Serving people out of financial hardship, by building community and growing enterprise.
*Some people’s names have been changed to protect their identity.
“The most enjoyable thing is prayer”
Bearing in mind we pray “in Jesus name” this comment from many of our new Muslim friends in Oxfordshire blew us away. We gather before each sewing session to pray and we gather afterwards, yet our new friends gather with us, purposefully joining us to pray. “Many of us have been here over a year, and we were yet to find anyone who followed God. Joining your sewing group has been such a blessing. We have found followers of God, people that truly pray. We don’t understand why so many people here in England do not follow God.”
“It is such a joy getting to know all our new friends. ”
Each week we sew, and each week we have a question; something that has the potential to gently aid conversation around our faith and spirituality. Our hope is that each week we offer an opportunity to know and understand one another a little more. We value that each of us is unique: shaped by our personal experiences, personal journals, hurts, pain and suffering and our shared joys and excitement. It is in this place of vulnerability that we understand one another and can be exposed to that which we each Love.
Mila encourages many of her Afghan friends to come to our sewing sessions on a Thursday, she explains “the sessions are extremely enjoyable and interesting, especially your hard work Maria, making the class work. You gather us for conversation, and then in an orderly manner transfer back to the sewing machine. I shared with you some of the serious challenges women in our community face: your sense of responsibility made me so glad. And to know you have moved the location of the sewing sessions to help my friends! This has bought such happiness!”
I asked Mila to share a happy memory with us. “Almost 8 years ago, a large explosion occurred near the German embassy in Afghanistan, killing more than 500 people. In one of the disappearances, there was a friend of my husband’s. He left an illiterate wife who had three small children living in a rented house. With the disappearance of her husband, their family was devastated. My husband and I, found this family and asked all our friends and colleagues for help. We all contributed cash, enough to secure a house for her. We bought the woman a sewing machine so she could earn money and live her life the best way possible. After the Taliban came to Afghanistan we have been unable to help this women, we hope her children will grow up and continue their studies.” Mila showed me some of the beautiful dresses this dear woman had made for her, before she and her family were evacuated: the embroidery and stitching is beautiful. In what appears to be a story of much sadness, Mila finds a story of hope, “hope for life,” she explains, “I strive to be effective for others.”
We talk about our families and the importance of having a safe home. Mila shares how it is both interesting and sad to see parents living apart from their sons and daughters. “I wish I could live in the same house with my children” she explains. We talk about how normal it is in the West for adult children to leave the family home. “I know the British themselves must have a convincing reason for this, but it’s still difficult for me,” she laments. I wonder too, of our wisdom, or not. Is the search of independence so important and valuable? I wonder whether my Father God / daughter relationship demonstrates the necessary dependence that living under the same roof would yield?
I asked Mila if there was anything we can pray for. She asked if we could pray that she and husband find suitable jobs. I add, ‘that reflect their wealth of knowledge, understanding, diplomacy and skill.’ She also asked that we pray for their family, still in Afghanistan and very much in danger. They have had only one communication from them and they would like them to be evacuated to safety. Let us also pray for the family in the story above.
I find running our sewing sessions a real privilege. I ask Susie, our sewing sessions assistant at our Didcot hub what her biggest revelation has been over the last six months. “I have realised that being naturally friendly and inclusive can have a massive impact on someone else’s confidence.” Given the mix of cultures, languages and challenges we face when we meet, what one tip would you give to someone thinking of joining a group? “Don’t be put off by the language barrier or differences. Embrace it and just be you, people value interaction and loving laughter crosses every boundary.”
I ask Susie if working for us has met her expectations? “I think as I became an employee rather than a volunteer I haven’t done as much hands on sewing myself that I initially hoped or expected to do but God has blessed me greatly with a new community of friends, both in terms of the team, as well as the ladies that’s come along. I am excited to see how there might be other ways I can get involved and support the wider projects you are involved with, over time.”
I ask Susie what she would like us to pray for?
“Pray God would deepen our friendships & build our confidence in talking about the impact Jesus has on our lives.”
Please pray for His closeness and direction on my life as my children both leave home in September.”
With over a year’s experience of running sewing sessions across multiple locations in one county, a list of achievements, and team development aims, we look to explore where God is sending us next. A few years ago we launched a short-term pop up hub in Leicester, linked to garment factory workers struggling through Covid. The project was featured in the local John Lewis store, with help from styling students from DMU. With fresh interest from people living in the Midlands we are exploring the potential of a small cluster of sewing hubs there. If this interests you, drop us a line. We’ll need lots of local help to make it happen.
We’ve also been drawn to setting up hubs in Bristol having worked on a really exciting exhibition at the Royal West Academy (RWA) in Clifton this summer. We worked alongside staff and volunteers to present a community exhibition around the theme of ‘Sharing Love’, linking to their main gallery exhibition ‘Soft Power’. This has been very much due to the input and passion of one of our trustees, Helen. I enquired what had been the most heartwarming and meaningful element of the exhibition? “It has been wonderful to see how proud BRAC (Bristol Refugee Artists Collective) are to have co-curated and facilitated as part of this collaborative project. The RWA cleaner is friends with some of the refugees and asylum seeker participants who stitched the patches of our Bristol Dress. She and I were cleaning and tidying the other morning. I told her we had VIPs coming later that day. She asked who the VIPs were and I pointed to the photographs of the participants in the exhibition. She said ‘oh my friends!’ And later that day she returned with the groups, being one of the VIPs herself.”
I asked Helen what had drawn her to becoming a trustee? “I had a previous voluntary role that had come to an end, and new volunteering I was doing took much less time… so I was considering taking on something else. The advertised role of trustee at DDP spoke to me and I had a feeling I might have something to offer the charity – although I wasn’t exactly sure what! My career in the arts has involved textiles and sculpture, fundraising and public learning and engagement. It felt a good fit.” She goes on to explain, “what most inspired me was the sustainable and ethical model of operation, that worked. Also
how humbly fabric and thread are used, so brilliantly to empower people.”
I cheekily asked what the blessings were for being a trustee? “Ooh, learning so much from other people and being inspired by their faith.”
We annually seek to bring new trustees into our team. If you are excited by what we do, please do get in touch. As we grow our treasurer is keen to allow someone with more charity financial experience to step into his role, so if that triggers a bubble of enthusiasm, be in touch too. This round of applications was open until 12th September. If you’d like to know more for our next round email us. dorcasdressproject@gmail.com
I asked Helen for one prayer for our trustee team.
That we always seek justice, compassion & love as we work to see the charity go from strength to strength. That we support the CEO in her visionary strategy, and that people will always be at the heart of what we do.
That was three prayers. I forgive you though!!
People being at the heart of what we do is the thread that weaves this newsletter together. May I introduce Abi to you. Abi is the lead pastor of our work in India. We’ve been working in India for just over a year now. The project started with a group of six women, each of whom we’ve blessed with a sewing machine and tools. The aim of this blessing is to empower each woman to be able to pass that blessing on to someone else. As they make money from sewing, they have been encouraged to buy their own sewing machine and then bless an apprentice with the one we gave them. Each of the women have blessed others in different ways. One of Abi’s many gifts is that of service, with integrity. I asked her what advice she would give others around having integrity? “Integrity is being honest and having strong moral principles: doing the right thing even behind closed doors. Keep growing with your integrity, God will reward you openly.” I consider her a devoted pastor’s wife, mother & entrepreneur. It can be difficult to prioritise the right jobs each day. I ask Abi what advice she has for others who might find this difficult?
“He will guide you and help you. Don’t depend completely on humans.
Through prayer we can do anything. Completely depend on Holy Spirit”
It says in Phil 4:13 ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengths me.’” We talk about the challenges of managing people and their different expectations, how this can often challenge relationships and group harmony. We acknowledge that managing conflict is an important part of a leader’s role. I ask Abi what she thinks is the key to doing this successfully. “Asking God for wisdom, staying calm, analysing the situation, being a good listener, being prepared to compromise and humble yourself.” Sound and wise advice! I lastly asked what she would like us to pray for. “For our Hub Community India, we have two wings, (according to Indian law) one is Christian religious activity and the other is charitable work among all Indian community.”
God’s people are migrant people, moving according to His will and plan. Séverine is one of those, who has migrated from France to Burundi during this last year. Her journey of finding me is one of intertwined threads and relationships. She is currently serving as a Workshop Manager for Birashoboka, in Burundi where she supports women in their sewing and business skills. I asked her what experience from her work in France has been of value to her as she serves in Burundi. “I have been in the textiles industry for 33 years, working for the military, making flags and repairing parachutes, as well as making gold, silver and 3D DMC wire military embroidered badges. This work is different, yet complimentary. You still need to organise your workspace, work effectively, efficiently and with care to details. I encourage the women here at Birashoboka that the sewing profession is a noble one. We often quote Exodus 28:3-5 and the work of Dorcas in Acts 9:36 as encouragement. Having spent a lifetime in Europe I was eager to find out what Séverine considered to be the most surprising cultural difference. “The notion of time.
In France we have the watch, in Burundi we have time!
Not always an easy philosophy to grasp for a punctual European like me.” These cultural surprises are wonders we should learn from, and likewise hindsight is a marvel. Is there any piece of advice you would give your ten year old self? “Yes, you who are on the benches of the school, work as best you can, think about what you want to do in life, to choose a job where you will flourish and where you can help your neighbour. Here in Burundi 80% of children lack the means to attend school.” It is true, education is a privilege here in the West, we too frequently forget.
And lastly what would you like us to pray for? “My family who does not know Jesus personally. My mum has cognitive dementia. My big sister has cancer after 7 months of chemotherapy, she is now being treated with radiation therapy. My little sister tries as she can to support everyone. My heart is also for the traumas and bruised bodies of all these vulnerable people around me here in Burundi. We would benefit from a new sewing room here in Bujumbura. And my health: for the 3 fingers that ‘jump’ and my left knee.”
Séverine has migrated to serve in Burundi, whilst Christine serves from her home in Kenya. Christine is filled with courage, has strength of character and lives to draw her community out of poverty through education and enterprise. She once told me a little of her life story. We have much to learn from Christine “when you live in poverty, you live each day with the likelihood of having absolutely nothing, if not at the start of the day, then by the end.
Skills & faith can never be stolen or spent dry.”
Learning is so important to Christine, that she set up a primary school in her village. I asked her what the most challenging aspect of being a leader in her community was. “Dealing with a very low or zero income community. It is hard to educate people who have empty stomachs and lack of basic needs. We all know, for a community to change we need empowerment that comes with formal or informal education. In our community people will only turn out if they receive a hand out for the day. This makes change very hard. We currently don’t have enough resources to cater for this form of empowerment.” We need to promote changed lives through sharing testimonies of those that demonstrate perseverance, patience and joy. Christine is a gifted intercessor, I asked her what brings her most joy through this gifting? “Change! From the inside out. When we receive healing, but more importantly, when we see lives change completely.” We have a responsibility to intercede with Christine, for her community, for their flourishing: to be able to live life with nobility and virtue, rightly empowered in the world. One that truly demonstrates justice and equality.
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