Sewing graduates walk red carpet

Graduates of the Union of Jewish Women’s (UJW’s) Sewing Empowerment School walked the red carpet on 15 June wearing their hand-made evening garments and showcasing the items made during their four-month course.

Most students at the sewing school, established by the UJW in 2010, arrive at the course not knowing how to thread a needle. By the end of the intensive course, they are well equipped to start working for themselves.

The school was established by the UJW to help alleviate South Africa’s most pressing problems – skills development and poverty. Since then, more than 100 students have graduated.

The project aims to provide practical basic sewing skills for unemployed men and women; teach students the basic principles of sewing including design and manufacturing; and equip students with the ability to earn an income from work generated from selling items. Unemployed men and women are carefully screened and selected to undergo the four months of full-time training within a structured curriculum.

One of the graduates quoted the famous proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”