Carolyn Colella of GlobeWater & Solar (GWS) of Princeton, New Jersey, just contacted us regarding a water project in Soroti, Uganda. GWS developed a solar-powered water pump that they plan to ship to Soroti.

During the planning of the water project, Andrew Auruku, the GWS contact in Uganda, mentioned that he needed a couple of sewing machines. There is a pressing need in the community for someone to be able to produce sanitary pads for women.

Carolyn had heard of Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace. She called us and asked if we could help get a couple of sewing machines for Andrew.

Uganda is a landlocked country. Shipping anything there is not only super expensive; it’s also extremely difficult. It’s expensive because of ocean shipping, overland shipping that costs even more, and import taxes and fees. It’s difficult because of logistical and bureaucratic overhead.

By incredible good fortune, Sewing Peace has a partner in Uganda, the Open Troop Foundation in Mityana, which is about 300 miles from Soroti — not terribly close in terms of Ugandan travel but a lot closer than New Jersey! We contacted Mathew Yawe, our contact in Mityana, and asked him if he still had some sewing machines available from the last shipment. He did!

We put Mathew in touch with Carolyn from GWS. She arranged for the transportation costs and then put Matthew in contact with Andrew in Soroti. Mathew arranged to have two sewing machines and a step-down converter delivered to Soroti by bus the next day. Another win-win!

[Our latest news from Mathew in Uganda is this report on the graduation ceremony of 18 November 2018.]