Sanitary pads to help girls stay in school

No study for days, no income for days, no going out, no access to hygiene.. This happens every day to young women here in Guatemala. You can do something about that by donating some sanitary pads. Our goal is making sure that each of them can have their own washable, colorful, effective feminine solutions.

For Guatemalan girls it is too expensive for them to buy disposable products, or they may not even be available at all. This problem affects young girls in schools. There are thousands of women in need of these basic items that we consider necessity.

Some girls stay home from school when menstruating (missing a week of school every month) or drop out completely once they reach that age. If they cannot afford disposables (or there are none available) they have to use whatever they can find.

A single mother of three, a graduate of the Mayan Families Sewing Program, makes these environmentally friendly sanitary pads.



 

 

These cloth pads, are more cost effective than disposable products, as they can be reused for many years, safer for the women’s body and designed to make life more confortable.

Gladys helping her mom make the pads

This is a joint project between Mayan Families and Aldea Maya. Each package contains 4 pairs of underwear, 12 flannel outer liners and 14 flannel inner liners for the cost of $25.

For more information you can contact us at sewing@mayanfamilies.org

Knitting Classes

 

This month we have been teaching the women how to knit; with Jacky’s Jerabek wonderful volunteer help during her visit here in Guatemala, sharing her knitting skills with the women around the lake. Jacky has been here every morning during a week and a half working hard with the women from the Sewing Project.

 

Knitting in Guatemala is not very common, as the yarn is expensive and not easy to find. But thanks to a donation that we received a few months ago of knitting needles and yarn, we have been able to make this workshop go along and work with 10 women from the Sewing Project. The women where very enthusiastic in learning this new trade and to be able to use these donated knitting needles and yarn.

The idea is to teach them how to knit so they can make things for themselves or to sell, to provide them a small income for their families if they want. Of course, using Guatemalan fabric, that makes the product more original.

Jackie with one of the final works that Ana Cecilia gave her as a gift.



Teaching the different stitches.

 

Jackie and Ana Cecilia

Jackie's last day, with part of the group.

 

We have now another friend, Malini that is continuing the work with these women, every Tuesday and Thursday for a couple of weeks more, so they can continue practicing, learning, and making new items.

We are always happy to receive new volunteers, so they can also share their knitting skills to these women.

WEAVE OF HOPE

Madison Women's Health and The Sewing Project at Mayan Families have been working hardly this year creating this initiative to support women in Guatemala.

 

This Income Generating Activity is called Weave of Hope. One of the many goals of the project is to promote the economic security of the participants seen here, her family, and her community.

A second goal of this program is to provide newly pregnant patients at Madison Women’s Health clinic with a traditional backstrap-hand woven diaper bag made by Mayan women on the traditional backstrap loom. This free gift from the doctors to their patients represents one of the values they hold dear; to have a positive impact on local communities as well as empowering the women in the highlands of Guatemala that surround the Lake Atitilan region.

Every bag starts as a piece of fabric that has been exquisitely embroidered and woven by hand using the age-old technique of back-strap weaving. The craft of back strap weaving is passed down from generation to generation.

Every piece of fabric, depending on the skill of the artisan or the intricacy of the design can take from two to six weeks to complete. After the fabric is made, it is cut and turned into a colorful diaper bag that is then gifted to new mothers at Madison Women’s Health.

We also have some samples in the shop at Mayan Families so you can see their work or buy to take back home with you.

Beaded Christmas balls

 

Handmade beaded Christmas ornaments are a fabolous gift to give just about anyone. At the Mayan Families shop you can find these Christmas ornaments and more, made by the women around the lake, that have also participated in the sewing project.

These ornaments are hand-beaded with intricate geometric designs and finished with beaded strings of shooting stars and other decorations. The round ball Christmas ornament measures approximately 7-1/2" in diameter but size may vary slightly due to the handmade nature of the item. This hand-beaded Guatemalan ornament is made of glass beads and is crafted in a variety of colors including red, gold, and blue. The beaded loop is about 2 inches, enough for hanging on your Christmas tree.

Making beaded holiday ornaments is a great source of work for Maya women. They can bead Christmas ornaments from home which allows them to take care of children and elderly family members while earning a steady income.

 

Woven Bracelets

Apolonia, from San Antonio Palopó a small village on Lake Atitlan, works making woven wristbands at home. She has now made some beautiful bracelets for Nuestros Niños. It is the first time she has actually done these bracelets with letters; she usually just works with colors, but now she has made these woven bracelets with words. Apolonia has done a great job and now she is happy that she has received an income for this.

Apolonia has five children, ranging in ages 16 to 5 years of age. The youngest, Maria Cristina, 5 years old has a scholarship at Mayan Families and just graduated from the Mayan Families Preschool Nutritional Center in 2012.

 

 

 

We thank Nuestros Niños for making this order, as you know, these families do not have much to live on, and every single little income is always more than helpful for them.

If you would like to order a bracelet from Apolonia, just let us know, what colors and what message you would like on your bracelet, she will be happy to keep learning how to do new things for you.

 

Artisans products

 

Artisans and graduates from the sewing program are able to make these items that are also sold in their communities, although some women do travel outside of their village to sell in nearby towns, but, the cost of transportation makes it difficult for the women to access more profitable markets.

Recently we have opened a small store at the Mayan Families offices, so that the artisans can also bring their products. This shop is open to all visitors, so they can buy some typical products from the women and help these women to improve their economy.  

If you are also interested in setting up a market for your group of visitors, please let us know by sending an e-mail to sewing@mayanfamilies.org

THANK YOU for supporting this Income Generating Activity with your purchase!

MENDING COMMUNITIES, one sewing machine at a time.

We have received 9 wonderful Bernette sewing machines from THE SEWING MACHINE PROJECT. Thank you very much for this donation! The women will be really happy to receive these. They have been looking forward to this since they have finished their sewing classes. They will be now be able to practice everything they have learned. 



Graduates with the sewing machines

On December 5^th these 9 Bernette sewing machines were given to the graduated women. There were two different groups that graduated last September and they were impatient waiting for these to come, as they wanted to continue practicing their new skills learned with Don Alberto, our sewing instructor.
 

One of the graduates happy with her new sewing machine

 

Don Alberto explaining how to use the machine