Hi friends,

We are incredibly excited to announce that we’ve set our goal for 2016 at 3,000 purses. We are also thrilled to be expanding into our 2nd purse distribution location. A community called Kapalulwe Hill (Kapa-lul-way).

Can we hit this goal? We honestly have no idea – but we are excited to strive for it. If we work together we can help more girls attend school and achieve academic success!

Why We Need 3,000 Purses

For the last month we’ve been in discussions with the largest charity in Zambia (I don’t have explicit permission to announce who it is just yet, so I’ll leave that part out). But they have become very interested in the ministry model we are developing for several reasons and they’ve signed a 4-year distribution agreement with us. This gives us the ability to scale this program to a huge number. And for 2016 we’ve set the goal at 3,000 purses.

Why are they excited to partner with the Sew Powerful Purse Program?

They like our program because #1: it empowers girls to stay in school all month and achieve specific academic outcomes that are measurable, learn more about that here.

They like our program because #2: it empowers local seamstresses in Zambia to earn an income – and minister to their community by making reusable feminine hygiene pads, learn about the importance of that approach here.

They like our program because #3: the program location is Ngombe (the largest urban slum in Zambia). They were BLOWN AWAY that this type of innovative program was coming out of Ngombe. They wanted to partner with us because we were there.

Why We Are Excited To Partner With The Largest Charity In Zambia

We need a large partner to continue to grow. We also need them because we’ve met the need of all the girls at the Needs Care School in Ngombe where we currently work. So we need another program location. But not just any program location. We need a partner that can monitor and evaluation the program impact in a professional way. In this manner we can ensure we are measuring the impact of our work, (learn more about that topic here).

Kapalulwe Hill Zambia

When the Deputy National Director for the charity mentioned the location he wanted us to consider expanding into Kapalulwe Hill – I had to laugh out loud. I was blown away and immediately realized God was up to something exciting!

Why is going to Kapalulwe Hill so amazing? In 2009, I visited Kapalulwe Hill with a group that included three of our four Sew Powerful board members (from left to right Toby Capps, Dana Buck and Andy Smith). We were all there together with a wonderful group from the San Francisco Bay Area.

———————– Visiting Kapalulwe Hill Zambia in 2009 ———————–

We Need Your Help More Than Ever Before

So now that we have a second program location with an amazing partner – the real question is – can we scale up together? We were blown away that in 2015 we received 1,619 purses. Last year our program goal was 1,000 purses and we smashed it. But 3,000 purses is a very large number.

It also means we need a LOT more financial support for the Ngombe Sewing Cooperative itself. Because by committing to 3,000 purses it also means we are committing to 3,000 sets of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) supplies that go into the purses. These are sewn locally in Lusaka at our Sewing Cooperative and requires fabric, supplies, machines, and funding to pay the seamstresses. Each of these sets cost just under $5 to make apiece, so the total need is $15,000, not including sewing machine maintenance and other program costs.

Only time will tell whether we can achieve this ambitious goal together. It’s a stretch, but we serve a big God and he has a big plan …

… for the seamstresses in Lusaka…

… and the girls in Ngombe and Kapalulwe Hill …

… and all of our amazing partners around the world who have decided to partner with us to sew purses, advocate locally, and help us raise awareness about this issue – and our program.

Thank you in advance for all your amazing support. We are honored to work together. Without each of you – we couldn’t do this important work.

Jason, Cinnamon, Esther & the Entire Sew Powerful Board