9/2/2003 News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh · (615) 742-5458 · Nashville, Tenn
A UMTV video report, "Sewing Senoras," is also available at www.umtv.org.
A UMNS Feature
By Fran Coode Walsh*
Sewing Señoras. Photo number W03001, Accompanies UMNS #424
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Tools as simple as a needle and thread are helping
Hispanic women in Phoenix contribute to their family's income - and to
their community.
The Wesley Community Center offers free sewing
classes to those living in one of Phoenix's poorest areas, the Nuestro
Barrio. The program began seven years ago, at the request of women in
the neighborhood. The response has been so positive that the center has a
waiting list for the lessons.
"In our service area, total family
income on average is $12,000," explains James Bottorf, executive
director of the center. That's less than the federal government's
poverty level for two people. In the Nuestro Barrio, large families -
some with as many as eight children - are getting by on less than that.
In
the Hispanic culture, women are expected to care for the family and not
work outside the home. The program helps women cut costs, and in some
cases, donations enable them to take sewing machines home and work.
Anna
Herrera, in her late 30s, started sewing classes two years ago. "I save
money on uniforms," says the mother of two. "Uniforms are expensive."
She
also makes decorations for her home and dreams of the day she can sew
her daughter's wedding dress. "My husband is so proud of me. … He
tells me, 'Everything you make is so pretty.'"
United Methodist
volunteers staff the center. Bottorf estimates 300 women (and one man so
far) have taken the classes. The center offers classes three days a
week for 36 people, but Bottorf hopes the lessons will expand to every
weekday. The biggest challenge is finding volunteers who know how to sew
and are available during the day.
The students aren't the only
ones empowered by the program, Bottorf says. "The volunteers feel
empowered. In a sense, they are learning a new culture, growing and
experiencing new ideas and new traditions - and giving back to the
community."
The Wesley Community Center offers a variety of
services in the barrio, including health clinics, youth programs and
home repair classes. Bottorf says he and the volunteers share a
philosophy of "making a difference in the lives of individuals, one at a
time."
"And if we can't stem international poverty, that's not our mission," he adds. "Our mission is to help those whom we can."
More information on the Wesley Community Center is available at: http://www.wesleycenterphx.org/pages/395449/index.htm.
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*Walsh is coordinating producer of UMTV, a unit of United Methodist News Service.
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