Riziki and Solange have completed three weeks of their internship and they are doing great.
They have mastered the Large boubou and are now learning the XL Boubou. Items that they have sewn will go on sale starting in September. Which means that soon they will be taking the first tentative steps toward providing for themselves.
All of the women are getting along extremely well together, which is no small accomplishment. Imagine living together, working together and even playing sports together! Mind you, these four women are not at all related to eachother, in fact they represent three different tribes. Congo is a country heavily torn by tribalism. Here in Goma, the job you hold, the church you go to, even the hopsital you go to, often depends on what tribe you are. So to have women from different tribes, who have found something deeper to share together, is quite a blessing.
Argentine and Mapendo (who are training the interns) report that TEACHING IS SO HARD!!! Much harder than sewing, they say. Yet I can hear the pride in their voices as they say this.
Recently we had a local journalist come to visit the SHONA women. He had discovered our website and wanted to see the reality.
He posted his findings, in a very little article, on www.congoblog.net, a francophone website. The article sparked quite a number of comments (all in French). While many were excited to hear about SHONA, there were some who questioned whether the ladies could really do this themselves.
So I am happy to report that with virtually no involvement on my part, the training of Riziki and Solange is going beautifully.