Mama's a material girl!

Mama chooses material

Everyone in our family takes a pride in their appearance and all our staff come to work in clean, neatly pressed uniforms.
They are allocated two sets each.
After more than two years of being washed and worn, every day, uniforms are looking very tired and faded. The sun soon drains the colour out of the fabric and the salt water it  is washed in doesn't help either. 
Mama has decided that new uniforms are now a priority and went to the hardware and haberdashery shop to get new material.
Nothing is simple in Africa. When she spotted a fabric she liked it would take a phone call to the wholesaler, and a detailed description of the colour and pattern etc to discover whether or not he could supply enough. A barcode would have been so much easier.

Headteacher Rose with Sifa

After about four attempts, four different patterns, the deal was sealed and a colourful material picked for the house staff while teachers have a very smart black and white.

Sifa busy at work in his workshop

Uniforms give such a professional look, but also make it easy to identify who works where in our ever growing family home and school.
Sifa, who makes our uniforms, has now been in to measure everyone and to cut the cloth and is now working on sewing up the finished articles.
 It’s a big job, but he has been working as our tailor, making all our  uniforms for staff and kids, for more than a year and is both skilled and reliable, so we know they are in safe hands. And the work we have given him has enabled him to set up his own workshop.
The uniforms are another expense, but everything wears out so quickly here we  have no option  but to find the money.
Pier pressure

It's well over a year since Marc and Thalia Venturi  brought out baseball caps donated by Brighton Pier for our kids and as you can see from these pictures of Mwende they are very popular with the kids.

It's an other illustration of how what is given to our charity goes exactly where it is intended and get used time and time again.