SEWING IN RUIRU – SUMMER 2005

My husband Clarence and I had the opportunity to live in the OOA apartment in Ruiru for three weeks this summer. We visited the schools, the rehab, OOA projects, and got to spend time with our sponsored child, Agnes Njeri.

I taught basic sewing techniques to 7 women, who had little or no sewing experience; the plan was to begin training that can be continued more formally at the technology center that is being built by OOA in Thika.

There were lots of challenges. I am not a real teacher, but someone who likes to sew and quilt, using American methods, which include dependence on patterns. My Kiswahili is severely limited, and I speak no Kikuyu, which was the preferred language of the women in this group. We worked with old sewing machines, each of which was finicky in its own way, and all of which broke down frequently. After initial instruction in use of the machine, and practice on a simple skirt, the plan was to make a uniform tunic. I had never seen a tunic up close, and brought the wrong type of pattern, which I had to partially re-design - I am not a designer.

However, in spite of all these obstacles, I believe we were really successful – largely because of the women, themselves. My students – Jane, Veronica, Lucy, Beth, Esther, Eunice, and Jane Wambui were enthusiastic, highly motivated, eager to learn, and willing to put up with a great deal of frustration. They arrived each morning at 8:15 for a class that was scheduled to begin at nine. They frequently had to be encouraged to stop for chai break and lunch. They helped each other, caught on quickly, and showed initiative and imagination. I was often surprised to find that someone had sewn up an extra skirt, designed a dress for a baby, or mended some torn clothes from home, while I was out of the room for a few minutes, or otherwise involved. During periods of waiting – which were frequent, unfortunately - everyone, practiced sewing on small bits of material, or sewed up a little bag from scraps.

Thus, with everyone’s cooperation, translations from Veronica, who spoke all three languages, help at night from my husband, Clarence, who readied the machines for the next day, we were able to make skirts, uniform tunics, and the beginnings of a blouse, which I finished at home, later. The group tolerated my feeble attempts at Kiswahili, helping me to practice grammatically correct responses; they were always welcoming, cooperative, and appreciative, and, at the end, surprised me with a leso (all-purpose shawl), on which everyone had signed her name.

I will not forget these women, or the experience, through which I probably learned so much more than they did. I am hoping that at least some of them will be able to take the real course, that will be offered through the technology center, and will go on to sew as a means of earning money. I am grateful to OOA for the opportunity to participate in this project.

Cathy Smith