Category Archives: Sewing Partners

Georgia, Sewing Partners

Georgia & International Relief and Development

Fall 2010 InGear

P4P is pleased to announce a partnership with International Relief and Development (IRD), one of the world’s largest non-profit investors in international development and providers of humanitarian assistance. IRD has relief programs in over forty nations. One of these is Georgia.

Nestled in the Caucasus Mountains, Georgia is a former Soviet republic which has been attempting to remove itself from the shadow of Russia for nearly two decades. Despite large amounts of Western political and economic aid, Georgia’s economy remains inextricably tied to its powerful northern neighbor. Its domestic market is miniscule and the vast majority of its imports and exports come from or are destined for Russia. This is problematic in light of intermittent, politically-motivated bans on Georgian products by the Russian government and the fact that, since its independence, its outdated Soviet industries have struggled to compete internationally. In addition, Georgia’s notoriously corrupt government seemingly has little power to aid the plight of its people. Over a quarter of Georgia’s population lives below the official poverty line.

The 2008 conflict with Russia over South Ossetia hurt many Georgian families who had been forced from their homes and returned to find many of their tools and supplies stolen or lost during the Russian occupation. IRD is working with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to provide assistance to more than eight hundred of these families. As part of the IRD effort, P4P-supplied 82 sewing machines, which are being made available to encourage local entrepreneurship. These machines are expected to arrive on the Georgia by mid-July.

bicycles, Moldova, Sewing Partners

Consult-Nord: P4P Partner in Moldova

moldovaSewingPICT0035Consult-Nord, a local Moldovan NGO established to promote local economic development in Pelinia, saw the potential results that Pedals for Progress’s bicycles and sewing machines could provide and requested to become a partner. Consult-Nord started selling bicycles this winter after receiving a shipment in late December of 2008. The good quality, affordable bicycles are now available at a shop set up by Consult-Nord, offer numerous opportunities to villagers that otherwise would be inaccessible to them.

The photographs are from the sewing workshop at Consult-Nord from the first shipment.

Read more about Consult-Nord and Moldova in the Fall 2009 InGear.

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Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Sewing Partners, Uganda

Sewing Machines in Kyrgyzstan and Beyond

Spring 2009 InGear

Over the years, word got around that, in addition to bicycles, we were recycling used sewing machines. This practice started somewhat by accident, and gradually became a regular part of our work. Initially, “Treadles for Progress” simply meant sending along several refurbished sewing machines with our bike shipments. Since sewing machines are encased and fit neatly in the remaining space in our shipping containers, essentially, they were stowaways with the bike shipments.

But requests from our overseas partners for sewing machines separate from bikes increased. Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford to do that. But we didn’t exactly give up on the idea either.

Shipping bikes is easier, and less costly per unit, than shipping sewing machines. First of all, bikes are light, sewing machines are heavy. Second, shipping containers come in two sizes, 20-foot and 40-foot. Forty-foot containers are the most cost effective for us, and we collect enough bikes to regularly fill them. Used sewing machines, on the other hand, are much less available than used bikes, so we can’t easily fill containers with them. In order for us to get sewing machines overseas, separate from bikes, air freight, which is very expensive, is our only option. This is why we usually send only six or seven machines at a time.

Last year we developed a partnership in Kyrgyzstan. Our partner there, a community organization, wanted sewing machines they would own and on which they could train locals who wanted to become tailors. By selling the products they made, they could help offset the shipping costs. This, along with a grant from the International Monetary Fund, enabled us to air freight 25 sewing machines to Kyrgyzstan.

The success of this program gave us the impetus to start other sewingmachine-only programs in a similar manner. We now have two more, one in Nicaragua, the other in Uganda.

In order to promote our sewing machine program more, we’ve invited several women’s groups in our region to collect sewing machines. Along with this, Vorhees High School in Vorhees, New Jersey, is enlisting their home economics club to do the same.

Uganda Sewing Machine Program

spring2009ugandaStudentsIn Uganda, our partner organization is the Malaba Youth Center, which caters to both in- and out-of-school youth in this volatile region along the Uganda-Kenya border. Youth here are at especially high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, particularly those who drop out of school. As one might expect, job opportunities in this region are few. And they are fewer still without a high school or vocational education. The sewing machines we send to the Malaba Youth Center are used specifically for vocational training. Students learn to become tailors, but they can also begin to earn an income as their skills develop. Along with this, they are also keeping themselves safe from the temptations that lure so many of their peers into troubled lives. And once they have a valuable skill, they can remain free from the poverty that would otherwise define them.

Nicaragua Sewing Machine Program

In the developing world, in the hands of someone who knows how to use one, a sewing machine means instant income. The following two profiles are fairly typical examples of how sewing machines help people in the developing world, whether in Latin America, Africa, or Eastern Europe.

Juan Carlos and Migdalia Davila

Juan Carlos and Migdalia in their homeFor years, Juan Carlos Davila worked by day as a receptionist at a private institution in Jinotepe. His wife, Migdalia, is a skilled seamstress. At night, he helped her with the sewing to earn extra money for their amily. His receptionist salary was barely enough for them and their 11-year-old son to get by on. As their tailoring business grew, it was their hope that one day they could come to depend on it as their sole income. But a second sewing machine, a new one, was far too costly.

In November 2008, Juan Carlos was suddenly laid off from his receptionist job. Today, he and Migdalia survive because they can both sew, and because they were able to get a second sewing machine from Pedals for Progress through our partner organization Ecobicicleta Rivas. Today at their tailor shop, they make men’s suits, women’s dresses, curtains, table linens, and they are currently searching for an employee or two to expand their business.

Elvis Cruz

spring2009ElvisAndFamilyElvis Cruz is 25 years old and from Managua, Nicaragua. He was born disabled, both of his arms are severely deformed. While this provided certain challenges, it hasn’t kept Elvis from working, playing baseball, or otherwise living a full life.

Married with two young children, Elvis works as a flagman directing traffic in Managua. But his income wasn’t enough to adequately support his family. After making a public appeal on a local TV show for the opportunity to earn more money, his wife received a sewing machine from one of our partners. A talented seamstress, now she works from their home earning extra income for their family.

Kyrgyzstan, Peace Corps, Sewing Partners

Sewing Machines Shipped to Kyrgyzstan, Our Newest Partner

Summer 2008 InGear

Roberto with his community partners
Roberto with his community partners

Most of our projects, and indeed our very first projects, are in Latin America. Nicaragua is where we got our start, and Pedals for Progress founder, Dave Schweidenback, got the initial idea for the organization while stationed as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador. So, it’s fitting that our newest project in Kyrgyzstan, one of the most remote countries on the planet, has a Latin American connection—Roberto Hernandez, an American of Hispanic descent, who grew up in Los Angeles, California. Roberto was inspired to serve his country and fulfill his sense of patriotism by joining the Peace Corps, and he was stationed in Kyrgyzstan. A former Eagle Scout, he has always had a strong desire to help others. His Eagle Scout project saw him organize and lead a project that turned a neglected urban lot into a beautiful community garden in Los Angeles. His involvement with Pedals for Progress came about when he discovered our web site and learned about our sewing machine program.

Normally, we combine sewing machines with bike shipments, fitting them in the remaining space in overseas containers just before closing them up. Shipping them separately has been a challenge, one we overcame in working with Roberto and our new partners at SOS Children’s Villages in the Kyrgyzstan town of Cholpon-Ata. By creating products to sell with the machines they receive, the staff at SOS Kinderhof will generate funds for more sewing machines, as well as have those resources to make more sellable goods. More importantly, they’ll be able to set up a worker-owned co-op and gain ownership of their own business.

Their first shipment of 25 sewing machines arrived in Kyrgyzstan at the end of July, 2008. Hopefully this will be the start of many to follow. In the meantime, these machines will be put to immediate use at SOS Kinderhof. Now, this program will serve as a model for new sewing machine programs in other countries.

Where in the World is Kyrgyzstan?

UnKyrgyzstan

Quick Facts

  • Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
  • In 1991, Kyrgyzstan became an independent country.
  • Average annual income is $2,900 (USD).
  • It is known as the “Switzerland of Central Asia”.
  • Bishkek is the capital and largest city, with about 900,000 inhabitants.
El Salvador, Sewing Partners

P4P Partners with Airline Ambassadors to Deliver Sewing Machines to El Salvador

Fall 2007 InGear
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In late spring, P4P was contacted by Airline Ambassadors. They were looking for sewing machines to send to their charity program in El Salvador. Airline Ambassadors International is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization affiliated with the United Nations and recognized by the U.S. Congress. It began as a network of airline employees using their pass privileges to help others and expanded into a network of students, medical professionals, families and retirees who volunteer as “Ambassadors of Goodwill” in their home communities and abroad. Members share their skills and talents to care for others and bring compassion into action.

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By mid-July, P4P delivered a pick-up truck full of sewing machines to the American Airlines Cargo Terminal at Newark Airport. They were delivered later that week to a Kiwanis Village in San Salvador, El Salvador, where 25 women will train as seamstresses, and upon completion of the course keep their machines.

This fall, we will deliver another 30 machines to El Salvador with Airline Ambassadors. This is an efficient and effective way for our sewing machines to get to the people that really need them. We were fortunate to find such a great synergy with a partner. To learn more about the Airline Ambassadors, visit them at airlineamb.org.

Sewing Partners

Abuelas in Action, Honduras

Summer 2007

Las Mujeres de Delicias
Las Mujeres de Delicias

Abuelas in Action is a new non-profit looking to solve the problem of unemployment among women in Honduras. Our mission is to empower the low-income women in Honduras to break the cycle of unemployment by providing them access to skilled job training and materials in order to own and operate their own small businesses. Pilot Project: The School Uniform Project

Measuring fabric
Measuring fabric

Working off of the Pedals for Progress model, Abuelas in Action will provide interested women’s groups in Honduras with all the materials and training necessary in order to start a small business making school uniforms and selling them in the local market. The women will be required to attend 2 training workshops and will be financially responsible for all subsequent shipments of materials from Abuelas in Action. This ensures that the women will take vested interest in their business.

Why School Uniforms?

At work in the community center
At work in the community center

In order to attend seconday school in Honduras, the students are required to wear a uniform. Many students are unable to afford a new uniform and therefore cannot further their education. Women provided with low-cost fabric will be able to sell a better product at a lower price in the local market, thus enabling more children to attend secondary school.
 

New workshop almost completed
New workshop almost completed

The pilot School Uniform Project began in July 2007 with the Mujeres de Delicias, a group of women from the village of Delicias, Opatoro, Honduras. Delicias is a remote village in the municipality of Opatoro that is home to 30 families and around 100 children. There are 23 women in the Mujeres de Delicias women’s group and they have been working hard since 2007 to supply uniforms and clothing to the surrounding villages. This summer the Mujeres de Delicias, with the money they raised selling their products, were able to construct their own workshop building as well as a small store.

Guatemala, Sewing Partners

A Year-long Sewing Course Leads to a Career

Fall 2006 InGear

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Lourdes Santiso Salizar took a sewing course at FIDESMA seven years ago. She took the year-long course due to lack of other employment opportunities. After she finished the course at FIDESMA, her parents helped her buy an industrial sewing machine and gave her a workshop space in their home. Today Lourdes runs a successful clothing business in San Andrés de Itzapa, where she custom tailors anything from shirts to wedding gowns. Lourdes now has so much work that she doesn’t even need to advertise her services.

Guatemala, Sewing Partners

FIDESMA Provides Microloans to the Mayan Women

Fall 2006 InGear

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Meet the Mujeres Maya (Mayan Women) Kaqiqoel of Santa Caterina de Barahona, Guatemala. Five years ago they formed a cooperative of 10 women with the idea to sell their traditional weavings in the tourist markets. To start their business, they received a microloan from the proceeds of bicycle sales by our partner FIDESMA. Today they have a stall in the major tourist town of Antigua where they sell their goods daily. What makes their weaving so special is that it is done using the traditional Guatemalan hand loom. This type of weaving has been passed down by Guatemalan women for hundreds of years. Elva Perez (far left) is the main vendor for the group. She goes to the market every day and speaks with tourists from all over the world. With careful detail she explains what all the symbols on the weavings mean. The microloan from FIDESMA allowed them to start this small business and provide for their families while holding onto their traditions.

bicycles, Sewing Partners

Rotary Homes of Hope Making a Difference in Ecuador

Fall 2005 InGear

2005fallEcuadorThreeGirlsAmong its latest efforts to assist some of those among the poorest in Ecuador, the Rotary Homes of Hope Project will ship a container of goods to the village of San Pablo, Ecuador. Included in the shipment will be 50 bicycles and 10 sewing machines supplied by Pedals for Progress. The District 7510 of Rotary International Homes of Hope Project began by building homes and expanded into building a village with a community infrastructure.

In the future, the Rotary hopes to provide the community with a regular safe supply of water, a breakfast program for the children, and education and training to help create employment opportunities.