Maestro is the Spanish word for teacher and as some of you may know I have taken a regular teaching job with an organization called Sew For Hope. Sew For Hope is an organization that is altruistic and benevolent to the core – taking in refugees with a moderate understanding of English from all parts of the world (Asia, Africa, the Middle East, etc.) and teaching them sewing skills. The hope is that these men and (mostly) women will be able to get jobs or earn higher wages in the Nashville community.

I first heard of Sew For Hope from my friend Charmaine, an intern that I had previously while at Manuel. She gave me the number of Rita Atkins, director of the operation, and I sent her a message expressing interest in volunteering. Rita responded saying that she would thrilled to have me teach a men’s shirt making class. I felt something drawing me to this organization for several reasons:

1. There is a serious lack of skilled workers in the Nashville “industry” and all parties involved can benefit from technical education.

2. I have been in a foreign country without a job and struggling with the language and wanted to provide some sort of aid to those in my situation.

3.  Most important, I realize that my life has been blessed and I want to give back that which has been so generously given to me.

Here is one of my students, Kham, taking some notes while he prepares to sew his tailored shirt.

I began my first semester teaching advanced men’s tailored shirt making in the fall of 2014. Advanced simply means that the students sew using the industrial machines. I had 4 students, 3 women and 1 man. Nuam & Kham (Husband and Wife) Omaima and Chandra. The class was 12 weeks Friday mornings from 9:30 to 12:30. I introduced the course with several classes on pattern drafting of the shirt. Being this was my first time teaching and the students first time using industrial sewing machines, we quickly got behind. However, perseverance and a little help from their teacher allowed them all to graduate with handmade, tailored dress shirts.

My second semester began in the winter and was equally delightful. This time there were 4 Burmese women: Huai, Kang, Lun and Dim. With the exception of Huai, their English was poor but all seemed to be friends. Thanks to Huai and her high understanding of the English language, I was able to establish a connection with these women. Even beginning with very advanced skills, I noticed an improvement in each one of the ladies. Huai was so good that I offered her a job working for me making shirts.  When students find good, paying jobs in the United States it is a beautiful thing. If my students finish their shirts within 12 weeks, they graduate and receive a certificate of achievement, among other goodies. We then breaked for the summer scheduled to resume in August.

Here I’m pictured with some of my students at the the Spring 2015 Graduation

Today was the first day of my third semester, Fall 2015. Although only half the class was able to come, I can see that this will be an awesome group. One student, Vum, a young Burmese woman told me that she wanted to be a designer and had been taking some sewing instruction from another local designer, Denise Roxenhamm. Exciting! My other student, Rose, an African woman told me that she cant remember how long she had been sewing because she had been doing it for so long and that she loves to make skirts and blouses! This semester will be 16 weeks and follows the fall semester of the Metro Nashville Public School District.

If you’re feeling called to volunteer, would like to donate $ to the cause or find out more about this powerfully helpful organization, please visit their website at sewforhope.org. They depend on monetary donations to survive. Sew For Hope is located in Antioch, TN at 4890 Nolensville Rd, Nashville, TN 37211 in the back of the Thriftsmart. It’s a small but scrappy organization that gives sense of empowerment to men and women that they have possibly never felt in their lives. Finally, one of the coolest things that this organization does is donate a home sewing machine to each student upon graduation!

P.S. There is a nice view of the Nashville skyline from the parking lot.