Homeschool parents who want an opportunity for their kids to work on their sewing skills will be pleased that they can give their kids a chance to help little girls in Africa at the same time.
Africa Charity
A small group of women who went on a short term mission to Malawi returned to the United States with the plan of making dresses for the young girls they saw in orphanages. The tattered clothing they saw the girls wearing made these women realize they could make a difference by providing beautiful new clothes for the girls to wear. This was the beginning of Little Dresses for Africa.
What started out as a small group of women has grown to having participants in 48 states and over 30,000 dresses sent to the children of Africa. While many participants sew dresses to send to Africa, others have made dolls and cookies which they sell in the states to make money to help pay the cost of shipping.
Charity Work and Education
Homes school families often put a high emphasis on kids volunteering. The simple pillow case pattern that Little Dresses For Africa uses gives even the most beginning seamstress an opportunity to successfully finish a project and make a difference. Since pillow cases already have a hem, simple measuring, a few cuts, and some simple stitching are all that is needed to finish a dress. Students can learn to sew the simple dress pattern and earn home economics credit while helping children overseas.
Another benefit to homeschool families participating in the Little Dresses for Africa Project is the flexibility. Families can choose to participate individually making just one or two dresses, host a sewing day inviting other families to join in the project, or for those who enjoy an ongoing class atmosphere weekly sewing bee’s can be held. Some groups have even held friendly competitions to spur on productivity.
Some students have even taken the simple dresses and added their own personal touches by adding embroidery to the neckline or hem of the dress. “Making some bows and tacking them on the bottom of the dress just seemed like a good idea,” said Rhyannonn Hobbs, a 12 year old homeschool student. “If she doesn’t like the bows on the dress she can always pull them off and use them in her hair” the 7th grade student pointed out.
Natural Disaster Relief
One advantage to being a fairly small charity is a short chain of command. On January 18, 2010 after Haiti was hit by an earthquake, one of the sewing groups, for Little Dresses for Africa asked if their dresses could be sent to help Haiti instead. “We have been so blessed with your generosity that I felt convicted to share them with the children in Haiti who are hurt, hungry and naked. How awesome that we were prepared to make them available immediately! We were able to get dresses, shorts, and flip flops, in a container headed there yesterday and the shipping costs were covered by disaster funds so I want you to know your work continues to bless others” wrote founder Rachel O’Neill in her blog Rachel’s Snippets. 600 more dresses were delivered to the group that same day.
Jamie Hobbs - Jamie Hobbs has been working as a freelance writer since 2008. Graduating with a BA of Education in 1998, Jamie went on to become a ...
