Sewing together a sense of community

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This article was published 26/09/2016 (3467 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dorothy Lachance knows how to stitch together a sense of community.

Next month, the St. Vital resident will begin facilitating an eight-week sewing-based program at the Rene Deleurme Centre, a settlement centre for newcomers within the Louis Riel School Division catchment area, which is part of Lavallee School on St. Anne’s Road. The program will start on Oct. 17 and run Monday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Essentially, the program is an English conversation/sewing program where women newcomers will have the opportunity to practise their English language skills while doing something that interests them and which has practical benefits, Lachance said.

“Learning to sew with a sewing machine is very appealing to the women because it provides them with a practical way to alter clothing they might be given or have purchased at second-hand stores. For some, learning to sew means the possibility of finding work in a sewing factory, and for others, the goal of becoming a seamstress and working from home means bringing in an extra bit of money.”

The program also provides the participants with a way to interact with women from different cultures and to form friendships with their neighbours as they share the common bond of learning to sew and helping each other in the learning process, Lachance said.

It’s aimed at women who were refugees prior to their arrival in Winnipeg or who are recent immigrants, and they must be permanent residents to take part in the classes. Lachance taught a similar program at the centre during the summer and the participants originated from 10 different nations, including Syria, Pakistan, India, Ethiopia and China.

“Many of these women are isolated at home because they have small children, don’t know their way around, don’t speak the language, and often don’t have the support of sponsorship groups. This program provides child-minding for toddlers and allows them social interaction,” Lachance said.

In terms of community support, Lachance said all of the materials used in the summer program were donated by Sew4OurKids, a sewing group she has co-ordinated for the last few years. She is now welcoming donations of sewing fabrics, especially cottons, fleece and flannels, as well as threads and other sewing notions, such as zippers and buttons.

“Our dream is to put a sewing machine in the home of each of the women who come to our program and we are accepting donations of used machines that are clean and in good working condition. We also hope to find someone who might like to tinker with sewing machines when they need servicing or volunteer in the classroom when needed,” Lachance said.   

For more information, call Lachance at 204-275-3267.

simon.fuller@canstarnews.com

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