Oh what WOMEN can DO!

 Seamstress Training and Mosquito Bed Net Repair

The women in my village expressed interest in forming a seamstress group within the first month I arrived at site over a year ago. After IST I worked with my counterpart to organize a group with dedicated and reliable members who were interested in a self-sustaining group with a long-term goal, not simply interested in the activities of the "vazaha".
This group started with several interests: learning new farming techniques, weaving floor mats and forming a seamstress business. Establishing a constant and trusting membership has taken several months, with ups and downs in membership attendance, reshuffling the executive board and defining rules, however with reliability achieved, the women were ready to focus on a seamstress business.

Although many women in Madagascar know how to sew, very few can afford sewing machines to increase their level of skill beyond the basics. Through SPA funding, the women and I agreed on a project framework incorporating and addressing a concern all families in my village, in some way, have been affected by: Malaria. A ten day training was planned, daily lessons led by two guest seamstress trainers, partnering with the community health workers and neighboring Peace Corps Health Volunteers. Rules for the training and use of materials were decided upon by the women's group, emphasizing the shared ownership and responsibility of the sewing machines, not by the individual. Preperation of the agenda and logistics of the program were organized by me however, together, the executive board and I made the final decisions. I prepared business training lesson plans, while sitting with the women listening to the hum and clicks of the hand powered sewing machines busily working around me. Chatter and friendly banter insued, jokes and laughs exchanged around the room. The sense of commradery became tangible with each progressive afternoon. Seventeen of us sat on floor mats with scissors, thread, cloth and pens strewn about, only shutting the doors for the night as light faded behind the hills. The community health worker in my village and a neighboring health volunteer, joined the women's group to lead educational Malaria games and hold a Q & A session addressing myths about the disease. Proper mosquito net washing and hole repair (with implementation of both) were also part of the schedule. The training concluded with the women displaying the skirts, shirts, and pillowcases they had sewn with their newly acquired seamstress skills.

The first phase of the training complete, the women set out on the next phase. My small village was divided amongst the women, questionaires in hand about mosquito net use in each household. They exchanged an information sheet for the household's mosquito net, and sewed cloth on the bottom of one net per household making it stronger and increasing the longevity of the net. All holes in the net were also fixed by the women's group, educating each household on the importance of using a net, and washing and hanging it correctly. Follow-up visits will be done in another 6 months to see if behaviours have changed and corrected actions have been applied.

Besides the obvious new skills developed in this village, this women's group has now taken ownership of their now fully operating seamstress business. Their confidences were built further by participating in the Malaria parades at the end of April in neighboring towns, supported by several volunteers throughout the region. Volunteerism was emphasized within the group and explained to the community, calling on every person to protect one another from Malaria with the women's group taking the lead, mending and strengthening each mosquito net free of charge. Next order of business: sewing 30 outfits for the EPP student's Vingt Six Independence Day Celebration; the women are ready, machines are set, time to sew!