SEW ON FIRE - MAKING A DIFFERENCE

The Compassionate Heart of a Packrat: by Ruth-Lynn Hamilton
Thursday May 7, 2009

Today we drove to an elementary school near Faith Trust. We usually drive under and around the soccer goals, but today we parked. We had 600 pencil cases to give to the children. The pencil cases were made by women in anada and packed with a pen, crayons, pencil, pencil sharpener, toothbrush and toothpaste. We began with the Standard 1 class. 200 children poured out of the classroom and stood in line waiting patiently. Some bowed when given their gift. Several actually fell to their knees in gratitude. As they filed back into their dirt floor, overcrowded classroom, the sound of excited laughter was deafening. We continued class by class until only Standard 7 & 8 remained. They were given pencil cases and hats. The girls hats knitted by loving hands back home. They sure loved those hats. The male teachers received t-shirts and the female teachers hand sewn bags with materials for a skirt, t-shirt, sewing kit, hair pick, and a crocheted wash cloth.

We continued to Faith Trust to celebrate their brand new community centre. The money for this project came from Rotary. The labour from their villagers with a little bit of help from our team for painting. Faith Trust is one of the many community based organizations in Malawi supported by Dignitas. It’s a group of volunteers trained to give Home Base Care. They visit the sick, assist orphans and the elderly and provide counselling for their surrounding area. They are caring for each other under very difficult circumstances. They used to meet under a tree and now they have a building and they are beyond excited.

We experienced celebration today, the like of which we have never seen before; dancing, singing, dancing, drama, hugging and, of course, we had gifts. We left them with baby blankets, infant layettes, bags for the women, toys, hats and pencil cases. So many of my treasured memories will be the faces of these amazing people. The pure joy and gratitude, the love and emotion over our bags of goodies from Canada and those moments are thanks to a unique woman named Wendy Hagar.

Wendy lives in Burlington. She is a self confessed packrat. If you have it and don’t want it, Wendy will take it. She long ago outgrew her garage and had to move into a warehouse. But as much as Wendy loves to collect all manner of things, her real passion is giving it away. About a decade ago, Wendy heard about Mom’s in Africa without so much as a piece of cloth to swaddle their infants. Well, that would not do. She had to do something.
So she got busy sewing. Before her basement was packed with wall-to-wall women, cutting, sewing and knitting – nighties, blankets and sweaters and the bags to put them in. Today, those amazing volunteers stretch from Victoria to Halifax and those layette bags are just part of Wendy’s inventory. She sends thousands of ladies’ bags, packed knapsacks and school kits all over the world every year. If you will carry it, she will get it or make it.

So, when our sweat equity trip to Malawi was planned, and Linda received a list of things most needed, she took it to Wendy. A week before leaving for Malawi, Team 2 spent an evening at the warehouse and left with 12 hockey bags stuffed with love – love that we have poured out every chance we got in the last 2 weeks. Wendy’s mission is to make a difference and I can tell you Wendy, you are doing just that. Your wonderful, selfless women in Canada are reaching out and encourage the women in Malawi, women that are truly the most courageous, hard working women I have met.

Thanks for the memories.

"To laugh often and much: to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children: to know one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is the meaning of success"

................................Ralph Waldo Emerson