June 2010 Sewing and Carpentry Program Update

"Hello to Everyone. We began the year in Canada, returning to Zimpeto in mid-February. Since then I (Bob) have been working 2 days a week in Zimpeto and 3 days a week in Marracuene. In Zimpeto I have 2 new students and we have been busy making cupboards and storage containers for the school and the dorms. In Marracuene I have 3 students, 2 of them new, and we have also added a Mozambican carpenter and are training him in hopes that he eventually will take over the operations of the shop there. We just finished building 10 windows and 3 doors for Pastor Eduardo's new church. Another one of our projects in Marracuene was to make a pulpit for a local church.

[Pastor Pedro with his new pulpit]

"Betty is busy with 17 girls and two assistants. Recently a woman from the US came and taught the girls to appliqué and to smock. The girls are always very interested in learning new procedures. They especially like sewing 'imagination' projects. Some of the girls sew for the hospitality office, selling their goods to visitors that come to the Zimpeto centre. They receive a small wage while most of the profits are put into a savings account for their future. One of the girls used her money for schooling this year, and another plans to buy a sewing machine so she can sew for others.

"We are planning a visit home to Canada in August, and will be there for about 5 weeks. It will feel strange to return to an Ontario summer, instead of the cold winters that have faced us on visits the past few years!"