Students of the sewing course of the Community of Saint Paul in Bogotá organize an exhibition with garments made by them
On August 5, the first exhibition of garments made by the women of the Sewing workshop that the Community of Saint Paul established a year ago in the south of Bogotá (Colombia), took place at La Resurrección parish. The exhibition was a very positive experience, both for the women who are part of the project, who were able to make their work known to others, and for the parish community, who had the opportunity to appreciate the fruits of the workshop. Several people, seeing the good quality of the exposed clothes, ordered women's dresses, blouses and jackets.
This exhibition has been carried out thanks to the perseverance and commitment of the group of women who, after a year of training, now arrive at the end of the first stage of the process. And they are already very excited about the next stage: establishing a productive cooperative through which the learning they have received can result in direct benefits for the families of these women. To all the participants in our sewing center, we want to say: congratulations, and let’s keep going!
Students enrolled in our center celebrate the completion of their formation in cooking, sewing and painting
A year ago, the Community of St. Paul initiated a work training program for women and young people in the Vicariate of Meki, Ethiopia. María José Morales, the person behind this project, reports now the following:
«Saturday, February 18, was a great day for our training center... a real event! There aren’t cameras or videos or gestures or words that can express what the graduation meant for our first forty students. The week before graduation they created committees in charge of preparing the celebration: a teacher and three students from each course. The rest of us helped however we could, decorating the center, preparing songs, obtaining the graduation uniforms —that we just couldn’t do without— and setting up a big tent in which we could welcome our guests and prepare cookies, coffee and food for the 200 people who participated in the celebration.
On graduation day, the first to arrive were the heads of the committees to ensure that nothing was missing. Then, the students, wearing their uniforms, arrived with their families. For them, being able to graduate, to have a profession, to invite family and to be photographed receiving their certificate from the Bishop of the Vicariate of Meki and the director of the center... all of it, it meant more than we can imagine. These young people hadn’t finished their studies and had scarce work opportunities; now they graduated as cooks, seamstresses and painters. Some were already working, thanks to the training they had received. They were all radiant with happiness and enthusiasm.
Emabet —one of the students— thanked us for the opportunity the center gave her and many others to study a profession after having returned from an Arab country. When these students returned, they were rejected by their families and found no job opportunities. They were discouraged for not having achieved the “better future” that they had hoped to find when they emigrated. Emabet is now a cooking teacher at our center, and other students are now working in local hotels. The sewing students made their first delivery of uniforms to a nearby daycare center and have formed a cooperative in order to make the uniforms that are required in schools throughout the country. At the present time, we have an order for 500 student uniforms and 50 teacher uniforms.
It is difficult to communicate the happiness of the families who accompanied their relatives on such a special day, as well as our happiness after having worked so hard and with so much enthusiasm throughout the year to make this moment possible. We have all “graduated a little” with our students, and wish the best for them in this new stage that they begin their life as professionals».
Due to the great need for training for young women in Meki (Ethiopia), the Community of St. Paul has conceived, organized and started the Kidist Mariam Maakel, or “Saint Mary Capacitation Center”. With this new project we wish to help women who haven’t been able to finish their education to learn a profession in which they can work in a dignified manner and become self-sufficient. The center opened on February 1, and currently we are offering courses in cooking, sewing and painting (each lasting six months). At the inauguration of the center, the Bishop of Meki, Msgr. Abraham Desta, blessed the building and all who were present. Then, following the Ethiopian tradition, we prepared coffee and shared bread with the participants. The first group of students is comprised of 56 young women from Meki. We hope that they are able to develop the many talents and potential that they possess, and will keep you updated with news from the center.
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| Bishop Desta during the blessing of the new center |
