First day of teaching at Svay Pak
Kat loaded me on her Moto holding all the 24" rulers we had and we drove off to Stay Pak about a 30 minute ride. Cambodians have a six day work week so it was traffic as usual. I just closed my eyes and hung on. We arrived and got machines set up, kits out and irons on. We felt semi organized. We are sewing on industrial machines, single needle, straight stitch only, of which I know nothing about. I had a great translator, Kat's friend Kayla who also works for AIM. She is extremely fluent in Khmer and was a big help. After the first couple of stitches we blew the circuits, all the machines went off just like at an event. Absolutely nothing new. I guess two fans, an iron and 4 machines were too much into an outlet holding a power strip plugged into another power strip! We finally got three of the four machines operational and got the first group through with their cute little sewing kits. I will post pictures when they have been approved by AIM. Friends from all over the country, mainly my event team, made and cut 80 sewing kits for the girls to sew. Generous financial contributions allowed me to purchase; wonder clips, snips, a seam gauge, a seam ripper, hair tie, and a bag of candy goodies for each girl. They loved getting a "cadeau", a gift. The bags came out great. They were so pleased with them that they came to show me several times :) One girl put a strap on hers and made it into a purse. We had sewn chalk board fabric on the front so they could each have their name or phrase on it. Kat has fabulous hand writing so she lettered all of their names on them or a phrase. Some speak a little English. Well let's say they understand a little English, only a few were brave enough to try it out on me. "Jesus loves you and me" was a popular phrase a few of the girls wanted on their bags. And yes He does! He brought them out of darkness that you and I could never imagine. When a girl is rescued there is a special ceremony where she gets a crown and gifts. She is told that she is truly a princess, a daughter of the king.
Several of the girls sewed through their break time (which is unheard of) they were so excited to make their bags. So I think it was a huge success. We didn't finish quite all of them so I will return on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday there are 54 a year) to finish up the sewing room girls and start the bracelet room girls that have a little less sewing experience. They loved sewing something for themselves. I will admit it was a little like herding cats...which I have lots of experience with! When the machines were down they went into the other room and sewed on the sewing floor machines. They were here, they were there, they were sewing without directions, while being supervised by everyone who hadn't sewed theirs yet. Pretty soon girls I hadn't even seen yet were coming back with finished bags. I guess it was a "do by self" project LOL! We finally got the machines up and running and explained to them that the chaos was just not working so they had to stay and sew in the room! Then the iron blew up. Permanently I think. So they were running back and forth to the floor to use the iron and get advice and tips from their friends. It was hilarious and one of the funnest days of my teaching career. The translator had to leave after lunch so we had a guy pinch hit. He kind of wandered in and out. But being the experienced (and terrified) teacher I am, I had the pieces broken down into sample parts so I just held it up and pointed. I now can sew in centimeters. We started out with 8 to a class, but dropped down to 4. They didn't get the concept of sharing the machine step by step. So one person waited until the other was done. It was just as fast to do 4 at a time. We ended with buying soda for them for lunch, which was a treat, well they voted on energy drinks, so they got those and Kat and I stuck with coke. :)
These young women are so beautiful, kind, polite, and intelligent. I will forever have their faces imprinted on my mind. I look at them and seriously cannot believe what they have been through. They look like just normal teenagers. They love makeup, hair styles, and dress very fashionable. They chatter like magpies (probably about me). It was just the most incredible experience. Most of you know I didn't want to make this trip. It was too far, I was too old, I wouldn't like it. What I would have missed! I love Kat's life here. I can see why she stays. I "get it" now, like I didn't before. She is so amazing at her job and I really don't think they could do it without her. I don't know what is going to happen in 18 months when her commitment is up. It will be so hard for her to leave this place. Although I can see that "burnout" probably plays a big part of when people decide to go home. It is a very stressful job and is more than 8-4:30. It is putting out fires, traveling for fabric sourcing, meeting deadlines, dealing with personality, changing patterns, you name it she does it. The week after I leave she goes to China to source fabric.
We met Kayla for dinner at a restaurant, went home and I fell into bed exhausted!! BEST. DAY. EVER. Although I am sick as a dog with a head cold.
Several of the girls sewed through their break time (which is unheard of) they were so excited to make their bags. So I think it was a huge success. We didn't finish quite all of them so I will return on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday there are 54 a year) to finish up the sewing room girls and start the bracelet room girls that have a little less sewing experience. They loved sewing something for themselves. I will admit it was a little like herding cats...which I have lots of experience with! When the machines were down they went into the other room and sewed on the sewing floor machines. They were here, they were there, they were sewing without directions, while being supervised by everyone who hadn't sewed theirs yet. Pretty soon girls I hadn't even seen yet were coming back with finished bags. I guess it was a "do by self" project LOL! We finally got the machines up and running and explained to them that the chaos was just not working so they had to stay and sew in the room! Then the iron blew up. Permanently I think. So they were running back and forth to the floor to use the iron and get advice and tips from their friends. It was hilarious and one of the funnest days of my teaching career. The translator had to leave after lunch so we had a guy pinch hit. He kind of wandered in and out. But being the experienced (and terrified) teacher I am, I had the pieces broken down into sample parts so I just held it up and pointed. I now can sew in centimeters. We started out with 8 to a class, but dropped down to 4. They didn't get the concept of sharing the machine step by step. So one person waited until the other was done. It was just as fast to do 4 at a time. We ended with buying soda for them for lunch, which was a treat, well they voted on energy drinks, so they got those and Kat and I stuck with coke. :)
These young women are so beautiful, kind, polite, and intelligent. I will forever have their faces imprinted on my mind. I look at them and seriously cannot believe what they have been through. They look like just normal teenagers. They love makeup, hair styles, and dress very fashionable. They chatter like magpies (probably about me). It was just the most incredible experience. Most of you know I didn't want to make this trip. It was too far, I was too old, I wouldn't like it. What I would have missed! I love Kat's life here. I can see why she stays. I "get it" now, like I didn't before. She is so amazing at her job and I really don't think they could do it without her. I don't know what is going to happen in 18 months when her commitment is up. It will be so hard for her to leave this place. Although I can see that "burnout" probably plays a big part of when people decide to go home. It is a very stressful job and is more than 8-4:30. It is putting out fires, traveling for fabric sourcing, meeting deadlines, dealing with personality, changing patterns, you name it she does it. The week after I leave she goes to China to source fabric.
We met Kayla for dinner at a restaurant, went home and I fell into bed exhausted!! BEST. DAY. EVER. Although I am sick as a dog with a head cold.
I see God doing amazing things through you!
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