Up in the central northwest part of Uganda, there is a little small village called Kobwin. It’s very warm there and the people are amazing, but the poverty is real. I have been there many times, serving God with teams, helping with everything from medical missions to bringing school supplies, clothing and medical supplies.
Kobwin is an extension of NewHope ministries and was designed to bring relief and help and healing to many who were devastated from when the “Lord‘s Resistance Army” (LRA) came through and devastated families. Look on YouTube under “KONY 2012” and see the horrendous story.
This little school has been teaching many orphan locals. One of the programs is tailoring: the students learn how to sew and many will continue on making a living sewing uniforms and clothing.
Recently, five young ladies graduated, and Godwill Ministries sent money to buy each of them a treadle sewing machine, scissors, a measuring tape, and a few extra tools for starting a business. I’m very proud of these students who worked so hard and with probably just 20% of the resources our tailoring students have here in the US.
They use old cement bags for patterns and they sew them again and again, taking out the stitches and resewing—they do this to practice and learn. Most of the time, this is done while sitting on the ground in the hot sun. Their obstacles are immeasurable, yet through prayer and perseverance, they succeed.
Their instructor, Auntie Kristine, is amazing and compassionate and has been my interpreter many times on my trips there. She has a love for the teenagers and a gift for sewing. God has been using her in amazing ways.
Congratulations, girls! May God bless your futures. Sew, sew, sew!!!