Please sponsor a sewing machine for £150. Each machine will help a Sierra Leonean woman and her whole family thrive!
Build on Books UK has helped to reduce poverty through education in Sierra Leone since 2008, particularly at our school in Kwama. We have had tremendous success preparing the poorest village children and those affected by mudslides, Ebola, and flooding for higher education.
Helping their parents, many of whom are illiterate and non-numerate, is equally important to break the crushing cycle of poverty. We have learned that small-scale self-employment is critical for many women trying to bring up a family and keep their children in education.
That is why we offer a thriving Adult Skills-Based Education Program at Orvilles' Technical and Vocational Learning Centre, based at St Clements School in Kwama, which is free for anyone who would like to join.
Every day, women are trained in sewing, baking, cake decorating, hairdressing, and traditional dyeing techniques while learning to read and write. The demand for learning how to sew is very high because most local clothing is hand-made, so tailoring and sewing offer many small business opportunities.
So, we are raising funds to buy 20 more manual sewing machines locally, costing only £150 each. We have previously tried shipping machines from the UK, but it can be difficult to get parts locally, and it is much easier to teach a large class with the same machine. The local supplier of Butterfly manual sewing machines has plenty of spare parts, and our pilot of 5 machines has proven they are very reliable. Importantly, they require no electricity!
We have ample room to grow this project, and we would love to fill the centre with sewing machines so more adults can learn valuable employment and life skills. As you can see, our current students are brimming with confidence!