Here Am I Sewing Clinic for the Icy Mae Vocational School
January 15th – 19th, 2018
In January a sewing team representing the Rotary Club of North Jefferson (Gardendale, Alabama) visited the Here Am I ministry in Haiti in order to initiate the foundation for a Sewing Vocational School as a part of the Icy Mae (Frederick) Vocational School and Medical Clinic. The facility is still under construction and the sewing clinic was done in the new teachers lounge and kitchen for the elementary and high school. Many months prior to our arrival, we had ordered 6 Chinese made manual sewing machines through the Dominican Republic. Elise Cadet, the ministry director had to drive 9 hours each way to pick these up for the training.
The teachers for the sewing clinic were Carol Stewart, Diane Weber, Rebecca Green (Muscle Shoals), Teresa Watson and Richard Bradley (strictly a chaperone!). We had 11 students, 3 ladies from the community, 4 young men and 4 young women from the school. And we had three outstanding interpreters – Simon Lilmos, Rodrigues Jean and Miguel Florvil. The team brought 10 suitcases of materials and supplies with them. Carol and Diane had prepared full training manuals translated (for the most part!) into Haitian Creole, which took a lot of time and love!
The Translators: RoRo, Simon, Miguel
The Students:
The school was scheduled for three days, our thoughts were that it would take all three days to teach the basics and how to use the manual foot pedal driven sewing machines. We were shocked as to how quickly these students and ladies from the community learned how to use the manual machines, follow the instructors instruction, completing everything quickly. The sewing room was a frenzy from the morning until it was dark! Since we did not have electrical power, some would stay and continue with flashlights in their mouths.
After some of the basic patterns, the teachers taught the students how to make backpacks and purses (big shoulder bags) which they made as many as the could for family and friends. Part of the purpose is to give the young ladies a means to produce an income. The third day, the students had advanced so far, so quickly, that Carol had to pull out patterns for shirts, blouses, pants and dresses. One of the young ladies made a long casual dress that could be used for church. As you can see, Simon was a model!
This was an extremely gratifying trip for the teachers. Knowing that you are trying to help is one thing, but to see the passion and excitement of the students as they learn to do something new and creative is a reward in itself. Thank you goes to District 6860 for the grant funds to buy the sewing machines and to help with the travel expenses for the team, and to the Rotary Club of North Jefferson for your help and encouragement in bringing this program to life!