We’ve just starting a sewing training, and I’m loving it!
An organization in town offers sewing trainings, and I was interested in having a few neighbor women learn. It sounded like a fun thing to do with them–with all of us as learners. I’ve also mentioned Adam & NuNu, another couple in town that we are friends with; Nu was interested in the training, too. In the end, there are four of us: me, Nu, and two women from the community. Ma Kai Oo is recently married and 22; and San Aye is around 30 and is due in September with her second baby. Her son, Na Le Ton, is five and attending school during the day.
The plan is for us to attend training once a week for four hours; going for nearly 10 weeks. We’ll take a break in the middle when San Aye has her baby; and then resume. We will learn four or five major projects alongside the skills and techniques of sewing. It’s nearly all in Burmese, so that they all understand and I do my best to follow along. Our teacher knows English, too, and Nu helps out when there’s miscommunications or I’m simply lost.
The two women in the community have been promised one day of work a week after the training is complete. We’ll have machines in our house for them to work on a few different projects–either to share among friends in the States or potentially in partnering with a local organization here. If we can find them more full-time roles with their skills, that is great; but either way we wanted to take the opportunity to spend time with them and learn a skill together. Even one day a week is a great way for them to make a well-paying salary (minimum wage, but that is hard to come by without papers) and be able to bring their babes with them, nurse as needed, and be near to home.
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I have loved getting to spend the time with them. I used to visit the market weekly with San Aye, first for our tea shop visits and later just to shop with her. She would buy items for small pork stand she ran outside of her home, and she’d help me buy food for Aung Moe each week. Now that she no longer has the shop due to police crackdowns, I have missed that time with her and love getting to see her regularly again. She’s a dear friend.
Ma Kai Oo is Thida’s oldest; and Thida is the lovely woman managing our community hours. We love their whole family, but Ma Kai Oo has been the hardest to get to know, partially because she’s quiet and partially because she’s always been working. I have loved working alongside her and getting to know her.
And NuNu: she’s a life-saver. She’s such a dear friend of mine, and just makes life better. She is so wonderful at loving people well, and just eases right into the community. Everyone loves her. She is such a beautiful representation of Christ to them, and I love that they get to see Jesus in their own culture. She always keeps me laughing, and can help me out of any language pickle: by teaching, by translating, or both.
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We’re headed into our third class this week, and last week completed our first project!
I have loved re-learning sewing after about twenty years. I haven’t sewn since summers with grandma or small projects with my mom as a kid. While I’m still not very particular despite being an adult, it’s quite fun.
Our first task was to each make a pair of shorts. We had a pattern to work off of, but we could make them longer and other small adjustments. I kept mine short, as they were intended as sleep shorts. But since most of our neighbors don’t have separate “sleep clothes”–they added length to make them more wear-able in public. Somewhere in the midst of it, it was lost in translation that I would be sleeping in mine. San Aye was looking at my completed project and commented, “I don’t think you’ll be able to sit down in these…” Which is really code for, “These are kind of inappropriate…” I assured her they were for sleeping only!
While this another project on the docket, I am enjoying that this isn’t up to me to organize or create; I simply learn and attend! I also really love working on things alongside friends. Hopeful for where this could lead–for me and for the community.
