Reaching out to Asia's most unreached group - women.



Women Missionaries - going where men can't go in Asia.

I began making doll clothes when I was eight years old. It was 1962, and the remote region where my family and I lived in Africa as missionaries was still known as "lion country."

My mother was a terrific seamstress. She taught me how to cut out the small pattern pieces and sew them, fashioning them into beautiful clothing for my doll.

I can't deny the nostalgia I feel when I hear the rhythmic sound of a pumping foot pedal, or see the classic shape of the black machine with its fancy gold lettering. I still have the first doll outfit I made.

Little did I know that decades later I would be using my skills as a seamstress to provide treadle sewing machines to women living on another continent far from "lion country."

I contacted Gospel for Asia, but even as I was inquiring about the possibility of making doll clothes to provide sewing machines, I wondered how I would actually be able to do this—I wasn't in a position financially to purchase the necessary materials.

I contacted several family members and a dear friend, telling them about my idea and about how meaningful it would be to invest my time this way. They caught the vision immediately and began to contribute financially to this endeavor, making it possible for me to purchase fabric and fulfill my desire to contribute sewing machines to women in need.

The thought of an Indian woman receiving her own sewing machine brings tears to my eyes. And envisioning her providing for herself and her family through such a gift gives me joy. Especially the Dalit ("Untouchable") women. One can feel so helpless in the face of their need, but I can relate to one woman at a time being able to provide for herself financially. I can relate to one sewing machine at a time, and I can relate to one outfit at a time.

I see a shining thread leading from my sewing machine—through customers who buy doll clothes here at Sewing Hope for Asia—to sewing machines gifted through GFA to help women in need. It is a beautiful thread leading through the enchanted world of dolls, their clothing and the girls across the globe who delight in playing with them. It is a gift of love that touches us all. - Madelyn