It’s amazing how a few pieces of cloth from our annual More Than Just a Yardage Sale can do so much good in the world.
Sally Bongard, a Textile Museum Honourary Trustee, tells of how she sent a suitcase full of fabrics to the Bududa Learning Center’s Vocational Academy in rural Uganda. Students of the Tailoring and Dressmaking program use the fabrics – donated by the Textile Museum and the Yardage Sale – to make clothing and household items. Proceeds from the sale of these items benefit the students and the Center.
Before Sally first sent Yardage Sale fabric to Uganda, she’d purchased a suitcase at Goodwill for about $5. She filled the suitcase with fabrics and sent it by bus across Canada to a family of five in Kelowna, B.C., who were planning to volunteer at the Bududa Learning Center for three weeks.
“The students and teacher in the Tailoring and Dressmaking department were thrilled to receive all the beautiful fabric,” Sally explains. “The head instructor, Anna, gave out some of the fabric to the students to use in class. They also were able to make children’s dresses, aprons, placemats and napkins.”
Sally’s sister, Barbara Wybar, who is executive director of the Bududa Learning Center, purchased the items and brought them to Philadelphia, Montreal and Gaspé, Que., where they were resold and the funds directed back to help the students and the Center.
The students also used Yardage Sale fabrics to make a wonderful grey/blue linen dress with orange piping for Barbara. Last October, Barbara wore the dress to a Women’s Canadian Club luncheon in Montreal where she was the keynote speaker.
About 50 pounds of fabric from last month’s Yardage Sale will be sent to the Academy.
The Bududa Learning Center, Uganda, sits on the slopes of Mount Elgon, just a few miles west of the Kenyan border. Find out more at bududa.org.
STRAND NEWS 