“It’s been a while since we’ve had electricity.”
Mama Noume sits in her small, darkly lit workshop, surrounded by her handiwork – dresses, jackets, and pants sewn from traditional cloth. A calm and warm person, Mama Noume isn’t the type to complain. But the lack of electricity at her workshop is clearly a problem.
“My girls have a hard time seeing sometimes,” she says.
For Day 100, we’re taking one small step toward getting them some light.
We first met Mama Noume last year on Day 335. And it only takes a few minutes with her to realize that her heart is with the girls she takes in and teaches to sew – they’re all young women who are either abandoned or the head of their families. They’ve been left with a terrible burden.
But Noume tries her best to make it right. “I teach them how to sew clothes and also reusable sanitary pads,” she said. “Right now, I have two girls with me. Overall, I’ve trained about 30 girls over the years.”
You read that right – 30 girls! Young women who now have the tools they need to start their own businesses, opening pathways to stability. We thought that was pretty remarkable.
For Day 100, we gave Mama Noume and some of her current and recent students a small boost that will light up their workspaces and give their eyes a rest – headlamps!
These solar-powered headlamps from Watts of Love were made possible by The Shine On Project – and what a difference they’ve made.
Noume doesn’t have the resources or time to take on everyone, even though she wishes she could. Now, she’ll be able to give she can help a little extra resource, something that will make their work a little easier, and a little brighter.
