Sewing School Graduation: "My life has already changed!"

An update from Equip Mozambique! View this email in your browser The widows are celebrating their graduation from sewing classes. It's not a typical graduation. Instead of caps and gowns, there are brightly-patterned capulana dresses. Instead of fresh-faced youth, there are elderly Mozambican ladies. But the thrill of accomplishment is the same.   Some of the proud yet bashful graduates of the first sewing term! Uncertain about being in front of a crowd, the ladies are reserved at first. But then Maria grabs the microphone, gives a short testimony, and smilingly displays the beautiful blue and yellow printed dress made during the course of the classes. One by one, the other ladies follow suit, and soon they're grinning and posing to show off their new clothes.  "I will be able to have some money to buy bamboo to make a house to live in and have a place to sleep." -Luísa   These women have sold about 700 items to date While there were 7 ladies in this first term, we are opening enrollment to 20 more for the second term. Through training up more teachers and opening up daughter schools, we hope to double our impact next year. We plan to open up an online store to export their products by January 2017.   We are fundraising to expand this program, click here to contribute to changing lives! Contribute to Restoring Hope Facebook Website YouTube Email Donate to Equip Mozambique Equip Mozambique is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so all donations are eligible for tax-exemption. TOP: Maria, a graduate who will now begin training others. RIGHT: Isabel and Luísa showing off their new clothes. "I didn't believe I could be found in the church, no one could know that I exist or am I here on earth. But Jesus was able to help me. What I can see is that this sewing work brought change to me...When we sell something, we can buy school supplies for our children. We can have money to meet the needs in our houses." -Isabel   Luísa with Carla The Start When Jon and Carla arrived in Mozambique with the calling to teach and equip Mozambicans, Carla would have never guessed that her sewing hobby would help transform the lives of some of Beira's poorest women. A wonderful couple named Nora and Gabriel Mabunda are the leaders of Peniel's compassion ministries, which looks after the needs of orphans and widows in the church. At one meeting they put out a call for support. An ever-increasing number of widows were coming to Peniel in search of food, clothes, school supplies, and other basic items, and the limited amount of finances for the compassion ministry meant that the church was forced to turn many people away. When Carla heard that, she thought, what if there's a way to enable some of these widows to support themselves? She approached Nora with some of her ideas...and the sewing classes were born. Rather than give a HAND OUT, we prefer to offer a HAND UP: A more permanent solution to poverty alleviation.   "I'll have the chance to buy my daily bread." -Maria   Now Four out of the seven graduates have already earned enough money to buy a sewing machine that will allow them to start their own businesses. Before we purchase their machines some of them will have to improve the security of their homes so that their new machines won't be stolen. But in the meantime, they continue to meet together several afternoons a week to complete sewing commissions with Maria's guidance.  "My life has already changed!" -Isabel   TOP: Graduation day! Most of the ladies are wearing dresses and skirts they made themselves. L-R BACK ROW: Carla, Nora, Isabel, Maria, Luísa Number One (another compassion leader), Stella, Rainha FRONT: Ana, Gisella (fellow teacher). BOTTOM LEFT: Gisella, a fellow member of Peniel & seamstress who has taught the ladies about tailoring clothes. RIGHT: Nora Mabunda, leader of Peniel's compassion ministry. The Future Nora, Carla, and Maria have already begun the process of selecting the next group of sewing students. Maria will take on a larger share of the teaching process under Carla's guidance, and together they will train up other teachers who will be able to expand and replicate their methods. For local sales, we have started a partnership with a local capulana fabric supplier; he agreed to sell our items as long as we use his capulanas. Additionally, Carla rented a table at a local fair, and was excited by the amount of products she sold. If we ever exhaust the local markets we will turn to more exports, but for the time being we have enough requests to keep us busy! The current group of graduates will continue meeting together to sew, at least until all of them have the resources to buy their own machines. Even then, they will have guaranteed work through the commissions we receive.   Nora visiting the house of Luísa and her adopted daughter, Maria. Luísa's neighbor has to help her pay US $16 a month for the rent on her house, which fills up with water when it rains and has holes that let in rats and biting ants. But with the money from her sewing, she plans to build a new, better house. "I know that I will have a better life from now on!" -Stella Praise Reports: That the lives of these 7 widows have been transformed That the business of selling their work has gone better than planned Prayer Requests: That we would be able to expand the program and impact more widows That these ladies would not just rise out of physical poverty, but spiritual and emotional poverty as well. That they will truly have their dignity and ability to hope and dream restored We are fundraising to expand this program, click here to contribute to changing lives! Thanks for reading, please remember us in your prayers!