By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Westborough – Over the past two years, dozens of local men and women have taken part in an initiative to help bring joy – in the form of a bright, colorful dress – to some of the poorest girls in the world.
“Sewing for Hope,” as it is called, is an offshoot of a project started by Dr. Susan Wilson, the founder of the nonprofit group Tumaini Fund. (Tumaini is Swahili for hope.) Using a simple pattern, volunteers sew sundresses which are then shipped to girls in Kagera, one of the poorest parts of Tanzania.
Locally, two Westborough women, Judy Hall and Barbara Stone, have helped to spearhead the project. The two women have met with church and civic groups throughout the region to explain the mission. The result has been hundreds of beautiful, brightly colored dresses. Men and women of all ages, many of whom have never sewn or have not done so in some time, have volunteered, Hall said, even if it is just to help cut out the patterns.
Although the days can be quite warm in Kagera, the nights are much cooler, Hall said. When children try to warm up by getting closer to a fire, they sometimes get burned. So the project has expanded to asking for volunteers to knit simple sweaters that the children (both boys and girls) can wear.
The women will be scheduling times this summer with different groups to discuss the project.? If interested in sewing dresses or donating fabric, contact Hall at 508-366-8772 or Stone at 508-836-4886.
