A Dream Realized in a Future Generation?
Student modeling a jacket she designed and made at the Women’s Sewing Center in The
Democratic Republic of the Congo
A Dream Realized in a Future Generation?
Is it possible for someone’s dream in another decade to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and be lived out in a future decade on another continent?
Thats a long question but I believe it can happen!
When I walked into the Women’s Sewing Center in Kamina, Democratic Republic of the Congo; the smell of the fabric, the smiles on the beautiful brown faces and black sewing machines told me my mother was present. This center trains and empowers young women to have a pathway out of poverty to become entrepreneurs. It is one of the ministries of the United Methodist Church.
Like so much in the Congo, I felt at home. My place of solace and healing is my sewing room surrounded by fabric and the hum of my sewing machine.
As I sat and listened to the director tell us about the center and some of the students, I was overwhelmed with a mixture of feeling my mother’s presence and grieving her loss. With my own eyes, I saw a Black American woman’s dream from the 1950’s materialized through young African women in need of a way to make a living. Once my mother got married and started a family, her dream was deferred but was always lived inside of her - that dream was something she always talked about.
My emotions welled up and tears began to fall; the wouldn’t stop. One pastor with us caught my emotional moment in a picture and sent it to me later. “Your mom would be proud of you,” he said. I needed to hear that.
My team and I were not just observers of this ministry but became participants in this community as we listened to the students, watched them cut out patterns, and model their creations for us. I was really impressed and wanted to learn their skill of pattern making and sewing each item with a non-electric sewing machine. They made it look so easy.
As we fellowshipped, we connected through culture and language barriers. We took selfies with big smiles, showed the peace sign with two fingers, laughed, cried, hugged, and laughed some more.
I was grateful and praised God in that moment. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I missed my chance to get the fabric I wanted for a tailor-made dress. But that was okay.
From what I witnessed, the world will be graced with these future creators and entrepreneurs. These ladies will have a chance to create a life for themselves by learning this skill to be a blessing to their families, country, and the world.
