Week 1 of Training Done!
February 21, 2013
It's pretty amazing to see where we've come in just one week. We know that it takes time to develop new habits and proper procedures in order to run a sewing center. This week we wanted to gauge their knowledge and their abilities. We are trying some really different techniques that most Indians don't teach. First is the "WHY". In typical Indian culture, schools rely on repetition and rote memory. Children are not encouraged to ask why. If they do, teachers see it as a form of disobedience. With our partnership with Stitching Sparrow, we want to teach "why" so that the things that our women learn are internalized and they will hopefully be more motivated to do it the correct way. One of the very first activities we had them do was to observe their surroundings for inspiration of shapes. This is a new concept for many Indians to be inspired and think differently. It was really fun to see them walking around and finding inspiration. This is what we do on a daily basis:
- Pray and read a passage from the Bible
- Take Attendance
- Take out Tools
- Clean and Oil Machines
- Practice Yesterday's Lesson
- Instruction
- Tea Time
- Design Lessons
- Lunch
- Embroidery Lessons
- Clean Up
We also had the women draft up their policies and procedures. In the end we want this sewing center to be theirs. Not what something a foreigner built and made them do, but a partnership where we empower them according to their skills and talents. Cleanliness seems to be relative here in India. Our hope is to set an example of cleanliness so that we can help them improve their own family's health and also eventually pass inspections for the certifications that we will need. I take for granted our standards of clean in the West. The idea of cleaning a bathroom in India is to take some water and pour it all over the toilet and splash it on the walls. That's how most cleaning is done in India. As the women saw how I took a brush to the tiled walls and scrubbed them, they were astounded by how "new" everything started to look. After 1 hour and three of us scrubbing down our bathroom, it was near sparkling clean. They got the picture. At the end of class we also asked the women what their hopes and prayer requests were. A couple of them needed a new house because their roofs were leaking. Some have debt that needs to be paid due to emergency health related bills. Many also had sick children or husbands since the weather has changed. Our hope is that our women will be able to learn how to manage their financial needs and use their form of employment as a means to help their families out.
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