Thanda After-School would like to establish a Sewing Income Generation Project within the Umtwalume community in July 2009. This project will involve approximatly 10 women, who will be taught to sew in a local community hall, 3 days a week. They will also receive basic business skills, vegetable home gardening skills (they will have to start their own garden at their homes), information on household health and sanitation, as well as information on HIV/AIDS. The women will make clothes that are inexpensive, yet fashionable, which will provide a cheaper and easier option for the local community. Transport to the nearest city is very expensive, so the community can also save money on transport. The women will also make useful items such as bedding, pillows, aprons, and blankets. The women will work together to sell their items on market days in the community. They will also focus on learning to make school uniforms because it is a guaranteed market and will enable community members to buy food and other household necessities with the money they save from a cheaper uniform. The project would like to request basic sewing supplies necessary for the women to sew, as well as fabric to use while learning to sew. A local ex-Thanda After-School art student, who has mastered the art of sewing, will train the women 3 days a week as the Sewing Teacher. He will continue to work with the women daily for the first year. In addition, two local ACAT members, who are very competent in sewing, will offer training workshops 3 days a week for the first 3 months. Once competent in sewing and business skills, the women will be able to buy their own fabric and sell their items in the local community. There will be an emphasis on ensuring that the women are fully capable of completing every part of the design, production, and business aspect of producing clothes themselves. Our goal is for the women to feel empowered enough to establish independent or joint sewing enterprises within a few years. Thanda Zulu, a company that fundraises for Thanda After-School by selling products made by income generation projects, will also provide work for the women at very fair prices. The Sewing Income Generation Project would also like to request funding for enough fabric to make 50 school uniforms. Thanda After-School will offer these 50 uniforms at a nominal cost (with the fabric funded, the cost will only be payment to the woman that made the uniform) to specific families in need. Thanda After-School supports 320 orphans of AIDS and other vulnerable children through activities, lessons, and skills development after-school. Thanda After-School also works with the families of these students when in need. Thanda After-School therefore has a good understanding of which children live alone and which families suffer from extreme poverty, and can offer these extremely inexpensive uniforms to these families/ children exclusively. In all, this project aims to empower and equip 10 women to uplift their families from poverty, while also benefitting the community at large. |
