I tell an acquaintance, Trudy, that I have plans to start a sewing school in Jacmel, Haiti. We are going to bring ten sewing machines to a school there and we will select five women to teach how to sew. In turn, they will receive a sewing machine and then we will hire them to teach others to sew. I am very excited about the idea and Trudy applauds me for this plan.
"How will you get everything over there", she wants to know.
"Ten volunteers are coming with me and each of us will carry 50 pounds of supplies. It will be very tight but we should have just enough people to carry what we need."
I see Trudy three weeks later and she has over 50 pillow case dresses that she made for my sewing school. They fill a whole suitcase. I don't know how to tell her that I don't have the resources to take her dresses with me. But she tells me she has been sewing like crazy and this task has given her a new passion.
So I leave one bag of supplies home and take this new bag of dresses and when we distribute them, all of the girls shout in glee. They look fresh and feminine and cool and I am so glad I brought the dresses.
