ORM Sweaters

Written by Lori, Fount of Mercy's International Development Director

Orphan Rescue Ministry has started on a new project – they are making a variety of products with yarn! They have been making so many things, including sweaters, skirts, bags, and blankets. Even though this is Uganda, East Africa, and those that aren’t familiar with this part of the world expects it to very hot, there is a market for items like sweaters here. Sweaters and other items have already sold. For several reasons this is such an exciting project to me, partially because it is relatively unique when it comes to vocational training/ income generating projects and also because it has such potential for growth.

Sewing Progress

Today Lori and I (Tara) traveled to Kampala to meet with Yusto. We sat with Yusto and got caught up on the changes that have happened since the summer, and made decisions about the coming months and this summer’s work. Although they have continued to have some sewing set-backs, ORM has recruited a girl named Noredah, who has 2 years of experience making sweaters and has brought her own machine to teach the kids. I must admit, it was FASCINATING to watch. I have only seen this machine once before, but just walking by in the market. Basically, there are needles that run along the base of the machine. Once it is set up, she pushed the little knobs on the top, which dropped the needles into various patterns, creating whatever type of pattern she wants in the sweater. The little car thing is pushed back and forth across, and the yarn loops around the needles. The machine even keeps count of the rows, so you can make it exactly the length needed. You make the back, fronts, sleeves, collars, etc. separately, then sew them together on the seams. Joseph is a smart senior 4 level student who we met this summer. He was around this afternoon because he scored so high in school this year that he is able to progress to an advanced school, which starts next week. It was so good to see him. He told me, as he laughed, that this summer he would sit at the machine and run it into the ground without control, but since then he has mastered it. I remember that. We were all shocked at how the kids would just sit without any idea what they were doing, and run the machines like madmen…damaging them in the process. We spent the entire week reinforcing the basic steps of setting-up and caring for the machines. They, being teens, were certainly annoyed, but when Joseph sat at the machine today, it was awesome to see him in complete control…calm, cool, collected. Shannon, Rachel, Courtney, you will be so happy to know our work has paid off and that his seam was straight and even. He was so proud and felt so good showing me. This may seem simple, but it is HUGE in teaching the students to do quality work, and in protecting the machines, their most valuable asset. Sarapio has also been hired by ORM to take over the sewing/tailoring course. He has 23 years of experience and is currently filling an order for school uniforms that Yusto was able to secure. The order consists of 35 skirts and 42 pairs of boys shorts. He had a pile of each finished. Although his English is very little, he seems like a hard-working man and very skilled. He joined ORM only on February 1st, so I am anxious to see how his classes go from now until July.

It was an exhausting, but fruitful day.

Written by Tara Hawks, Fount of Mercy's Vocational Development Director

Sewing Hope at ORM

July 10th, 2009
Written by Tara Hawks, Director of Sewing Hope (a Fount of Mercy program)

Yesterday, I had my first official meeting with the leadership of one of our organizations, the Orphans Rescue Mission (ORM). ORM has been working with Fount from the beginning and although Sewing Hope was able to provide them with 3 sewing machines last year, this will be the first summer to teach seminars. The meeting began with Yusto, the director, and his wife Joy. Then, we were later joined by the tailoring teacher, Patience, and Yusto's oldest son, Andrew.

Here is the Mission Statement for the proposal they sent to us, asking for support of their sewing program: Our mission is to equip ORM Children with skills and later, upon satisfactory process of rehabilitation and restoration, re-integrate them in our communities when they are already self-supportive and decent people.
The exciting thing about ORM is that they are not only working with adult women of the community who need a way to support their families, but also with older, teen-aged orphans who will soon be expected to support themselves entirely...age 15. Their hope is to help provide tangible life-skills, sewing and tailoring being a huge part of that, but also including skills such as baking and cleaning.

As exciting as their program is, and as dynamic as their director is, they still have a long way to get to their goals. One of the biggest goals for the immediate future is to secure a contract with a local school to make school uniforms. The school has 700 children, so this size business would be amazing for their program! But, before they can pursue a contract, Sewing Hope has started to help them be sure that they can actually sustain and follow-through with filling such a large order.

Our 5+ hour meeting consisted of not only my first truly local meal since being back in Uganda, but of meeting and creating a salary agreement for their new teacher, Patience. She will be graduating from a Kampala-based vocational school, the YWCA funny enough, at the end of August, and has agreed to teach for a full year at ORM, sharing her knowledge and skills with the women and teenagers there. Securing a consistent and qualified teacher has been a struggle up till now, and is the first step in getting ORM in a position to move forward with the rest. This program is young, but full of energy, and dynamic.... and has tons of hope to accomplish their goals! There is no doubt that given enough time and resources ORM is going to succeed. My team will be back in 3 weeks to lead our seminars. Can't wait!!!

So Much Good in One Year

July 7, 2008
written by Kathleen

Hello everyone! There is so much to tell. I love Africa so much. For some reason it just feels right when I get here. I know it's where I am meant to be and already am thinking about next year.

We have spent the last 2 days at the orphanage and also doing a lot of shopping and getting the things we need. Today we had a refrigerator delivered and everyone was so excited. The kids have made a remarkable amount of progress. Last year we brought over 2 sewing machines. They have a tailor that comes in and teaches the girls sewing and they actually are doing an excellent job. Some things are made of fabric, others of empty cement bags! It seems that they may actually have a contract in the next year to make school uniforms! This is so good because it means it will bring money in to help with support. It is amazing to see how much they have learned. The feeding program is also doing well. The children all are so healthy looking and all smiles! I have gotten so many hugs and love from the kids. I just love it! Hopefully as each girl graduates we can get a sewing machine to her a gift. Then she can make a living with it.

Tomorrow we will be teaching the girls that are older how to make cookies. They in turn will teach the younger girls. This will be another means of support for them. They will be able to sell the cookies as well. We are going to start working on child sponsorship. This would mean that someone will sponsor the child one on one. There are about 50 children that are not in school. It cost to be educated here. The amount varies from about $50 a month to maybe a hundred if they are a full time boarding student.

We have one boy from last year who is being sponsored now by a good friend of mine. His name is Peter. His was a special case and a sad story. But we now have him as a boarding student. Last year he would not let me even hug him. This year he came up to me and gave me a hug and had tears in his eyes!!! He is such a good boy. He is 12 or 13, never been to school but now is in 2nd grade. He is beginning to speak English and smiles all the time!!!

I will tell more later about him and all the children. Tomorrow we also will be painting the girls fingernails! It will be a first for them. The shoe store will be coming out and measuring each child’s foot and we will purchase new shoes for each child! Clothes will be distributed and shoes given and it will be our last day with them. I will take more pictures and share them when I return.

One of the main goals of our mission is to help these children become self supportive, by teaching them skills they can use to maintain life. It seems as if we are making progress.

Happy Kids

August 4, 2007
Written by Vanessa
The team from Archer City, Texas arrived on the 10th of July and we left for safari on the 11th. It was a crazy six-seven hour drive up to Murchison Falls. The road had a gazillion pot holes in it, and by "pot holes" I mean caverns. You can almost get lost in those things. They have to swerve all the way across the road and back to miss them...which means that you often come face to face with huge trucks and see your life flash before your eyes just nano-seconds before you miss hitting them by centimeters. Then about half way there the roads become all dirt. But the dirt roads are a million times better than the "paved" road with ditches.
The safari was amazing. We saw scads of giraffe, elephants, cape buffalo, weird little deer like things with squirly horns, amazing birds....and best of all...a LEOPARD!!! The guides said that there have been only four sightings of a leopard in the last 20 years!! Kathleen saw something move in a tree and it turned out to be a leopard tail. We stopped our safari land rover and watched it for quite a while. We have amazing pictures and video of it. Can't wait to get some printed out. After the land safari we went by boat on the Nile. Tons of crocodiles, hippos...and you could see ginormous wart hogs and elephants on the shore. Way cool. Then we spent the night in tents with hippos and wart hogs roaming the camp throughout the night. Be careful on your way to the bathroom!! The next morning we hiked up to the top of Murchison Falls. There is a constant rainbow where the spray of the water bursts into the air. It's pretty incredible.
Yesterday we went to the Orphan Rescue Minstries for the first time since last year. It was sooooo good to Bishop Yusto, again (the leader of the organization). He has had to move the organization’s location twice since we saw him last year. He has now found a good landlord who actually cares about the children and is doing so much to renovate the facility so that they have a good place to live. Today and for the next two days we are building a kitchen for them. The guys are out buying supplies and timber and tin and all that stuff right now so that we can get started. Kathleen, my mom, and I are about to head out with all our day camp stuff for the kids. The children of the Orphan Rescue Ministries were so different than they were last year. Last year, they looked sad, and malnourished, and sang songs of death and dying and hopelessness. Yesterday, they were happy, and healthy and sang songs of their desperate situation, yet how happy they were because they can "take the Spirit with you anywhere." They are now in a much better facility, getting matoke (like mashed potatoes, but it's from plantains), rice and sweet potatoe every day and meat on the weekends. Half of them are going to school. When the other two rooms are built, they will have sewing classes (with the two new sewing machines we brought them), shoe making and carpentry, plus one more vocational class that is yet to be decided. They are finishing the toilets (squatty potties) and we are about to build the kitchen.
I almost cried when we drove up and they were all out front waiting for us and greeted us with huge smiles and hugs as they swarmed the car. Their English is so much better than last year. It was so amazing to get to sit and talk and play with the kids that just one year ago couldn't communicate with me and were reluctant to play. And to think that it's because my church from Archer City, TX is supporting them! What an honor and a blessing!! I love my life. I really, really, really love my life!!
Okay, there's a ton more, but I have to go see the kids now. Everything is working out so amazingly well!

Posted by Vanessa