The ladies at Suubi were very excited to see the arrival of two additional machines at the centre recently.
As you may be aware, in October last year the first sewing machine was purchased with funds raised from the sale of hand woven bracelets they had produced. Since that time, the number of ladies attending training sessions at Suubi has almost doubled! The original group of twenty ladies has now swelled to close to forty, with many of them coming to Suubi two or three times a week to take part in sewing and craft sessions.
With this in mind, when Lesley Lowe's extended family donated to HUG as part of their Christmas gift giving last year, it was decided that the money would be perfectly spent buying additional machines for the centre. Lesley has a great passion for all things craft. In fact she was the driving force behind the 100's of little pairs of shorts and skirts which were made and distributed to the village children during last years volunteer trip. It is wonderful that Lesley's love of sewing will now be shared with many ladies in Uganda.
The ladies are seated at the new sewing machine while some of the men assemble it.
Namirembe Sarah shares her sewing skills with some of the other ladies.
Since the initial sewing machine arrived at the centre, the craft ladies have improved their sewing skills enormously. Namirembe Sarah, one of the group, has shown a great ability to pass on her previous tailoring skills to many of the other women. In addition to this, Sarah also has knowledge about using a knitting machine. To capitalise on this, it was decided to purchase one of these machines for Suubi. In the not to distance future, we envisage that the Suubi Craft Ladies will have the ability to start producing school uniforms. This would include making the knitted jumpers that are a required part of the uniforms. Therefore having a knitting machine at the centre is an essential part of getting this business off the ground.
Many schools in the area benefit from being involved with activities at Suubi themselves, and it is hoped that this will encourage the students to purchase their uniform from the local ladies rather than having to make the long trip into Masaka Town. This would be a fabulous outcome for everyone associated with Suubi!
Sarah takes a close look at the new knitting machine.
The other ladies interestingly look on as Sarah threads the knitting machine.
Everyone is happy with what the machine can produce.
We would like to thank the Lowe, Cheong and Lau families (Lesley's extended family) for sharing the joy of Christmas. Their presents will have a positive impact on many Ugandans long into the future. What a wonderful way to HUG the world!
HUGs from the team!
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