Sunday, February 22, 2009

Uganda preparations


Well, I didn't get any sewing done this weekend. This is report card week, so a boat load of us spent our Saturday at school working on report cards. I really resent having to work all day Saturday at school when I have other things I'd rather be doing. I'm usually so tired when I get home from school during the week, that I don't get much done, so the weekends are MY TIME! OK, enough of that.

My trip to Uganda is coming up quickly and there is a lot to do to get ready. I need to find out how many women I will be working with and how many machines there are. I will be teaching them to make choir robes for the church, but this will give them the skills they need to make other things to sell, to do repairs, make clothes for their families, etc. I will probably need to bring shears, pins, needles, sewing machine needles, seam rippers and patterns. We will buy the fabric there.

I am thinking about what I will be taking with me. The village I am going to, Busana, is very primitive and I will need a translator since the majority of the people do not speak English. The official language of Uganda is English, but in the rural areas, less than 3% of the population know English. I don't know what language they do speak. Pants are not appreciated in these rural areas, so I will be wearing skirts. Mosquitos are a problem, so I will be wearing mostly long sleeves. I will be doing a lot of walking (I think) on dirt roads, so I will be wearing comfy shoes. I would rather wear sandals, but there are parasites in the soil that enter the blood through the skin, so I'm not taking any chances with my feet.

I only have about 1 month before I leave. That's one month to make something that I will take with me. I'd like to make 3 things. I'm thinking I will make another pair of the Mary Tilton pants to wear on the plane. I will be en route between 24-36 hours, so I need to be comfortable and be able to move and stretch when I can. Even though women don't wear pants in the villages, they do in the larger cities, so pants for travel will be OK.





I'd also like to make this Safe T Pockets vest. It has lots of pockets that I can carry my stuff with me and not have to worry about lugging around a purse all the time. I would also like to make either another long skirt, or a long sleeved white blouse. I'm not one for wearing long sleeves when its warm, so I really don't know what I want here.



I am very excited about this opportunity to share the love of sewing to a group of women who so desperately need the skill. I have learned that I am the only one going from California and that I will be in charge of how everything will work. This ought to be interesting since I have no idea of what I am going to be getting into when I get there. No worries though, God knows what I will be getting into and He already has it all planned out.

I need to start getting all of my immunizations. I will have to get hepatitis A&B, typhoid, yellow fever, tetanus, polio, a flu shot, and malaria medication. To top it off, I just found out from my school district that I will need to get a TB test this month as well :-)

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HELPING??

Not everyone wants to go to Uganda to teach women to sew, but are you interested in helping? I need to raise my support to go. Total costs will be between $3,000-$4,000. Some costs go directly to International Messengers, and others are out of pocket expenses (immunizations will be close to $700) for me. If you would like to help support me, you can send a tax deductible donation to
International Messengers,
PO Box 618,
Clear Lake, IA 50423-0618
Be sure to include a note saying that the donation is to help support Nancy Winningham

If you do not care about the tax deduction, you can send a donation directly to me at
1430 S. Grand Street, Visalia, CA 93292

Also, I would really appreciate your prayers. Prayers that all would go well during travel, that I would stay healthy and not have any rheumatoid arthritis or Fibromyalgia flare ups, and most of all, that our ministry would be effective in sharing the love of Christ.

10 comments:

goodworks1 said...

What a great project!

One hint: don't wait to start those immunizations. You'll need some time for the HepB (there's more than one shot, I believe, spaced out timewise, but it will help your immune system in the long run!) and to get over some of the rougher other ones (typhoid, yellow fever).

My best to you in this endeavor...

Rose said...

Your project sounds very interesting. I hope that you will be able to blog about it on your return.

Also, regarding shots--If they give you one close to your travel day, make certain the injection site is *not* on the body part you sit on! :)

Happy travels!

Cathi Twill said...

Hi Nancy,
What a wonderful mission! I will send a donation to the Clearlake address. I was wondering what state AI was, so I googled the zipcode and saw that it's Iowa. Perhaps you can fix that to IA.
Best wishes,
Cathi

Nancy Winningham said...

Thanks Cathi - and also thanks for "proofreading" my address. I fixed it ;-)

Marty's Little Corner said...

My daughter who is in college has gotten involved with the Invisible Children's project which rescues child soldiers from the LRA and tries to help them get readjusted to mainstream society. There are children as young as 6 years old who have been abducted and forced (under threat of death) to commit atrocities. Good luck to you on this mission of mercy and know that many prayers will accompany you.

Auset's Stitched Treasures said...

Kiswahili is one of the other languages spoken in Uganda. You may also find that Uganda is not as primitive as you'd expect. No you won't find huge skyscrapers, overgrown malls or congested highways. The electricity may not always be working when you want it to, but you will find a culture filled with a rich history of great kings, beautiful music, artifacts beyond anything anyone in the West has seen and a warm and welcoming people.

Marahaba. Ashante sa.
Angela

Kitty Couture said...

This is a wonderful trip you're going to take, Nancy. You'll definitely be in my thoughts!

Summerset said...

Wow - the trip is really close. I think you've got the right idea for clothes.

Birgitte said...

This is exciting and a wonderful thing you are doing here. Teaching women a skill which will give them some independence and enrich their lives... wow! My thoughts are with you, and money is heading your way.

Maybe a light cotton gauze fabric for a loose, long sleeve blouse or tunic? I have worked in hot climates and always preferred loose, airy clothing, anything that would give distance between body and fabric. And ONLY natural fibers!

Melissa said...

What a wonderful ministry Nancy. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers while you are traveling. And yes you're correct, God will lead the way for you in your teaching - what a comfort, huh?