October 2021 Zimpeto Sewing and Carpentry Program Updates
Sewing Program:
As Covid has continued to impact life on the base these past months, the sewing program has been operational in a scaled-down manner.
We are delighted by the new spacious sewing room that has been built. We eagerly await filling the room and using it at capacity.
Our sewing teacher, Mama Lourdes has continued to support the centre by helping with many projects that support the children's dorms. Most recently, some of the girls have made curtains for the new dorms. We are hopeful that our full-on ‘moving in day’ will be very soon.
[Some of the girls are making curtains for the younger girls' dorms.]
During one of the school closures, all our secondary school girls were asked to make a new skirt from local capulana fabric - a chance to make sure none of their skills had been forgotten!
[The girls are making their new skirts.]
[Secondary girls with their new skirts.]
As the program re-opens, a new cohort of younger girls will begin their sewing journey, starting in a beautiful new space; a forever legacy to Mama Betty.
[The new girls who are joining in to learn to sew.]
The sewing program is an important part of the girls' lives. It both teaches them a skill and opens the door to some financial provision in the future.
Thank you for making this possible.
Carpentry Program:
A new group of young men is brought into the program each year, eager to learn how to build things.
Everywhere you look at the Zimpeto base, you see deposits from the carpentry workshop. Doors and windows, tables and chairs of all sizes, storage boxes, and other special projects are built and maintained by those in the program, year after year.
[Lounge chairs and a coffee table.]
[Custom painting some storage boxes the youth built.]
[A beautiful boardroom table.]
A new reading library recently opened up on the base. The bookcases in the library were all built by our current students.
Under the continued leadership of Emilio, a new group of young men is trained in carpentry each year. The skills last a lifetime and will provide them a means of earning a living for themselves and their families.