Sewing machines from the SEWING MACHINE PROJECT have arrived

 

 

73 machines from The SEWING MACHINE PROJECT have arrived to Mayan Families offices. It was really exciting to open the big boxes and see what was in them, machines, fabrics, and other sewing materials. Now we will be able to give out some of these machines to the women of Sololá, which graduated last December 2012.

 

 

There are also three more groups right now, participating in the sewing classes with Don Alberto, learning how to use the sewing machine, some of them will be graduating soon, so they will also be able to receive their machine very soon.

 

We warmly thank the constant support from the Sewing Machine Project and for this wonderful donation, so many woman will be able to continue to practice their skills, and have an income for their families.

Women Empowerment Workshops

Women formed by the theater group Las Poderosas under the Convention Peacebuilding in Guatemala have emerged from their own short life stories.

Mayan Families Foundation was the ideal place to project four of eight short films from the CD "Returning the waves to the sea", a creative work from the life experiences of Mayan women and violence in their communities which now we can see the rewards from it.

Graduates from the Sewing Project, attended as part of their educational process that composes the program. Groups from Panajachel, Solola, Tierra Linda and San Jorge are those who have been participating in the program and many came with a clear objective, sensitized and the union of women to strengthen themselves.

About 30 women gathered around the patio of the Foundation with excitement and eager to share with their peers. For two hours there was laughter, tears and knowing glances.

 

Testimonials like "women should fight for space", "violence destroys our self-esteem and our dreams" and "the man wants the woman to remain in the house and in the kitchen, does not want us to go to training courses" repeated over and over, in order to seep inside each one of them.

The Foundation has several programs that work with women, this activity will continue to promote, to improve the situation of these women and their family.

Thanks to MPDL (Movimiento por la Paz, Desarme y Libertad), we have been able to make this workshop possible.

You can see the Spanish version of the note here: http://www.pazenguatemala.org/sensibilizan-violencia-mujeres-panajachel/

New sewing group

Mothers and/or sisters of your sponsored students have iniciated the eighth sewing course in Panajachel. Thanks to your sponsor these women are able to improve their lives by learning to use a sewing machine, learn a new skill, promote the habit of saving money, and train them with live skills. These mothers are really enthusiastic with learning new things every day. Through the use of a sewing machine these women are able to produce more items in less time, and have a higher quality products, wich increases their selling merchandise. 

Guadalupe, Lucia, Heidy, Josefina, Lucía García, Juaquina and Francisca are mothers or sisters of sponsored students that have now started the sewing classes.

Here some of the new students attending the sewing classes

Damaris and Estela, have also signed up to participate in the sewing course offered by Mayan Families, but still need a sponsor. Unfortunately we are not able to offer the sewing course for free as it includes a teacher, the space, and materials.  The women who sign up know are aware that they have to collaborate in order to participate.  Your support is an integral part of their kids educational success.

Our Sewing Project promotes Income Generating Activities (IGA) and the economic advancement of women by teaching them this vocational skill. Our goal is to train women in using a sewing machine to promote economic security of the participant, her family and her community. We also promote the transfer of skills within the participants, promote the habit of saving money, and train participants with life-skills. This is truly a special opportunity for these moms and we are very excited that they have chosen to participate.

If you are interested in donating, the cost for the course is $75 dollars and you can follow these instructions:

1.    Follow this link:  mayanfamilies.org/donatenow

2.    Enter $75.00 in the "other" box

3.    Write "Sewing Class" in the "details" box

4.    Click Submit form

Thank you again for all of your support for these families! 

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.