In the small village of Gourcy, a big story is unfolding. Dozens of women are taking the first real exam of their lives. The focus in the room is as intense as during open-heart surgery. Only the top two will receive sewing machines—and with them, the chance to open their own tailoring business.

For these women, the sewing machine at stake is not just an object or a simple work tool. It represents the horizon of a new world—a world where a woman can decide for herself.

Alima sits in the front row. In front of her are sheets of paper and a sewing machine; behind her—three years of learning. Her disabled son cannot walk. Her other children need medical care. All she needs now is a stable job.

If Alima wins the sewing machine, it will not be a prize for talent. There is no cheating here, no cramming the night before. What counts is persistence and determination, day after day. Alima knows this better than anyone. For her, every day has carried its own weight: the weight of her son’s gaze from the mat where he lies; the weight of an empty pot. She learned to write—not for poetry, but to note down the measurements of the person she is to clothe. She learned to count so she would know at the market how much her work—and her life—are worth.

No one builds a house in a single motion. You lay it brick by brick, patiently, day by day. Life is much the same. You cannot change it in an instant, but you can build it anew. Every day of the course is one such brick—a foundation for the future Alima is building for herself and her family.

One sponsored day of training means hours of learning from master tailors from the capital, more hours of practicing letters and numbers, and a vital step in a three-year transformation from a woman who could not read into an independent businesswoman.

Today, Alima is taking her exam. In a few days, we will know the results.

She might win the sewing machine and open her own workshop. She might become a teacher for other women. Or she might sew clothes for her disabled son that won’t restrict his movements. The most important thing is that today she is no longer the same person she was three years ago. She can read, write, and count. She has a profession and a future.

And it all began with a single day of training.

Great stories are born of small gestures. Sponsor a day of sewing training on GoodWorks 24/7 and start a revolution in another woman’s life.