Shopping with the Suubi girls

We had SUCH a fun time shopping with the Suubi girls for all the things they will need to start their new tailoring businesses. This too was made possible by the generosity of Australians who have given these girls the opportunity to improve their lives and the lives of their children though sewing.

They bought foam for padding to make more bags 

 

They had fun buying 

some gorgeous fabrics,

zips, elastic, stiffening, needles, pins, threads and lots more.

They had SUCH a wonderful time.

When we got back to Suubi they spent time

displaying everything,

talking about the things they planned to make 

 and how hard they were going to work to build successful businesses.

 It was so good to share in their excitement.

 This was another unexpected gift from God who provides, so we spent time thanking Him together. Then I said Goodbye for the last time and headed home, very weary after a fabulous shopping trip with the beautiful Suubi girls.

Teaching something new to our tailoring girls

I was given this quilted and zipped bag in Rwanda as a gift in 2011. 

I brought it with me to Uganda and have been using it constantly to carry all my crochet bits and pieces around. I realised that the girls learning tailoring at YFC's Suubi Home would be quite capable of making something similar. It is quilted, lined, has difficult square corners and a zip across the top

Step 1: Ask the girls if they were interested. It was a unanimous 'YES'

Step 2: Find all the materials needed to make the bags.

 Rose, their tailoring teacher, was willing to take me shopping. That was a wonderful and colourful cultural experience with one gorgeous woman and, believe it or not, I only took this one photo. Sorry!

Step 3: Make a sample bag so that I knew what I was teaching the girls. That was interesting. I'm not a treadle sewing machine user by any stretch of the imagination, and when the machines are not in great working order its an even bigger challenge. But with plenty of help I was ready to go on Wednesday.

Step 4: Make bags with girls.

First cutting out the fabric, the lining and the foam wadding, 

then stitching,

pinning,

waiting for a machine, (only two in semi-working order)

sometimes needing a bit of help from Jajja (grandmother) Jane,

more sewing

until the beautiful bags are complete and its time to show them off.

What a great job these girls did. They were so proud of themselves and I was proud of them too!

Because the girls had enjoyed making the bags so much and were keen to make more, and because I thought these could be a good income earner, I asked Rose to purchase more lining, zips and wadding. They already had scraps they could use for the outer fabrics.

And so they went crazy

and look what they made!

 Even Rose was pleased to model one.

It was such a successful day and I think the girls now have another option for earning some money to support their little ones.

More classes for young mums

Many of the ministries of YFC Uganda are focussed on girls and young women. I wrote a post about part of the ministry at Idudi in the east of the country. These young mums don't live at the facility in Idudi. However, in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, YFC has a home where young mums live and are taught tailoring.

 

Each week I have been spending Wednesdays at Suubi Home - Suubi is a Luganda word meaning hope. 

I have shared this day each week with Lynn, a young Social Sciences student doing her internship with YFC. We were asked to teach 'Life Skills' in the morning and 'Creative Skills' in the afternoon. 

 One Wednesday afternoon I taught them how to make banana pancakes.

All of their cooking is done on a charcoal stove outside. 

 That part I couldn't teach them, but they are already totally familiar with that. 

Even in the city that's the way the Ugandan's cook.

 

 We had a lot of fun just generally hanging out.

That's very African.

 Most of life is about relationship.

  

 Love it!

   

And at the end of the afternoon we enjoyed sharing the pancakes together.