Vocational training- Sewing update 24
Poverty effects many people in Asia and can lead to malnourishment, disease, gangs, corruption, human trafficking, and slavery. Working with our Asian partners we create bespoke and innovative projects to free individuals and the wider community from the cycle of poverty.
This is the case for a large part of the population in the areas where our Vision for Asia partners work. We do work with several of our partners to help provide an education for children but there is much more than can be done. So, with this in mind we have worked on developing projects which train adults in a vocation, enabling them to become self-supporting and provide an income for themselves and their families. This is an empowering experience for them because it helps them achieve a financially independent future and a way out of poverty.
Today I would like to update you on one such project – sewing.
We originally started with one of our partners Piyal in West Bengal in 2012 where over time we were able to help him set up three different sewing centres where the women were taught how to make clothes to sell in the market. One group continued to work on their own once trained; another group set up a business and the third centre became a sewing teaching centre and trained many women.
This is a testimony from one of the original ladies to join the school on Rupamari Island:
Jaba is a mother of one son and one daughter. She lives on a remote island in West Bengal and in 2012 was one of the first ladies to enrol and complete the sewing project. She told us that she now has a hope for her life.
“Before joining the sewing project, I used to go to the river and get baby tiger prawns and sell them for 20 paisa each (less than 1 pence). With that little money I would feed my children for that day. We were suffering a lot, but now I can earn money by selling the garments I make. I can help my children with their education and feed my family. We are so happy. Thank you very much to all who have helped me to learn sewing.” — Jaba
She is still working and earning money from the skill she was able to learn thanks to your prayers and financial support at the time.
We have now expanded this project into three different areas of India, and it continues to bring great joy and relief to many families. The most recent report showing how much it means to the ladies who receive a machine and are taught to sew.
Here is a testimony from one of the most recent women to be given this help in Southern India:
Madhulatha
I cannot explain how much happy I am in getting the Sewing Machine from Vision for Asia. I lost my husband at young age and my own mother sold me to a mob gang, but the Hope team rescued me and then put in the Revival Rescue Center… I am so happy that I am able to know the training methods and now I got my own business. I really thank Vision for Asia for helping me start my own business.
Our partner adds:
“Not only children but also older women are being sold for prostitution by their husbands, and their loved ones, and some people are telling cheating words saying they will send them to Dubai and other areas and put them in red light areas. We are also rescuing them and doing our best and saving lives.
We are so thankful for Vision for Asia for helping the girls and women with the sewing machines. We rescued them from slavery, and other dreadful things and many are saved from personal things which cannot be explained here, they are then being trained in Revival Rescue Centers and are given a Sewing Machine for survival to help them lead their own independent lives. This is one of our regular projects and we are running such centres
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This project has been a real lifeline to many struggling families and since it started, we have been able to help almost 300 women in this way. Of course, this has only been possible with you help and support. The cost of one machine has now reached £95 so if you would like to help with a one-off donation or monthly amount please visit our donation page. That amount can drastically change a whole family’s life forever.
And a big thank you to those who are still supporting this project. Continue praying for the provisions needed to support the work our partners are doing to improve the lives of the people where they live. One final reminder is that this project is open to both Hindu and Christian women and in the past, we have seen many of the Hindu women come to the Lord through this act of loving kindness towards them and their families.
Marilyn Collins