Controlled Chaos!

Feet pedaling. Hands dashing. Fabric flying. The PESS Sanitary Pad Production Sewing Program is off to a great start!

To say the women and girls are excited about the program would be an understatement.

PESS purchased six brand new sewing machines which will be distributed between Sunlight Primary School, Langbaar Modern Academy, John Garang University and the town of Pagook (one of the villages where PESS first began building schools ten years ago) once the sewing program is complete.

The Sanitary Pad Production Program is the second phase of the current mission here in Bor, Jonglei state, South Sudan. The first phase was the HIV/AIDS Awareness and Menstrual Hygiene Management Program.

Many girls here in South Sudan, if they are allowed to go to school at all, miss several days of class a month because of their menses. Sanitary pads can be expensive and in  cases some girls can’t make it to the market to purchase them because they live in the bush (the country).

PESS is committed to making sure girls get an education and providing them with the skill of sewing sanitary pads is part of that goal.

Joining the team for the month every Saturday is Athiang Alier, a tailor. Thank goodness we are not relying on my sewing skills here. I staple my hems. No, seriously!

The program is so popular and the women and girls want to spend more time learning to sew so we are adding Friday afternoon to the schedule.

It was like Christmas morning when the women and girls from Sunlight Primary, Langbaar Modern Academy, John Garang University and the town of Pagook arrived on the first day of sewing class. Their eyes lit up! Very few know how to sew but that didn’t stop them from jumping in and giving it a try.

In the U.S. we are lucky to have electric powered sewing machines that can do a lot of the work for us. But in South Sudan the tailors use foot operated machines. So imagine pedaling the machine to make the needle move up and down, using one hand to spin the little wheel on the right hand side of the machine and using your other hand to move the fabric around.

Oh, and by the way, it’s about 100 degrees in the classroom! But the women and girls would have stayed until midnight if we'd let them. They truly enjoyed learning this skill… not just as a fun pastime but for making their own clothes… and maybe even starting their own business.

Athiang Alier told me it costs 100 South Sudanese pounds, about $34 USD, just to have a dress made. That is a lot of money for most people in South Sudan.

And good fabric is nearly impossible to come by.

And we learned from Lydia Ngira, Dean of Students and student counselor at John Garang University there a demand for the production of sanitary pads. So, this training is right on time!

The sewing program is for women/girls only but we allowed our brilliant translator ;-), South Sudan Dir. for PESS, Daniel Gai, to join in the fun. A couple of the women from JGU are Kenyan who speak English but not Dinka. There is also an Arabic speaker.

And David Gai and Rebecca Diing our health care experts are wonderful cheerleaders. (David started his career in education as a kindergarten teacher. That patience is coming in pretty handy!)

These young women and girls have big plans for their future. For example, Kuie Achiek Anyang, senior 4 (senior year) at Langaar Modern Academy and PESS sponsored girl is grateful for the sponsorship. She plans on continuing her education and becoming a doctor, “Because in our community there are not many doctors. I will be a doctor to support the children of South Sudan.”

And Yom Ayor, another PESS sponsored girl and  senior 2 (sophomore) at Langbaar says it was great to have the sewing program follow the HIV/AIDS program.

Yom adds, "I learn how to sew I can help other ladies in Jonglei state so they don’t miss school again. Some girls have to leave school because their grades are not good – due to missing school days (because of their period).”

“Thank you, chairman of PESS (for) the scholarship. I will commit myself to continue my education (and go on) to university.

PESS sponsored Anai Agau, 16 years old at Sunlight Primary says she wants to go to university but not sure what she wants to study. She says come back and ask her when she makes it to secondary school.

But she loves the sewing program saying, “I want to learn how to sew so I can make my own clothes.” She wants to look sharp throughout her education!

These big dreams the women and girls have for their future will become reality with the help of PESS’ much needed and desired Sanitary Pad Sewing Production Program.

-Tamara