying that the list of volunteers and time spent in 25 years of collections is LONG.

VT team September, 2023

We at Pedals for Progress simply want to say thank you. Thank you to Dorsey, Joanne, and the rest of the team in Vermont that have been helping with our mission for twenty-five years. Knocking it out of the park again, for their 25th Anniversary with P4P, they collected 225 bikes and 127 sewing machines on September 23rd! With this achievement, over the twenty five years of collections, they have collected a staggering 4,900 bikes and 1150 sewing machines that have been shipped around the world. From larger cities like Tirana, Albania, to small villages in rural Togo, these items have drastically changed the lives of thousands of individuals that now have the freedom and mobility to have fair shot at life.

There are hundreds of stories to be told about the team in Vermont. Without fail, there are always a couple interesting stories that come out of each collection. Take for example this small time-capsule that was donated to them this year.

This Singer Featherweight was donated by an unknown individual at this year’s collection. The VT team checks each sewing machine and assesses its condition to help us identify machines that may need to be serviced once they get to New Jersey. Inside this inconspicuous black box there was this note.

Thank you for giving my mother’s sewing machine a new home. She served in the Woman’s Army Corp during WWII, returning home to find herself a single parent with child — me. She went on through the GI Bill to receive a master’s degree in library science in Pittsburgh and returned to Ohio to live with my grandfather and grandmother and older sister. There she oversaw the renewal of the attic into an apartment for us. She worked at the public library and made clothes for me. As time passed and her brother, his wife and three children moved in the house with us and she continued to sew — clothes for me, doll clothes for my cousins as well as costumes for our little play/performances and Halloween! This sewing machine stitched together many wonderful memories and I hope you are able to put it to good use.

We will be doing exactly that, putting this machine to good use by sending it to a partner program abroad. While this story of a sentimental machine that represents a lifetime of stories is specific to one person, the overall sentiment is still a very real theme today. We’ve reported on a multitude of women in situations like this. Whether to people displaced by war, bearing a child alone, or supporting a house full of family members, we aim to provide machines to create change. Machines like this small Singer can provide a financial bedrock through a business endeavor or simply brighten the day of a child wanting a costume. No matter what is being made, our aim is that the result is one of progress and peace.

Sewing Partners, Tanzania

Distribution of Sewing Machines in Arusha, Tanzania, Fall 2023

By Norbert Mbwiliza
Fall 2023 Newsletter

Date: July 7, 2023

Introduction: This development report provides an overview of the distribution process and impact assessment of sewing machines that were received from a donor for rural areas in Arusha, Tanzania.

The objective was to empower individuals in these communities, particularly women, with the means to start or expand their sewing businesses, thereby contributing to their economic and social development.

Distribution Process:

  1. Needs Assessment: Prior to the distribution, a comprehensive needs assessment was conducted in collaboration with local authorities, community leaders, and relevant stakeholders to identify the target beneficiaries and assess the demand for sewing machines.
  2. Selection Criteria: A set of selection criteria were established to ensure that the machines reached those who would benefit the most.
    The criteria included factors such as income level, sewing skills, and willingness to commit to using the machines for income-generating activities.
  3. Training Program: To maximize the impact of the sewing machines, a training program was developed to provide beneficiaries with basic sewing skills, machine operation, maintenance, and entrepreneurship training. Local trainers were engaged to conduct the training sessions.
  4. Distribution: The sewing machines were distributed in a transparent and equitable manner, following the selection criteria. Distribution events were organized in collaboration with local community centers or village assemblies to ensure community participation and accountability.
Created with GIMP

Impact Assessment:

  1. Economic Empowerment: The distribution of sewing machines has had a significant economic impact on the beneficiaries. Many individuals, particularly women, have been able to start their own tailoring businesses, generate income, and improve their financial stability. The machines have enabled them to offer sewing services to the community, create employment opportunities, and contribute to the local economy.
  2. Skills Development: The training provided alongside the distribution of sewing machines has enhanced the beneficiaries’ sewing skills and knowledge. They have acquired technical expertise in operating and maintaining the machines, leading to increased efficiency and quality of their work. This has also fostered a sense of self-reliance and confidence among the beneficiaries.
  3. Social Impact: The distribution of sewing machines has had positive social implications in the rural areas of Arusha. Women, in particular, have gained increased recognition and respect within their communities as entrepreneurs and providers. The improved economic conditions have also contributed to a higher standard of living, allowing families to access better education, healthcare, and other essential services.
Created with GIMP

Challenges Faced:

  1. Limited Access to Electricity: In some rural areas, access to reliable electricity remains a challenge, affecting the operation of the sewing machines. Efforts were made to address this issue by exploring alternative power sources such as solar energy or setting up community charging stations.
  2. Sustainability: Ensuring the sustainability of the sewing businesses in the long term has been a challenge. Ongoing support and mentorship programs are crucial to help the beneficiaries overcome obstacles, adapt to market demands, and expand their businesses.

Conclusion: The distribution of sewing machines in rural areas of Arusha, Tanzania, has made a significant impact on the economic empowerment and social development of the beneficiaries.

Through increased access to sewing machines and relevant training, individuals, particularly women, have been able to start their own businesses, generate income, and improve their overall well-being. Ongoing support and sustainability efforts are necessary to further strengthen the impact and create a lasting change in these communities.

Sewing Partners, Uganda

Report from Uganda, April 2023

By Mathew Yawe, Executive Director, Mityana Open Troop Foundation
Spring 2023 Newsletter

On behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, allow me to present to you a report of our activities from Janaury to April 2023.

Mityana Open Troop Foundation is a registered Community Based Organization, with a Vocational Skills Training Centre, which recruits and trains vulnerable youths, mostly young girls formerly selling sex for survival and girls expelled from schools due to teenage pregnancies. Currently the project has a total of 111 Trainees, girls and boys.

Learners are trained for two years in sustainable skills such as sewing and fashion design, hair dressing and weaving, motor vehicle mechanics, carpentry & joinery, or metal fabrication.

There are three 3-month training terms per year. For each term the centre recruits whoever wishes to join.

Since the inception of our Vocational Skills Training project in 2007, more than 1,200 have graduated. Some got employed while others set up their own workshops.

Uganda sewing class, May 2023Every trainee in the sewing program works with a sewing machine from the Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace Project of the USA to enable proper hands-on training.

Other P4P/SP sewing machines are donated to the graduating youths to enable them to start their own workshops right away. In Uganda, graduating a trainee with only a certificate and no equipment is a waste of time. It’s estimated that 90% of Ugandan graduates can’t afford start-up equipment.

Achievements

Uganda MOTF Graduation, February 2023The Vocational project held its Eighth Graduation Ceremony on February 11, 2023, when 205 youths graduated with sustainable skills. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola in our Ugandan Operational Districts, this is our first graduation ceremony since the Seventh Graduation Ceremony in November 2018.

Breakdown of graduates:

  • 101 tailors
  • 70 hair dressers
  • 10 domestic electricians
  • 20 motor vehicle mechanics
  • 4 bakers

The project leased a plot of land for growing maize and beans to feed project learners, as buying maize flour and beans from food stores is so expensive.

We also hold talks concerning STIs, HIV/AIDS, youth friendly services, etc.

Income and Expenditure January to April 2023

Exchange rate: 1 U.S. dollar (USD) to 3,300 Uganda shillings (UGX)

Income January 2023 to April 2023. (USD $) Expenditure January 2023 to April 2023. (USD $)
1. School fees contribution from trainees US $ 2,727 salaries for the Instructors and support staff US $ 600
2. Selling of Sewing machines. US $ 454 Sewing machine shipping from USA US $ 1600
3. Sewing & fashion products, embroidering services, face masks. US $ 110 Trainee feeding US $ 1000
4. Carpentry workshop products. US $ 301 Training working materials. US $ 500
5. Government of Uganda, youths skilling program support. -Nil- Electricity bills for school, carpentry, sewing shop. US $ 400
6. Kolping Mityana Womens Project, 5 Vulnerable Orphanage school fees support. US $ 500 Computer services & stationary. US $ 30
7. Fields of Life Orphanage school fees Support. US $ 419 Compound slashing / maintaining. US $ 60
8. Unbound Kampala Ltd Vulnerable Orphanage school fees Support. US $ 350 Sewing Show Room & Carpentry Workshop premise Renting. US $ 597
9. Firewood US $ 200
10. Operational licences / Taxes US $ 239
11. Sewing machine servicing -Nil-
12. Condolence support to project trainees and teachers, having lost their closest dear ones! US $ 1000
TOTALS: US $ 4,861 US $ 6,226

Challenges / Limitations

The Training Centre lacks clean water. There is a small water tank, 2000 liters, which is emptied in 2 days. Then students have to walk 2 km to get water from unprotected sources.

We lost Rev. Balam Mukwaya in February 2023, a board member who donated to the project land fund.

The organization requires office furniture and staff room, as instructors don’t have a place to sit and keep their kits.

The organization still encounters challenges in raising funds for shipping sewing machines from Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace USA, as the project gives sewing machines to graduates as start-up equipment.

The organization lacks a computer, printer, and photocopier for printing end-of-term exams, and for other office computer work. Currently all computer work is taken to our town to be worked on.

The project needs a computer lab with internet access, to enable students to find dress fashions, learn computer skills, and get health information. In addition, this computer lab would be used by our community volunteers to access the Ministry of Health for health-related issues.

We have many cases of malaria among project trainees, as they lack mosquito nets.

Our project lacks a toilet for boys. Currently boys and girls share one pit latrine, which is not recommended by the Ministry of Education.

The project lacks an incinerator, where sanitary pads and other wastes can be burnt easily.

We lack our own land for growing maize, beans, and potatoes for feeding trainees. The same piece of land could be planted with Robusta coffee and macadamia nuts, cash crops for generating income.

Community Impact

Uganda men's workshop, May 2023The Mityana Open Troop Vocational Skills Project offers affordable training to school dropouts from our communities, including unemployed youths. The project trainees come from the six surrounding districts: Mityana, Mubende, Kiboga, Kasanda, Kyankwanzi, and Hoima. The non-formal skills training we offer has very much benefited parents whose children have dropped out of school, as most institutions in the area offer formal education only.

Over 800 trainees have graduated since our inception in 2007. These graduates go back to their communities and set up their own workshops, passing along their acquired skills to fellow youths who didn’t join our project.

The community can also buy inexpensive goods and services from trainees in the carpentry workshop and the sewing project, where we make uniforms and offer sewing repair services.

Our sewing shop also offers embroidery services to schools formerly traveling to Kampala.

The Mityana Open Troop Foundation is the only shop in the area delivering high quality used sewing machines at inexpensive prices. The machines are from Sewing Peace USA. Many schools and tailors in the area have been supplied with these machines.

Way Forward and Recommendations

We are fundraising for a new 2-classroom block, to enable us to create a conducive training environment and have room for more students.

We need an incinerator for burning sanitary pads and other waste.

We need a new toilet for boys, who currently share facilities with girls, which is not recommended!

We need embroidery machines with USB input, as the one we have is very slow and requires mechanical servicing all the time!

We are organizing a Christmas children’s party for December 27th, with guest speakers, drinks, cakes, biscuits, music, and gifts.

We welcome volunteers who can teach sustainable skills to our youths. We would like to partner with similar vocational training institutions elsewhere in the world. This will help us learn how they operate. Plus it will help our Ugandan youths create friendships with fellow youths and learn about their cultures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, on behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, I extend our sincere thanks to the following great friends / partners who have been so supportive of our activities: Mr. Chris Eldridge, Mr. David Schweidenback and Mr. Alan Schultz of the Sewing Peace Project USA.

I extend our thanks to the generous communities of the USA, who have been donating high-quality refurbished sewing machines to our needy Ugandan communities. Please, the used sewing machines which seem unimportant in the USA have uplifted our communities, changing peoples’ lives by creating a daily source of income. Thanks to all the volunteers involved in the collection of sewing machines and bicycles.

Please Continue Giving a Hand Up, Not a Hand out.

Thanks.

Sewing Partners, Uganda

Report from Uganda, Fall 2022

By Mathew Yawe
Fall 2022 Newsletter

Mityana Open Troop Foundation is a Community-based Organization started in 1997 by a group of Boy Scouts who had been affected by socioeconomic issues leading to dropping out of school and unemployment,  while others had been affected by HIV/AIDS due to loss of their relatives/guardians. The high dropout rate led to high crime rates among youths in Uganda. The initiative started by conducting training on HIV/AIDS, health talk-shows, environmental protection, child nutrition in the most risky communities, promoting food security, providing support and education to vulnerable children and conducting functional adult learning to combat illiteracy.

Vocational Training Project

Because of the above concerns, our organization started a Vocational Training project in 2007 by recruiting and training vulnerable youths, widows, and orphans in sustainable skills such as sewing and fashion design, cosmetology, hair dressing, motor mechanics, and agriculture.

Group at treadle sewing machine
Before Sewing Peace Project machines

However, while much of our interest was in training youths in sewing and other occupational skills, we lacked the funding to afford the tools and machines that we needed.

Our project UK partner, Mr. Chris Eldridge, found the Sewing Peace Project USA, and we wrote an application for sewing machines to Mr. David Schweidenback.  Sewing Peace allocated us 72 sewing machines. This was a great miracle which we were not expecting to happen!!

At the beginning, the project had two manual sewing machines shared by 30 trainees!!

Uganda group in classroom
Sewing Peace Project machines

The donated refurbished sewing machines to the Mityana Open Troop Foundation were in very good condition, much better than the machines being sold in Kampala. The Sewing Peace machines were installed in our sewing workshop. Some of the machines were given out to the project graduating youths as start-up machines to enable them to start their own workshops within their communities. In Uganda, a sewing machine makes a very great difference in one’s daily income!

Donated Machines Generate Income for Our Project

Uganda Sewing Shop in townSome of the donated sewing machines are being sold in our shop at a cheaper price to some of the Ugandan schools, community based organizations, and artisans, who can’t afford buying the so-called new Chinese machines.

The profit from our shop is used to pay shipping costs,  Ugandan custom taxes, teachers’ salaries, and electricity bills.

Achievements of the Sewing Peace Project

  • As a result of the donated sewing machines since 2010, the project has received over 800 sewing machines, 451 projects graduates were provided each a start-up sewing machine.
  • The Mityana Open Troop Foundation has been selling at inexpensive prices the remaining sewing machines to other Ugandan charities, schools (both secondary and primary), and individual artisans. The income from the machines we sell has enabled us to pay teachers, electricity bills, and maintenance costs.
  • The project has over 40 sewing machines in the sewing workshop. This has enabled more hands-on training than when we started in 2010 with 3 machines.
  • The project has become an Ugandan sewing machine importer, paying import taxes to the Government.
  • The project owns a Sewing Shop in our town, equipped with an embroidery machine able to create school badges, names on uniforms, making school uniforms. The shop is selling refurbished machines to artisans, schools, and charities. These machines are much better than the Chinese machines in the market.
Ugana graduate in her workshop
Graduate in her workshop

Our project graduates have managed supporting their families: paying for food, medication, school fees, and scholastic materials for their young brothers and sisters, and paying rent for their workshops.

The majority of our project trainees are youths who had dropped out of schools due to socioeconomic factors. Some of them were even previously selling sex on the streets at a young age for survival and without thinking of becoming pregnant or  contracting STIs.

Challenges

  • The project encounters challenges in raising machine shipping costs, including paying the Ugandan Custom import taxes.
  • Lack of a toilet and washing rooms at our project.
  • Insufficient permanent classrooms/workshops.
  • Lack of clean water for trainees.

Conclusion: Many thanks to  the Sewing Peace Project, USA, all volunteers involved in the collections of machines, including refurbishing activities. We also extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Chris Eldridge from the UK, who is always supportive to our project.

‘The Good You Do to Others, Comes Back To You Unknowingly.’

Sewing Partners, Somalia

Somalia: New Partner, 2022

By Abdi Noor
Fall 2022 Newsletter

[ Editor’s note: On September 2, 2022, we made our very first shipment to Somalia. Our partner there is the the Hiran Youth Council. Abdi Noor, a Somali now living in Portland, Maine, is our contact. Here is his message to P4P/Sewing Peace.]

I would like to sincerely thank you on behalf of the staff of the Hiran Youth Council and on behalf of the poor women and youth training in our program. From your generous donation we will be providing sewing machines to poor youth and women to earn an income through our program.

Your support has enabled us to provide free tailoring training to 72 poor youth and women, who will receive the machines after completing their courses. We are also planning to receive additional sewing machines from Sewing Peace to distribute more machines to students. Your support enabled us to provide refreshment to the poor women and youth for better learning.

Training programs like ours are great opportunities for our women and girls to further develop their marketable skills and take a step towards self-independence.

Without you, it would not be possible for them to receive this training or these machines that will allow them to start sewing at their homes. With time, they will be able to develop sewing businesses and earn a livable income.

Your support will bring them bright futures to our trainees. Many thanks again! We will keep you updated about our work and the progress of our graduates.

Cameroon, Sewing Partners

Cameroon: Rising Hope Foundation for Change Fashion and Design School Training Clubs

By Mbenja Clovert Anamani
Fall 2022 Newsletter

Cameroon partner awarding sewing machinesRising Hope for Change (RHFC), Cameroon, donated sewing machines to SIRA Bilingual Nursery and Primary school to start a pilot school fashion and design training club in Cameroon schools. The aim of this pilot project is to install Rising Hope Foundation for Change fashion and design training clubs in Cameroon schools in partnership with Sewing Peace America.

In line with our objective to provide quality sustainable projects to impact communities, RHFC donated sewing machines to SIRA Bilingual Nursery and Primary School Makepe Douala fashion and design pilot training Club for pupils. The entrepreneurial school will train young students how to sew from primary levels. It was during their end of school year and prize award ceremony that the project was launched, and these machines were handed to the club by the CEO of RHFC in the presence of the proprietor, parents, pupils, staff, and the director of the school. Receiving the gifts, the head of the club together with the pupils expressed their gratitude to the CEO and the entire RHFC family for the timely gesture and initiative of RHFC. The proprietor of the school in turn thanked the organization for supporting their vision. The occasion ended with a family photo.Cameroon school group with sewing machines

RHFC Empowering Women

The largesse of the RHFC team was extended to an internally displaced persons (IDP) family based in Logpom Douala in Cameroon. Growing up in the southwest region of Cameroon, life was okay until the crisis started in 2016. Mme. Arrey Christelle from Manyemen left the village when the crisis was at its peak. Together with her entire family, they left behind many of their belongings since they were in a rush, leaving behind the only thing that was helping them to feed their family, the sewing machine. Her mother taught them how to sew dresses using the sewing machine they had. With their livelihood surrounding the sewing machine, they grew up to become skilled seamstresses. When they settled in Douala, life was not the same as in Manyemen. Without a sewing machine they had no source of income, they could not stitch their worn-out dresses, thus rose difficulties to eat and take care of minor bills. They cried out for help, RHFC heard their cry and offered a free sewing machine. This machine boosted their moral and increased Mme. Arrey Christelle’s income as she can again sew dresses for people and earn a living.

RHFC and IDPs (internally displaced persons)

Cameroon woman sewingUnder the initiative of “RHFC and IDPs Empowerment”, RHFC has donated more than 20 Sewing Machines to Internally Displaced women and girls in the Southwest and other regions of Cameroon after some days of training. According to the Founder of RHFC, Mr Mbenja Clovert Anamani, this gesture will go a long way to improve the livelihood of these internally displaced persons and their families in one way or the other. Through their training, IDPs will be economically empowered, freed from sexual exploitation, and gain skills in business, enabling them to grow their sewing endeavors and have more investors to establish bigger and greater ideas. Innovative skills will boost their creativity in the world of technology, therefore foster entrepreneurship in the world of fashion and design.

Belize, Sewing Partners

Sewing Peace in the Belize Prison

By Derrick Pitts
Fall 2022 Newsletter

With the sewing machines we received from Sewing Peace we were able to partner with the local prison to start a sewing program for the inmates at the Belize Prison. The objectives of the sewing program are:

  1.     To introduce the inmates to a marketable life skill. A skill which they can gain an honest income from.
  2.     To save the prison money at the same time.

Belize Central PrisonWith 1200 inmates at a prison facility that operates off 80% donations, the cost of taking care of these inmates can be burdensome. To the point that some inmates don’t have proper clothing. After jumpsuits are laundered, the workforce inspects each one for tears and missing snaps. The prison sends out for repair an average of 200 jumpsuits per month at a cost of $5 each. That amounts to $12,000 per year. Since each jumpsuit costs about $15 to $17 to replace, damaged jumpsuits were disposed of after three repairs. However, through this partnership with Sewing Peace and Belizean volunteers we are able to teach inmates how to first sew and repair their inmates’ jumpsuits. Which will be a HUGE cost saving instrument for the prison.

Sewing in Belize Central PrisonUsing donated pieces of fabric and their own imaginations, “they are expressing themselves artistically,” said one of the volunteers. Using their creativity, the prison will market their artwork so they can gain an income while in prison. The ultimate goal is to see inmates have a second shot at life when they reenter society. It is our hope and plan that when inmates graduate from our program and are released from prison, they will receive a sewing machine, fabric, and a business plan to help sustain themselves and family.

This is a win-win for the prison and the inmates. A huge thanks to Sewing Peace and their generous donors for making this program a life changing success.

Sewing Partners, Togo

Togo Success Stories, Fall 2022

DRVR-TOGO runs a sewing apprenticeship program. Click here for some background. In June 2022, the 13 graduates of our first class were awarded the tools of the trade: sewing machines, scissors, iron holders, charcoal irons, hair dryers, rechargeable clippers, plastic barrels, mirrors, … These young graduates have become bosses with their destinies in their hands. They are ready to open their own shops offering men’s sewing, women’s sewing, women’s hairdressing, and men’s hairdressing. We are eager to receive future containers to support this extensive program we have started. Your donations of bicycles and sewing machines improve living conditions here in Togo and elsewhere in the world. We want to tell you here and now that there is a waiting list for days, months, years to come.

Here are some success stories from our first group of graduates.

Akoélévi Antoinette ASSAGBAVI

Akoélévi Antoinette ASSAGBAVI, Togo 2022My name is Akoélévi Antoinette ASSAGBAVI. I am 21 years old, and I have been one of the beneficiaries of the program of the DRVR-TOGO association for 3 years. I was born into a family of 7 children. We lost our mother very early and few girls in my community have the right to go to school like boys. We are made to accompany our mothers in the kitchen and various domestic activities. After the death of my mother, I was adopted by my aunt and brought to Nigeria at the age of 6 for a long period without education and also without learning a trade. Back in the village for my father’s funeral ceremonies, I finally decided not to go back to my aunt’s house to live this life of mistreatment and unhappy domestic life.

One day I heard a radio program about the possibility of free support for young people wishing to learn any trade of their choice. I quickly contacted their service and was admitted to the program. After 3 years of perseverance and courage, here I am, the holder of my end-of-training diploma in men’s and women’s sewing. At the beginning, I thought of a dream which finally became a reality: 12 other people and I who can now open our own workshops and save money to take care of ourselves and feed our families. Sincere thanks to DRVR-TOGO, P4P/SP, and all their staff and donors.

Grace Yawa AGBOZO

Grâce Yawa AGBOZO, Togo 2022My name is Grace Yawa AGBOZO. I was born in 2000 in a polygamous family where my mother has 5 other co-wives with several brothers and sisters at the family home in Agbozo-kpédji/VO. My story is a little sad to listen to, but I ask you to understand me. I am my mother’s eldest; my parents never had the courage to enroll me in elementary school like all the other children of my age. When I was 10 years old, after a short illness, I was forced by my father to be admitted to a convent after a few ceremonies under the pretext of paying a family debt from our ancestors to the voodoo priest. The days and the months pass. It turns out that I have to marry the voodoo priest. I have just turned 12, but discussions about this contract started when I was born. I am at the end of my tether — how can a 12-year-old girl become a housewife? A few months later I had my first boy and then my second at less than 14 years old and then life goes on.

One evening, during a ceremony in a village not far from our home, my so-called husband had a stroke and he fell. We found a way to bring him to the hospital, but he didn’t survive. We women have been subjected to weeks of widowhood ceremonies. One day, I decided to escape this prison life with my two boys and return to my parents. The chief of my village called DRVR-TOGO to help us. I was sent directly to the evening school for adults organized by the DRVR team. After I learned to read and write French, I was sent to the apprenticeship program for a period of 3 years.

Today here I am among the stars. On my return to my village I will go with my beautiful sewing machines to the chief by whom all this good news began. My life and that of my two children have changed and I will sing the glory forever. All my family and I give thanks from the bottom of our hearts to all near or far who have contributed to making me a winner forever: to DRVR-TOGO and to P4P/SP, whose actions change living conditions on the other side of the world.

Mawuse Fiovi ADANLESSOSSI-AVOUDE

Mawuse Fiovi ADANLESSOSSI-AVOUDE, Togo 2022I am 23 years old. Since I was a child I have had problems with my vision. My parents found an excuse or saw fit not to enroll me in school. A child who cannot see well is going to have to learn a trade to have financial means to go to the big hospitals for treatment. One day when I was 17, my father spoke with a nurse passing through our village with a mobile vaccination program against poliomyelitis, a disease that frequently develops in children under 5 years old in our community. My father learned that a humanitarian organization would send me to the city hospital for consultation and treatment. I was taken in and over a period of 2 years my eyesight improved.

So I decided to go and learn the trade of sewing, which had always interested me. Four years later I was ready to take my final apprenticeship exam when to my great surprise I discovered that I did not have a birth certificate — another problem but quickly solved by the dynamism and the determination by the team of the DRVR-TOGO. I had my birth certificate, and I also passed my exam on time. Today I have my sewing machine, which will allow me to open my own workshop to work and achieve all my ambitions. This work is really great. Congratulations for always being there for the well-being of others. Congratulations to you wherever you are. Continue to save other people in difficulties worse than mine. Once again thank you and please do what you can.

bicycles, Sewing Partners, Togo

Togo Success Stories, Spring 2022

Spring 2022 Newsletter

Catherine

I am Catherine. My two colleagues in the photos are Akouwavi and Améyo. We are apprentice seamstresses and we are part of a program that our promoter calls Youth Socioeconomic Empowerment, a program that pays the costs of the training contracts and then, at the end of our apprenticeship, provides us with sewing machines to allow us to open our own workshops. A few weeks ago, we received our machines and are already working. It is a great joy to see these photos of ourselves.

Akouwavi

With these sewing machines, we will work and save money, take care of ourselves, take care of our families and send our children to school. We have finally reached the end of our training and here we are with our sewing machines as promised. These machines are essential tools for our small businesses. All this is possible thanks to the support of the DRVR-TOGO and its partner Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace. It is because of you, the donors, that our dreams have become realities.

Améyo

We are appealing to all P4P loyal partners and donors: Used sewing machines, bikes, and other tools as far as the eye can see are left in your garages, basements, stores, and offices. Donating them to P4P will help people and save lives in communities thousands of miles away from you on the other side of the world. Many thanks to you, David, and all your tireless P4P team for your dedication to social causes.

Essenam

I am Essenam. I am an apprentice seamstress. I would like through this little note to express my gratitude to DRVR-TOGO, Pedals for Progress, and all their partners and donors who contribute from near and far to help support vulnerable populations all over the world and as well as our communities here in Togo. I have not been to school like many young girls of my age have, so I decided to learn a trade, and the choice fell on sewing, a trade of my dreams since childhood.

Before the DRVR-TOGO bicycle program, I had to leave the house very early in the morning. I would arrive at the workshop late and tired, and then come back late at night, when travel is risky.

With this nice bike in the photo, I now arrive on time at the workshop to continue my learning with a lot of determination. Words fail me and all my family to thank the American donors to the P4P organization. Once again thank you for everything. Through my voice, I appeal to P4P and its partners to continue this program again and again to help other people in different areas of need.

Emefa

My name is Emefa and I am 14 years old. I am a student in the first-year class in high school. For the 2020–2021 school year, officials from DRVR-TOGO came to our establishment with a program to cover tuition fees and supplies and support to promote the education of orphaned and vulnerable children, especially young girls. I was the first in my class for the end-of-year exam. To continue my study in high school, I have to travel impossible kilometers to go to my classes, because there is no college in my village. You have to go to the town next door instead. With this bike from DRVR-TOGO and P4P, I could not hide my joy and that of my entourage. We sincerely thank you. My wish is that this program continues so that other students can benefit from it.

Afiwa

My name is Ania and I am a widow with two children: Afiwa is ten years old and Komlan is six. I sell boiled meat on the side of the road in my neighborhood to feed and take care of my children and especially to send them to school. Every morning I have to leave my activity and bring my children to school and pick them up in the evening at sunset.

Komlan

Some time ago a client told me about a DRVR-TOGO bicycle program and a child who had already benefited. I went to inquire about the program, and to my great surprise my two children got their own bikes. Now they leave the house every morning and came back in the evening after class without difficulty.

My two children and I say thank you to you the donors, to P4P, its president, David, and all his staff. We also offer a big thank-you to DRVR-TOGO here with us in our community.