Sewing lady

I mentioned the Sewing Lady in an earlier post, now here is the story of how the School of St Jude came to have a Sewing Lady.

Repairing uniforms keeps the kids well-clothed

When Lynne Hodgson visited The School of St Jude school with a tour group she heard some of the children being chastised for the poor state of their uniforms. The School supplies all the uniforms as part of the sponsorship package and they expect them to be kept clean and in good repair.

Unfortunately, in some cases the child’s guardian may be a poorly sighted grandparent or overworked or alcoholic parent who has no time or ability to keep the uniform in good order. Of course the School is sympathetic sees that standards must be maintained.

Lynne came up with the great idea - a generous offer to pay the wages of a local woman who could come in every day and go through the classrooms and find sweaters with holes, shirts without buttons, dresses without ties and repair them all.

A great burden has been taken from many parents, the morale of many children has lifted and the uniform committee is greatly relieved now that Stephanie has been employed. And there is one more member of the local community with a full-time job!

This story has a particular impression on me because I think that sewing is a very skilled activity that is often unrecognised. It is often carried out as an act of love when we make things for the people close to us, or as a fundraiser. I will show you what I am making for one of my daughters in a day or two.

And you can browse my previous posts to read about the quilt that a Mennonite church in the US made as a fundraiser for the Mennonite church in Arusha. They raised $4,000 when they auctioned it.

So, we can enourage each other to use our skills to benefit others.

The best job in the world!

Whatever your skills, you'll find a way to make use of them in a visit to the School of St Jude. Teams of handy men and women have lent their expertise and muscle to the continuing work of putting up classrooms and other buildings to cater for the 170 additional students every year.

When Helen and Gordon Smith visited the school this year they helped with the Friday selection process for new students. But, best of all, Gemma noted that the Smiths are in the building industry and she found it great to show people around who are actually as excited by concrete columns and cement pours as she is!!


Mandy from Belgium spent time at the school preparing teaching aids. When her daughter Elia visited for three weeks, she looked around for a project that fitted her talents and here is what she came up with.


The sick bay walls will bring cheerful colour to this quiet spot in the school.

What a difference all these many gifts to the school are making. Our financial help, our interest and encouragement, as well as our particular talents and skills add up to one of the most successful projects in Africa. Thanks Gemma for getting it all started, and keeping all the balls in the air!