Global skill training projects in each area are quite different. Our 13th project in Brasilia in Northern Brazil is unique. 12 women in a rural area and 12 in an urban setting. Their challenges were different, their needs were the same. A skill to equip them to be financially independent in their location:  self-sufficient.   Poverty brings many risks not to just them but their children.                   In this area, tailoring clothing is not financially feasible as there are inexpensive sources for clothing.  Given the availability to sell home accessories in bazars, they […]

2020 Our tailoring project is complete!  In addition to their skill,  they were encouraged  with the real hope that comes from God. Some of them were from Muslim background, some Catholic and one a Christian. All expressed deep gratitude for this opportunity. All of them feel much more confident and happy with their skill to sew clothes for their children, things for their houses, products to sell, or find a paid work in a factory. Their children say they can see differences in their mothers.  ‘They are more calm, smile more often and are more patient with us, less shouting […]

Africa:  extreme contradictions.  Beauty beyond description, hard living. Valerie and I returned from Kissi Kenya thrilled to be a part of two loud and joyful celebrations of widows graduating with tailoring skill in Nyamarambe Rongo and Ogembo. Bringing the Sunday message in Pastor Abel’s church.  Sunday Message and meeting with small groups of pastors and ministry leaders highlighting God’s love of widows: opportunities abound!  Our prayer:  please Lord, let your Word work.  Isaiah 55: 11.  May what we share bear fruit.   Each trip is unique.  We were blessed to have Esther Hall as our partner on the ground.  She […]

Beatrice Nyangarsa began contacting me in 2014 seeing our website and our mission of serving widows.  She has been serving widows and orphans in her church.  Her first request was simply for biblical resources.  Teaching tools are good. Her words. “I always over view your video and listening to the wonderful testimonies that you gave and the testimonies from others that shared with you on the video about their life experience and challenges they each got. God is God to hear their testimonies. This had helped me share with the ladies here about life situation that others have passed through.” […]

I love serving with creative partners like Enkelejda!  After our successful Bathore tailoring project we wondered how we could serve widows who aren’t inclined to learn sewing.  Why not baking? The result, our current project training widows in the skill of baking. The goal of this pilot is that each learn to make 200 different types of deserts and salty foods.  In addition to baking, they would learn catering skills.   This is proving to be quite an undertaking as the basics of measuring ingredients needed to be learned first.  I continue to be impressed with how eagerly the widows […]

Partner: Compassion International: 20 Compassion International and Widow Connection brought widows from Anhwiam and Odoben villages together to participate in the widows` project to empower them with sewing livelihood skills. Twenty participants were selected from a list of over 100 widows from Odoben and over 30 from Anhwiam.   After graduation, the twenty sewing machines that had been purchased for each of the trainees were handed over to the widows after undergoing the training successfully in addition to two sets of tailoring tools and hand washing sinks.

Partner: Compassion International: 20 April 18, 2013 Balloon arches and fabric banners decorating the graduation platform greeted us as we arrived to see 20 new tailor graduates receive their certificates and graduation machines. Seated across from the graduates were their dependents, children whose lives will be forever changed because their Moms now have a skill.   What do these tailors do with their new skill? Widow Connection does not bring products back to sell. Their future is in the micro business they accomplish in their location. These tailors will make African clothing in their neighborhoods to sell or even barter […]

Mukhotwene Village 2011: Graduation During these three weeks in Africa, she took a bigger chunk of my heart and some soul as well. I’ve just returned from Mukhotwene Village, our first sewing project. The graduation ceremony was pure evidence that when God is in it, He completes it, blessing abundantly our efforts. Five of the women have achieved a level of skill to be certified, recognized tailors in Mozambique. Others made progress, and our prayer is that they will have the opportunity for more training. Progressing from making simple bags to school uniforms, which was their goal, they also received […]

Mathare Valley, Nairobi, Kenya Partner: Bright Hope International: 20 February 7, 2013 While only 10 widows participated in our first training session in Mathare Valley, the benefit to each of them was great. Yes, this was a challenging project. However, Mathare Valley is the poorest location where we have partnered. Through set backs and discouragements, the widows continued to show up. Sometimes that’s the greatest part of success–just showing up! Our Bright Hope partners were able to attend the graduation and reported that each graduate was transformed with pride in their new skill.   Their displays of projects they completed […]

Partner: Theovision : 24 One year later:  this graduate makes school uniforms for 3 different schools, a profitable business. April 17, 2013 What excitement to attend the graduation ceremony for 24 tailors! Daughter Valerie Hogan and I traveled with Theo and Monica Asare, our Theovision partners, to Asamankese. Greeted with singing, we were blessed to see the gradates in the front rows with tables before them of the clothing they’ve made. Its impossible to identify one highlight of the event. Three separate fashion parades gave the widows the opportunity to wear their first creation, a simple shift dress, their second […]

Project completed. Daughter Valerie and I visited “A Child’s Voice,” our partner in Kampala, Uganda to meet the women and celebrate their success. 12 women have invested time learning, practicing, and creating items for themselves or their children. Margaret’s skill demonstrates a knack for making garments that will sell.   While learning to sew is the goal, these women have become friends who depend on each other for encouragement in the midst of their struggles.   9 year old Prossy holds baby brother so Mom can concentrate on tailoring. With 6 other children, simply attending class to learn is an […]

January 29, 2014–September 20, 2014 25 graduates The great success of Asamankese’s first project inspired us to train 25 more widows in this community. Attending the graduation of the first group confirmed that eager learners deserve an opportunity to become skilled tailors. Victory Baptist Church’s Pastor Bonsu and his team selected the class from their large widows group. In January Theo and Monica Asare, our Theovision partners, delivered 25 machines and the hard work began. Daughter Valerie Hogan and I traveled for the graduation in September with memories of the fashion shows presented by the first class. We were not […]