By Yolanda Utami Nilasari | Program Development Coordinator
Amalia is an 18-year-old high school student. Her father works part-time at the village office, while her mother is a housewife. She is the youngest child of four siblings. Her dream is to become a fashion designer who can create and sew her own clothing line.
She enrolled in a sewing classes with Ms. Ida as her tutor. She finds that Ms. Ida is a good teacher and very helpful during her course at the training centre. Next term, she plans to enroll in English class because she understands the importance of English and would like to be able communicate with foreigners. She wants to prepare herself to compete in the world of fashion. She also hopes that in the future she will be able to provide employment opportunities for her relatives and neighbors.
Another story is about Bibah, a 30-year-old mother of an 8-year-old son. Her husband works as a part-time laborer in construction. Bibah only finished elementary school level in her education. Her parents could not afford to pay her school fees. She promised herself that she would support her own child to complete a higher level of study that was not possible for her.
In October 2016, Bibah started to enroll in sewing classes at the YUM Vocational Training Centre in Cipanas. Her tutor was Ms. Ila. Bibah has improved her skills and confidence from the courses and started receiving sewing orders from her neighborhood. Her first order came from her next door neighbor to make a dress. At that time, Bibah was very nervous and afraid to make mistakes.
New orders for garments have come to Bibah. There are a minimum 5 orders from different customers every week. People love her work. The work has earned Bibah additional income for her family, which is important to offset the low-income periods that her husband encounters and to help her son continue to attend school.
Nowadays, Bibah has 1 sewing machine and 1 embroidery machine at her house. She hopes that in the future she will get more orders not only from individuals but also from schools, corporates and others. She hopes that with enough capital, she could run her own business and employ other people.
The transformational stories about Amalia’s dream and Bibah’s have been made possible with your support. If you wish to continue helping (or if you know someone who might be interested) a $10 donation covers the cost of 1 tutor for one course session, which would give Ms. Ida and Ms. Ila more opportunities to share their knowledge to more students at the Cipanas Vocational Training Centre.
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