About

Sew Much Joy :) Burkina Faso, the Land of Honourable Men (and women).... many of whom have nothing and yet, they have everything.... spirit, generosity, community, love and so much JOY, the likes of which I have never experienced before. In January 2015, I was lucky enough to go on an ambassador trip with my friend, Steve Hedley who is CEO of Trinity Homeless Projects and works in partnership with AEAD, a relief and development charity working to improve the lives of the people of Burkina Faso. Whilst visiting some of the more remote villages in the North, we spent some time in Soulyale, where we were greeted with a joyous reception of singing and dancing. We were privileged to spend some time talking with the women and men of Soulyale, to understand more about their lives. Their kindness and capacity for joy overwhelmed me and when I asked them what they needed, they wanted for very little, simply to learn how to sew.... Could sewing really enhance their lives....? The next day we visited a nearby Vocational Centre, where one of the classes was tailoring. So I asked the students if, as part of their learning, they would be happy to train some of the women in Soulyale in tailoring. They replied with a resounding "Yes"! This project will not only help support 40 women to learn how to tailor.... With, on average, 6 people per family, it will help liberate 240 women, men and children from generational poverty forever! It will help them feed and clothe their families, it will help them to build businesses and to keep money in their community. And it will help pay for schooling for their children, which will mean that they too can support themselves and their families for a future filled with joy. And as if that wasn't enough, the project will also help the students at the Vocational Centre to have an even better capability with their skill of tailoring. Sew much joy! A recurrent message from many whom I met was that they wanted people to "see with your own eyes" what Burkina Faso has to offer, and what they have to offer is so very much.... So if you too would like to see with your own eyes, then please get in touch with me or with Steve via Trinity. I have been truly blessed by the beautiful people of Burkina and now we have the opportunity to return their blessings in some way. You can help with something small or something large, everything will make a difference. Perhaps you'll collect your loose change, sell some unwanted DVDs or swap your daily latte for something life-changing, or maybe you have your own fundraising ideas? To learn more about their stories, please get in touch and in the mean-time, let's SEW even more JOY, by simply clicking below to donate, thanks, Sammy xx PS If you're a UK Tax Payer, it only takes 2 mins to create a Givey account and complete the Gift Aid declaration to allow HMRC to add a MASSIVE EXTRA 25% to your donation, which will really make a difference to these wonderful women. This info is NOT used for marketing purposes! And 100% of your donation goes to the charity :)