Sowing Peace Through the Eye of a Needle
4 Quilting Friends Journey to Africa
by June Vogltance

I never imagined that my lifelong passion for sewing and quilting would one day take me half way around the world to Africa.

When Rosemary Wissink (WI) & Shelly Stokes (MN) were drawn into our booth by our display of African baskets, cloth and church banners at the MN. 2006 Quilt Show, little did I know that I would join them on their next mission trip to Africa. Rosemary had previously made 4 trips to teach quilting and sewing at the Amani ya Juu center in Nairobi, Kenya. Shelly was a member of her team in 2005. Seeds for a 2007 trip were sewn that day in our booth.

Amani Ya Juu (which means “higher peace in Swahili) is a sewing and marketing project for refugee and marginalized women in Africa. The project, started by Becky Chinchon, an American missionary in 1996, services about 80 women who are taught sewing, quilting, communication and marketing skills so that they will be able to provide for their families. At the Amani ya Juu center, the women also participate in daily Bible study, singing and prayer sessions designed to encourage peace, friendship and reconciliation. The women participating in the project are from many different tribes and ethnic groups who have suffered through the horrors of war, the hardships of poverty & minimal employment opportunities. In addition to being paid a fair wage for their work, they find a sense of peace, hope, acceptance, friendship and support at the Amani ya Juu center. The women also gain self confidence and a sense of independence through the program which empowers them to endure and try and overcome the many difficulties of African life. (Over the years, two sister centers have been set up in Rwanda and Burundi.)

A few months after fate brought Rosemary, Shelly, & I together in MN., we were joined by Bonnie Bosma, a professional machine quilter, also from MN. We spent 18 months planning and preparing for the trip. In addition to working on new designs, developing new patterns and projects to teach the women, we also spent a great deal of time preparing emotionally and spiritually for the trip. We read many recommended books and watched a variety of films to help familiarize us with the culture, history and current events of Kenya and other areas in Africa that the women came from.

Our team’s mission was to share our sewing and quilting skills with the Amani women and to teach them to make marketable products such as bags, totes, purses, wallhangings, quilts, tablerunners, quilted postcards & beaded bookmarks. (The products they are taught to make are sold in Amani’s gift shop and online to sustain the non-profit Amani Ya Juu project.) Our main focus for the trip, however, in addition to teaching was to acquire a longarm quilting machine, get it to Africa, set it up and teach the women to use it and maintain it. To accomplish this seemingly monumental task, Rosemary, Shelly and Bonnie focused on fundraising for the machine. (My task was to raise funds for trip expenses and sewing and quilting supplies.) With God’s help and their tireless efforts, they were able to raise enough funds to purchase a Nolting Longarm Hobby Quilter machine at cost. They also convinced the Hinterberg company to donate the frame that supports the machine. Parts of the machine and frame were shipped over ahead of time and some parts were transported in our luggage. Thanks to many generous friends, customers, fellow quilt shop owners and distribution companies, we were able to take 10 large pieces of luggage filled with sewing machines, sewing notions & quilting supplies with us to Amani Ya Juu. Thank you all so much for caring & for helping these women.

(A week before we were to leave, Shelly became too ill to make the trip. Miraculously, we were blessed to have Sandi Stoltzfus from Ohio take her place. Sandi lived in Nairobi for two years and had many contacts in the missionary community as well as invaluable knowledge of the area which was extremely helpful to us.)

The Amani ya Juu center, is nestled in a secured garden like compound in Nairobi, Kenya. Nairobi itself is a very crowded, noisy city of over 2 million people. Entering the Amani compound is like entering a quiet oasis of peace. When we arrived at the center on the morning of Nov.14, the women, some with babies on their backs, welcomed us with open arms. They were so appreciative that we were there. Each day started with a morning prayer session, accompanied by soulful, uplifting hymns sung in Swahili and English. (Most of the women spoke some English as well as Swahili & other tribal languages.) The remainder of the day was spent teaching, eating lunch & visiting, attending 3:30 chapel time and meetings with the directors of Amani.

Bonnie focused on setting up the longarm machine and teaching 3 women to operate it. Rosemary, Sandi and I focused on teaching some basic sewing skills and individual projects. The women were excited, eager and determined to learn each new technique and project that we presented to them. Their enthusiasm made it a delight to get to know them and work with them.

As part of our mission, we also visited two of the women & their families for lunch in their homes. Even though they live in sub-standard conditions by our standards, they are joyfully eager to share what little they have with others. They are openly appreciative and grateful for every morsel that comes their way. In gratitude for our visit, they honored us with prayers, singing and a delicious meal cooked outside in pots on charcoal fires. No doubt, it was us who had a valuable lesson to learn from this part of our journey.

On the weekends we were free to explore the area and travel to see various attractions such as the Great Rift Valley, the Karen Blixen estate where Out Of Africa was filmed and Elsemere, on the beautiful Lake Naivasha, home & museum of Joy Adamson, author of Born Free, Living Free & many other famous works.

When our 2 ½ week teaching mission was complete at Amani Ya Juu, we went on an unforgettable safari in the Masaai Mara Reserve in western Kenya. The friendly Masaai warriors guarded our tents at night and took us on game drives in the early morning and late afternoon. Witnessing these stately animals roaming freely on this vast land gave us a sense that God was putting on a majestic display just for us.

Visiting a Masaai village and sitting inside of their stick & mud hut was an experience we will not soon forget. Perhaps they have the secret to internal happiness. They are happy and content living in their wide open land, with what appears to us to be so little. We live in abundance and are still often discontent. Yet another lesson for us to learn on this journey.

The next leg of our trip took Rosemary, Bonnie and I on a four day visit to the home of Dr. John Mkenda & his wife Beata. The Mkenda’s live in Marangu, Tanzania, a small village on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Alex and Marlys Meyer of Snyder, NE. were also visiting the Mkendas. While there we were happy to get to visit the Marlex Secondary School, named after Alex and Marlys for their efforts in fundraising to help build the school. It was also a joy to meet the man who is hand crafting the school desks that will be used in the school. We experienced life in the village & walked for hours along the dirt paths and roads, meeting Dr. Mkenda’s friends and neighbors living in the “banana jungle” as we nicknamed it. The region is quite tropical with beautiful flowering trees, bushes and banana trees everywhere. In spite of the beauty of this place, day to day life here is very difficult with poverty looming at every corner. Still there are moments of delight as the sweet, happy children peek through the bushes and eventually come out to greet us.

From the Amani Ya Juu center in Nairobi, Kenya to the Masaai Mara to Marangu, TZ, our unforgettable journey to Africa is one that we will cherish for a lifetime. We returned to America on Dec. 6 with a much wider vision of our blessings and privileged life that we enjoy in this country.

Footnote: The recent events in Kenya since the elections on Dec. 27 weigh heavily upon us as we are unsure of the safety of the new friends that we made at Amani Ya Juu in Nairobi. Like us, they love and cherish their families and work to give them the best life possible. Many of these sweet, peace loving women & their families live in the areas where the worst violence occurred. They are in our hearts and minds as we keep their safety and well being in our prayers. Please join us in praying for them.

For more information on the Amani Ya Juu project go to www.amaniafrica.org or www.vogies.com or www.cedarcanyontextiles.com .




Jacqueline, who came to work each day with her baby named Joy carefully strapped to her back, enjoyed learning some new binding techniques. The women happily shared in the care of the babies that accompany their moms to Amani Ya Juu.

Stitchin Sisters team leader, Rosemary Wissink takes her turn caring for baby Joy as she teaches Dorcus some basic sewing skills. The classroom is filled with sewing machine stations, where the women learn how to quilt and assemble items to be sold in the Amani Ya Juu gift shop. There are electric machines for the women to use. When the power goes out, which happens often, they simply move to the treddle machines and continue sewing on their projects.

Team member, Sandi Stolfus from Apple Creek, OH teaches Zipporah a background appliqué technique for a wallhanging.

Team member Bonnie Bosma, a professional quilter from Zumbro Falls, MN taught 4 of the women to use and maintain a long arm quilting machine. The Nolting Hobby Quilter was donated by our Stitchin Sisters team thanks to the many generous donors who made this task possible. The frame was donated by The Hinterberg company.
 

Maggie proudly shows the covered bowl that I taught from the book: It’s a Wrap by Susan Brier who so generously gave us her permission to use her book as a teaching aid on our mission trip. Susan’s only reward for her generosity were the smiles on the faces of the women we taught. (The book is available on our website.)

Quilted postcards were another popular project that our team taught to the women. This is one that we mailed to them from Nebraska a few weeks before we left on our trip. They were amazed that it made it to them in Africa. Zipporah is holding the quilted postcard, the other ladies are Biata (center), Epiphany on the right holding her baby Agnes.


 

The women (Mary shown holding purses) enjoyed learning to make this bag called “Purse-sonality” designed by Rosemary especially for this mission trip. Rosemary designs for her own pattern company also called Stitchin Sisters.

*The Stitchin Sisters missionary team is eternally grateful to everyone who contributed in any way to help make this mission trip possible. We thank you for your prayers, donations and financial support.

We have been asked many times if we would go back. Our answer is this: If it is in God’s plan, we are more than willing.