A school, a sewing machine and a future

Attached is a link to a video about a woman living in the slums of India. She is trying to support her parents and her daughter with little assistance. She is hoping that when she completes a sewing course she will be able to obtain a sewing machine and have an easier time making ends meet. The video is quite sad, although it does put things in perspective. So many of us have so much to be grateful for. It is amazing to think that the ability of this one woman learning how to sew will change her families life. I hope that she gets her sewing machine and that things get better for her and her family in 2011. God bless us everyone.

A Sewing Machine Lifts A Woman Out of Poverty

Let's get excited about sewing machines! It is amazing everything they can accomplish. They can make flowing dresses, hippie bags, little baby clothes and/or change the world! It turns out World Vision gives people the ability to purchase sewing machines in order to "lift women out of poverty." This idea of sewing to change the world is really catching on. The below quote is from World Vision.
"A sewing machine lifts a woman out of poverty. To a poverty-stricken woman or girl in a country like Zambia, Ghana, or Ecuador, the sewing machine you provide can be a doorway to a better life. You'll show a single mother, orphaned teen, or HIV-positive widow how she can make a decent living as a seamstress to support herself and her family."
How great is that. I have attached the link to the World Vision donation page for Sewing Machines.
http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=2086625

All You Need Is Love

When I started this blog I was thinking that one of the greatest motivations for sewing is love, the mom sewing the buttons, for example. Even the Arpillera movement, the mother's were sewing because they loved their children that were taken away. I still do believe that to be true. I think so many of our actions are rooted in emotion. What wouldn't I do for my sister or my mother, anyone who I care about. If not careful, I can easily lapse into getting pretty hippie about things. It's all about love man. Whatever. However, I realize too that while much of the sewing that is done is about loving your neighbor, it is also about empowerment. The Chilean women were not going to let the government take their children from them without a protest. Friends were not going to watch their loved ones die of AIDS and hide their memory in shame. Ginger Dosedel was not going to sit back while American soldiers were unable to get dressed without help while they were injured serving our country. The Austrian judge was not going to watch women suffer anymore because they were kidnapped and raped. So many of the people mentioned on my blog, saw injustice and they chose to do something about it. They empowered themselves through sewing. They told the government that though they may be prostitutes they have a voice, and a right to earn a living. Though they are just a few students they will not accept sweat shop materials on their campus. All around the world people are sewing, and through sewing they are creating independence. They are sewing and they are establishing real seeds of change.

And anyway who really needs an excuse to hear the Beatles???Share

Sewing Center Empowers Women In Iraq

A sewing center has been opened in Iraq. This will allow women to learn a marketable skill to support their families. Many of their husbands have been killed so it will enable them to earn money and be more independent.

This is a common theme. There are stories the similar to this all over the Internet. It is interesting that all across the world terrible events have been happening, and they have become a catalyst causing women to be propelled forward. Women are becoming stronger everywhere through a traditional domestic activity like sewing. It would be interesting to see how future generations of women will benefit.

Video 2 Arpilleras

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Video 1 On Arpilleras

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Above are two videos in a five part series on the Arpillera's. The first video is more focused on the government practices and has some violent imagery including pictures of torture victims. The 2nd video is more focused on the Arpilleras, and the women's roles in creating them.

Arpillera Movement

The Arpillera movement began in 1973 when the Pinochet government came to power in Chile. If you were in the previous governments military or if you spoke out against the new regime you were in danger. During this time,thousands of people disappeared, and the new government would not answer to their whereabouts. Families would search the prisons and the torture centers for their missing children and relatives and could not find answers. With the help of the Catholic church the women turned to sewing in order to express their loss, make extra money, and make a powerful political statement at the same time. The Arpillera movement was born. Arpillera which means sack cloth, are sewn on burlap, and incorporated a variety of individualized styles. What made the situation unique was that while the women were very much in danger they did have a bit more freedom than men in protesting the government. This was because women were not considered to be a serious threat. Also the Arpillerists were being aided by the Catholic Church. The church was a protected institution in Chile. This is a fantastic example of the subversive sewing that I was talking about earlier, as well as sewing as a form of empowerment. The Arpillerists were using sewing as a way to send a direct political message. The Arpilleras were intentionally created to be media. View the Arpillera's http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/quilts/exhibit/chilean_arpilleras.html More information http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/Arpilleristas More Information http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/102799/chilean_arpilleras_threads_of_resistance.html