Joan Giacomenti and Jan Cameron, travelled last month to Mongolia where they successfully taught basic sewing to some of the teenagers at the Lotus Centre. Sewaid assisted in supplying 3 new machines and some accessories, and we gave the ladies a run over on the use and service of the machines before they went. All in all it was a successful project but there is no follow up project for Sewaid at the moment.
Here we have been requested to teach some senior girls at the Lotus orphanage in Ulaanbaatar . Initially I am helping two ladies for Wahroonga Rotary who are going up to set up this program. Sewaid will help with two new machines and one new overlocker. Therefore we will await the return of the Wahroonga ladies before we can assess whether we need to run a more extensive training program there later in the year, or next year. We are also waiting on more information from a Buddhist ladies organisation we previously gave some sewing machine to in regards to whether they still want a training program.
We are talking with the Rotary Club of Wahroonga (in Sydney) regarding a potential program at the Lotus Children Centre in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. Didi Ananda the Australia lady who runs this Orphanage and School, now after 15 years, has young girls approaching 15 and 16 years, who are looking for vocational education, and we may do a program there later in 2011 teaching these girls. Unfortunately the cost to get to Mongolia is quite quite high, however it is an incredible place to visit and we may well go up from Beijing on the famous Tri-Siberian Express.
If you are interested in being a volunteer teacher for our 2011 program, please register on the Volunteer Teachers page.
The trip planned for August has been postponed while a new process is developed which can be introduced and which will mean a more profitable return for the crafts people we are involved with.
There are two organisations in Mongolia with whom we have been working closely. The first is the Lotus Children's Centre where colourful fabric bags are being produced totally by hand. Even the intricate fill stitch is all hand done. This work of course takes many hours but for only a small return. We are currently trying to develop a method of simulating this work by sewing machine to make it more commercially viable for them.
The other organisation is the Jampa Ling Buddhist Women's Refuge. We are awaiting further information concerning the machines we sent up and their ongoing needs and requirements.
We are hoping the trip to Mongolia can be rescheduled for early in 2009.
Ron and Judy Marcus from Castle Hill Rotary Club have just returned from Mongolia, where Ron and his team have been installing another Cath in one of the hospitals in Ulaanbaatar. The two sewing machines we shipped up with this medical equipment were delivered out to the Jampa Ling Trust Centre, which is a refuge for very poor women. Judy spoke to them regarding their exact sewing needs and she was given this letter by way of explanation. (See below)
ASRAL CENTER NGO Patron Ven. Panchen Otrul Rinpoche (Gomang Geshe Lharampa) AOS#1, Gorgy 4 street, 9'nKhoroo, Bayangol District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. jampaling_asral@yahoo.com 12 June 2OO7 Dear Tony Castley, Thank you so much for the two sewing machines, the magnifying glass and other bits and pieces. We met Judy last week and Ron is coming today with the sewing machines. We have not seen them yet but I understand they have many different stitches from the manual, which is very helpful. Thank you for copying it for us. This is really going to be very useful for us as at the moment there are only hand sewing machines which have only a straight stitch. Judy said you would like to know a bit more about our plans and then it would be possible to assess which sewing machines we really need and perhaps send over a teacher also. I have discussed this with both Padma, who is in charge of the sewing group here and with Margery by email. At the moment the sewing group focuses almost entirely on embroidery. All embroidery is hand stitched, and this will continue to be an important part of our work in the future. Padma would be very keen though to have a few embroidery machines, potentially programmable ones. The machines would be used for example to make bags for monks with the embroidered religious designs on them - these are not as readily available in Mongolia and there would be a market for them. We are now considering some other key areas for future development. In Ulaanbaatar, we are considering buying a new building and would perhaps for the handicrafts, want to keep part of this for the sewing, enabling us to expand in to other areas such as dressmaking (Mongolian traditional dress). Both for this and also for making the little bags with the Mongolian embroidery on them, normal sewing machines would be used. Asral NGO also works in Shankh, which is in the centre of the country. It is a small isolated community with virtually no access to employment. We have recently provided some training in embroidery. Some of the women there already have sewing machines but they can only make very simple things. These will all be hand sewing machines with only a straight stitch. There is electricity in Shankh. Padma thought that sewing machines for dressmaking and related training so that the women can sew dells, the traditional Mongolian dress, would be very beneficial as there would be a market for this, both in Shankh and in the nearby larger town, Kharkhorin. The monk at the monastery, who is very actively involved in supporting his community, was also keen to train people in how to make the covers for gers,the Monlolian yurts. Those sold in Kharkhorin are of very poor quality. This would be heavy duty sewing of thick-ish material into large covers for the gers. Judy also mentioned Sewaid's programme to provide loans to people trained through the project to enable them to purchase sewing machines. Asral's key focus with the handicrafts to employment is to provide access. l think the loan programme could be very beneficial in supporting women to become more independent. We would be very interested in finding out more about this. To sum up, I think there would be three different types of sewing and sewing machines we could use:
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We will now evaluate this request and work out a plan on how we can assist them, after which we will most likely put out a call for volunteer teachers to make up a team to go to Mongolia and help this excellent refuge for women. We may also help the Lotus Children's Centre in Ulaanbaatar at the same time, with basic sewing for teenage girls.
We visited Mongolia in 2004 and again in 2005 checking out the economic and aid situation. Unfortunately like so many third world countries, children and women find life very tough in Mongolia, due to several years of drought and other political and economic changes.
This is a very worthy Buddhist refuge for women run by Marjorie, a Buddhist monk from Ireland. We were only there a short time but we were overwhelmed by the work this organization does for the needy in Mongolia and also the bright and cheerful nature of all who worked there.
Teachers and some special machines are required and we are looking for volunteer teachers who would be interested in teaching the local teachers dressmaking and some craft sewing. The date is not exactly set as yet but likely to be early next year. Our volunteers would be required for approximately 10 days. This programme will be facilitated by Rotary and ADRA and there will be free accommodation and translators. However volunteers will need to pay their own airfare. Again a wonderful experience in the offering.
For this project we also need an embroidery machine (programmable), so if anyone has one to donate or to sell to us very cheaply, please advise. Alternatively a single head inductrial embroidery machine would be ideal.
Contact at the Jampa Centre:-
Aidan Harris BA MSc (Volunteer)
PO Box 467, UB-23, Mongolia
jampaling@magicnet.mn
Fax +976 304898
MB +976 99 180 690
We have visited this orphanage twice and this wonderful centre, which looks after some 150 homeless orphans, is very inspiring. Didi Dowling, an Australian is the director and founder and more information can be sourced on www.lotuschild.org
For future programs in Mongolia please see the New Programs section.
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