Seamstress & Architect

21 June 2013

Maja asked me to post today. She was very tired when we spoke at 2200 her time; but it was a good tired.

Again this week, she’s done most of the English teaching, because the swelling in Sarah’s legs is still preventing her from being on her feet much. After school she has divided her time between teaching sewing to two of the female teachers (Rachel and Claire) and redesigning the plans for the library, which is supposed to be built between now and the end of October. The sewing instruction is going well. Both girls are progressing quickly, but Claire seems to have “the knack,” which really excites Maja. Together with Maja they have used a Land’s End blouse of Maja’s to create a pattern from newspaper, transferred the pattern to vinyl, and begun cutting pieces to produce new, female-shaped blouses for the students. Despite the fact that they only have one, treadle sewing machine, the project is advancing. It’s good that the machine is not dependent on electricity, because last night the power went out, but Maja was able to continue sewing by candlelight (photo from www.cathywu.com).

She and Ally have invested hours in the library project. They were given the plans which the ALARM office had approved, only to discover that most of the building was dedicated to an admin office, with a library “room” on the side. The project’s instigators, however, had raised money to build a library building. So she and Ally have redesigned the building so that it will not only accommodate 4700 volumes (3000 of which will arrive in a shipping container later in the summer), but also have room for students to read at tables in the library. The new plans must be submitted for approval, both in Rwanda and back at ALARM’s headquarters – this process begins on Saturday, two days before Ally returns to America.

With four weeks left in the term, Maja asks that you continue to pray for wisdom as she negotiates cultural differences and stamina as she works on several projects at once (her health has been good for the past two weeks now). … Below is a photo of her and a group of the older students.