At the end of last year, when Goducate in Laguna, the Philippines, started helping people find work making garments, there were only three women in the area who had their own sewing machines, and they could not meet the demand from the factory for school uniforms. Subsequently, we bought four high-speed sewing machines, which were allocated to others who could sew, for them to make uniforms.
Recently we bought two more—a high-speed machine, as well as a “5-threads” machine, which can be used for more elaborate work than school uniforms. This time the beneficiary is a man. He used to work in Saudi Arabia making garments, and now wishes to remain in the Philippines with his family.
We will be buying a few more machines, which will be used for training purposes. We have been helping people who were badly affected by the floods caused last August by the severe monsoons known as “typhoon” Habagat. The plan is to train some of the women affected by these floods to earn a livelihood through sewing.
