Imani House is a nonprofit organization that I've been involved with for about five years. They have programs in New York and Africa that have a common thread of empowering people through the development of skills, self-worth and understanding of their world.
Sister Bisi, Imani House founder, shared with me details of a new sewing program in their Twe Farm, Monrovia, Libereia location. Liberia was colonized by former African American slaves in the 1820's, but they did not give opportunities to the indigenous people so the educational system is insufficient for the almost 4 million in population. Over 66% of women cannot read and many children do not go to school which means it is so much harder to reduce that statistic.
The women pictured below are in a beginners class where they are learning hand stitching and machine sewing. There are currently 28 ladies enrolled, who are mostly petty traders meaning they sell food in the market places, but they cannot read.
Imani House hopes to expand to include more classes, such as tye-dying, in an effort to help the women create an additional income stream. I plan to follow this story and will share more as this program develops -- can't wait to see what they make!