Children are welcome

Can I bring my baby the mother asked. Of course I said and so the whirring of the sewing machines was interrupeted by the cry of a baby but here her big sister comforts her in the traditional way of the African woman. What a sign of hope this is and a reminder that these women who come are here because they have families to take care of. The wonderful thing is that the other women acept this as normal and are not al all put off by the baby crying or the children in the classroom. Later that afternoon the grandmother came and took them home but we will enjoy their times with us in class. All this week we have battled severe fires on the mountains and many shacks have been burned down in an area called Red Hill. We have one woman from that infornal settlement and many others who want to come. This is summer in Cape Town and with it comes some very hig winds labelled the Cape Doctor but it can do a lot of damage, especially if there is a fire.

New Class Started

The 2008 Evangeline Sewing class began with more students than we could accomodate. That tells you something about the need. We have 12 students and each will get individual atention from our teacher Namgamso and two assistants, Khumi and Paul. We also have a sewing expert here, Leanne who will work with the teachers to also improve their skills. There is a sense of excitement in this class. We prepared by cleaning our class, installing new sewing machines and setting high goals for this six month course.